Being "blue collar

[aggiecatholic05]

while i grew up blue collar, i think most people would describe me otherwise now at least on appearences. however i too like the outdoors. never got into cars much but i hunt ever weekend of duck season, and fish several times a month the rest of the year, plus i have never turned down an invite to go hog or deer hunting. does that make me blue collar? does getting that dr. title next year and maybe opening my own clinic make me white collar?

does it matter?

 

[Just_wondering]

I have to admit that there is a stigma against blue collar workers in some circles. I know as a well-educated woman dating a blue collar worker, I’ve had some comments about how I “could do better.” It really bothers me, frankly. I have absolute confidence that my boyfriend is right for me, and the fact that his job is blue collar is a positive in my book. Knowing how to work with your hands means you can turn your hands to almost anything. In contrast, an office worker is much easier to put out of a job.

Anyway, there are lots of women out there who like a blue collar worker. I’m sure there’s one looking for you.

 

[Jan_Bolbot]

If someone rejects you because of what you do for a living, it is probably a good sign that you don’t want to spend time with them, let alone date or marry them.

St. Joseph worked with his hands everyday. Can’t think of a better model of a Catholic man.

I’ve known many idiots with PhDs and MAs. Some of them are people I work with. The wisest and best person I ever knew was my grandmother who had an 8th grade education. As a Catholic, you bring your skills in rebuilding engines and give that work dignity and value and make it pleasing to God.

JB

 

[Biblioassistant]

I do think skilled workers have gotten the short end of the stick respect-wise in our society for a while. But we need skilled workers, and I think that this recession might just change our elitist thinking a bit.

Oh yes!! If you are a hard worker and an honorable person you have my respect no matter what your line of work. I work at a university, and there are times I really wonder. I’ve met blue collar workers who were better self-educated than a lot of the PhDs I meet every day.

 

[purplesunshine]

I think there’s alot of gaff for two types of blue collor workers get, namely construction and mechanic.

As a large part they were uneducated, unmotivated and crass. Working “under the table” was not only not thought illegal, but encouraged. Many were immigrants trying to carve out a living with suspicious ties to the US and not so “loving” motives for going out with US females.

Those who lived the life know the undependable work, the long hours, the fear of debilitating injuries with little or no comp. Having to work until you die…

As a 25yo female its easier to judge as a whole, though I try not to. Someone who’s really thought it out and wants that for their life. Who is ready for the challenges, understands that they need to save for retirement, are smart about workplace injuries, and are on top of their education is much harder to find among “blue collar” workers.

Having grown up near a military base I also would hesitate to date a solider…even an officer. Their is an unreal amount of pressure on military families. And having to pack up and move all the time is really tough.

That being said I wouldn’t dive right into a relationship with a MA or PHd. But I think that I’d be more at ease with it to start off.

 

[sandusky1011]

I know how you must feel as we are blue collar people. My husband has been in the car business all of his life in some form or another. He’s now in sales and sells parts to auto companies. He fixes all our cars. My son is also in school to be a car tech and has worked for a car repair place since he was 16 (he’s almost 21 now). He loves what he does and has found a great girlfriend who is going to cosmotology school. I think it’s fantastic to learn a trade as our world would collapse without it.

And as far as art museums go…I had to laugh. I went to an art college and have a Bachelors degree in Illustration and Advertising. I love to go to art museums to get inspiration for my work but I’m purely blue collar! I always hated the snobbery surrounding the arts since that’s not me at all. So, I guess you just can’t generalize with anything.

Good luck to you in your career and God Bless!

 

[rayne89]

There will always be those who look down on others.

I always remember the lady I used to babysit for while I was growing up. She didn’t care for my boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband of 18 years). Not because she actually knew him because I don’t think she’d even actually spoke to him but because he drove an old car, had longer hair, wore a motorcycle jacket (it was the late 80’s by the way). Anyway she referred to her own husband and said if she had to do it all over again she’s never look at a blue collar again.

I lost all respect for her that day. She lived in the house next door to my parents. My dad was a senior engineer for Chrysler. She had just had a pool put in and her kitchen remodeled and at the time she was at stay at home mom. She was going to night school to become an accountant. In all honesty the woman did not come from a white collar family either, her dad was working class too. And her behavior wasn’t often working class it was low class. Many nights when I babysat she came in too intoxicated to even stand. And when I married out of high school she had the nerve to ask my mother if I was pregnant.

Well I married my blue collar hubby and moved away. She divorced her blue collar husband and married some guy who put a huge rock on her finger (which she flashed to everyone she met) and moved her to an even bigger house.

Years ago I ran into one of her son’s who by that time was in high school. I’ll never forget the sadness in his voice when he said “My parents got divorced.” I had already known through my parents but hearing him say it with such a pain in his voice made me feel so badly.

Whomever you marry, whether its working class or professional, make sure they put their children and family before greed.

 

[shannyk]

Am I the only blue collar Catholic? It seems like aver Catholic I know is white collar and kinda looks down on blue collar people. I mean is it bad that I would rather spend a Saturday rebuilding engine to put into a Camaro or go hunting or fishing then to spend the day in a art museum?

I am in college taking automotive collision repair. And almost any Catholic girl I meet when I tell them that I am in automotive they are no longer interested in me. I mean is it wrong that I would rather work on cars in a shop then to sit in a office behind a computer all day?

Is it wrong that I am a blue collar guy?

And I want to add one thing. I know that automotive repair may not make you rich. But I will say that you can make a dang good living. And right now with the economy bad and everyone being laid off. All the mechanics I know are doing just fine. Most of them are open 6 days a week because they have so many customers.

No there is nothing under the sun wrong with being ‘blue collar’. What could be wrong with learning a trade, being good at it, working hard at it, enjoying it, living a modest life centered around God and family. If there is something wrong with that then I’m on the wrong planet. As a nurse I would be considered to be in a blue collar job, but I also have a masters degree. So, educated doesn’t necessarily mean white collar and vice versa. Try not to worry about categorizing too much, it’s a trap.

The idea that there is something less about that kind of life is not a Catholic ideal, it’s a twisted ideal of those who purport themselves to be ever tolerant and accepting so long as you’re one of them that is, and of course many Catholics fall for this mantra because well, they are faulted human beings. Don’t fall into their trap. It’s one of the great ills of American society at this point in time I’m afraid.

Having said that, do not put yourself in a box with a blue collar label and not venture out of it. Museums and are are not just for the academic types. That is a contemporary faulted notion.

 

[just_me_1]

Am I the only blue collar Catholic? It seems like aver Catholic I know is white collar and kinda looks down on blue collar people. I mean is it bad that I would rather spend a Saturday rebuilding engine to put into a Camaro or go hunting or fishing then to spend the day in a art museum?

I am in college taking automotive collision repair. And almost any Catholic girl I meet when I tell them that I am in automotive they are no longer interested in me. I mean is it wrong that I would rather work on cars in a shop then to sit in a office behind a computer all day?

Is it wrong that I am a blue collar guy?

And I want to add one thing. I know that automotive repair may not make you rich. But I will say that you can make a dang good living. And right now with the economy bad and everyone being laid off. All the mechanics I know are doing just fine. Most of them are open 6 days a week because they have so many customers.

Hi, Turbo!

My hubby and I are blue collar, no fears. like you, his is stained with hydrolic fluid and grease, mine with cow poop. Our parish is out in a small town surrounded by ranchers so there is a decent mix, but from bigger churches, I know what you mean, you almost feel out of your league sometimes!

My grandpa was a mechanic, my hubby wrenches on farm equipment when he’s not running it. I farm and feed cows and play cowboy on the side. not my white collar folks’s dream for me, but it makes us happy.

And we both hunt, fish, shoot, 4 wheel, and wrench on our “toys” on our free time, and may even have a frosty beverage to go along with it… and still get our butts to church on sunday. I don’t think Joseph was a white collar guy… and God trusted him to help raise our Lord! (puts it into perspective a but huh?)

Be proud of what you do!

 

[mark_a]

Am I the only blue collar Catholic? It seems like aver Catholic I know is white collar and kinda looks down on blue collar people. I mean is it bad that I would rather spend a Saturday rebuilding engine to put into a Camaro or go hunting or fishing then to spend the day in a art museum?

I am in college taking automotive collision repair. And almost any Catholic girl I meet when I tell them that I am in automotive they are no longer interested in me. I mean is it wrong that I would rather work on cars in a shop then to sit in a office behind a computer all day?

I feel your pain.

 

[AHapka]

Tell me more. I’m a friggen lawyer that can’t find work in a European capital city after graduating with an A and being halfway through Ph.D. I’m teaching English. And writing academic stuff because it’s better to do it now than to have to do it when they’re actually hiring and paying.

BTW, unqualified physical labour tends to pay better than being a young lawyer round here. MacDonalds probably pays better than most law firms, too. My 19 year old brother will get 40% more after his first month as a security guard than I did in my first paid month as a lawyer (and I had worked 2 months for free before then. And he has no training of any kind in that area.

Funny you should mention that.

I am a deputy sheriff with 8 years on. I make more then our DA’s with 10 years of experience. And they have massive student loans.

One of our most experienced DA’s quit, and went to work for a close by police department. On his first day walking in the door as a rookie, with no training, he’s making $2,000 more a year then as a DA with 10 years of experience.

I was really, really shocked when I found all of that out. And it’s not right, really.

 

[francesca_gen]

Those who lived the life know the undependable work, the long hours, the fear of debilitating injuries with little or no comp. Having to work until you die…

As a 25yo female its easier to judge as a whole, though I try not to. Someone who’s really thought it out and wants that for their life. Who is ready for the challenges, understands that they need to save for retirement, are smart about workplace injuries, and are on top of their education is much harder to find among “blue collar” workers.

I do want to say that the unionized blue-collar workers whose pensions my company processes make good money and have good benefits. If you work for a small non-union shop, or start your own, this may be true, but it’s not true for every blue-collar worker out there. Just something to keep in mind.

Also, my father and both brothers-in-law were/are blue-collar, and yet they had had some college (though not degrees) and definitely had their ducks in a row.

It’s all an individual thing.

 

[francesca_gen]

Having said that, do not put yourself in a box with a blue collar label and not venture out of it. Museums and are are not just for the academic types. That is a contemporary faulted notion.

Very true. My blue-collar dad was very well-read, enjoyed documentaries much more than dramas, and liked to go to museums. These things may not be your cup of tea, but you never know what “typically white-collar” thing you might not immediately think of could be. It’s always fun to surprise people!