Atlanta class obsession/Class insecurity. (Alpharetta, Buckhead: taxes, professionals, restaurant)

[stick2dascript]

This isn't just a Atlanta thing, almost all areas of urban culture are about flossing, which explain the low marriage rate and high birth rate. It's the mentality that needs to change

[Atlanta_BD]

I worked in a hair salon back home that catered to upscale clientele with my sister. She was a stylist and I was a receptionist. The clients were usually doctors, lawyers, local political figures, wives and daughters of entertainers, etc. Mostly black. Roger Ebert's wife (who is black) was a client and also Michelle Obama. I also lived in the same neighborhood as the Obamas.

I aslo worked a job there in which I had to interact with black celebrities and forgeign dignataries. I even talked Wesley Snipes over the phone. And one member of a formerly famous singing group brought me flowers when he came to meet with my boss.

In all my interactions with these "high-class" people back home, none of them were ever rude to me, talked down to me or disrespected me. Even when I worked fast food in high school I only had 2 incidents where customers were rude.

I move down here and in the office I got co-workers looking down on me because I rode on MARTA, one of my co-workers even called me worthless, people calling in calling me a stupid n****r over the phone.

Then I work in restaurants in Midtown and Buckhead where me and other staff were subjected to insults, name calling and even threatened with physical violence by customers who felt could talk to us any kind of way because we were in service jobs. Not just sometimes but DAILY! I definitely notuce that if you work a service job or work a job people deem "lowly" people here show a definite need to want to remind you of your place.

I know it happens anywhere but I experienced it the most here.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

I worked in a hair salon back home that catered to upscale clientele with my sister. She was a stylist and I was a receptionist. The clients were usually doctors, lawyers, local political figures, wives and daughters of entertainers, etc. Mostly black. Roger Ebert's wife (who is black) was a client and also Michelle Obama. I also lived in the same neighborhood as the Obamas.

I aslo worked a job there in which I had to interact with black celebrities and forgeign dignataries. I even talked Wesley Snipes over the phone. And one member of a formerly famous singing group brought me flowers when he came to meet with my boss.

In all my interactions with these "high-class" people back home, none of them were ever rude to me, talked down to me or disrespected me. Even when I worked fast food in high school I only had 2 incidents where customers were rude.

I move down here and in the office I got co-workers looking down on me because I rode on MARTA, one of my co-workers even called me worthless, people calling in calling me a stupid n****r over the phone.

Then I work in restaurants in Midtown and Buckhead where me and other staff were subjected to insults, name calling and even threatened with physical violence by customers who felt could talk to us any kind of way because we were in service jobs. Not just sometimes but DAILY! I definitely notuce that if you work a service job or work a job people deem "lowly" people here show a definite need to want to remind you of your place.

I know it happens anywhere but I experienced it the most here.

So...you're comparing your interactions with celebrities in other cities to your office coworkers and restaurant customers in Atlanta. That makes a lot of sense.

I've said it often on city-data...your personal experiences DO NOT represent the character of an entire city. Any mature adult should realize this.

[CollegeStudentinAtl]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

I worked in a hair salon back home that catered to upscale clientele with my sister. She was a stylist and I was a receptionist. The clients were usually doctors, lawyers, local political figures, wives and daughters of entertainers, etc. Mostly black. Roger Ebert's wife (who is black) was a client and also Michelle Obama. I also lived in the same neighborhood as the Obamas.

I aslo worked a job there in which I had to interact with black celebrities and forgeign dignataries. I even talked Wesley Snipes over the phone. And one member of a formerly famous singing group brought me flowers when he came to meet with my boss.

In all my interactions with these "high-class" people back home, none of them were ever rude to me, talked down to me or disrespected me. Even when I worked fast food in high school I only had 2 incidents where customers were rude.

I move down here and in the office I got co-workers looking down on me because I rode on MARTA, one of my co-workers even called me worthless, people calling in calling me a stupid n****r over the phone.

Then I work in restaurants in Midtown and Buckhead where me and other staff were subjected to insults, name calling and even threatened with physical violence by customers who felt could talk to us any kind of way because we were in service jobs. Not just sometimes but DAILY! I definitely notuce that if you work a service job or work a job people deem "lowly" people here show a definite need to want to remind you of your place.

I know it happens anywhere but I experienced it the most here.

I have noticed this too. NOT all the time but more than average.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

So...you're comparing your interactions with celebrities in other cities to your office coworkers and restaurant customers in Atlanta. That makes a lot of sense.

I've said it often on city-data...your personal experiences DO NOT represent the character of an entire city. Any mature adult should realize this.

While true, personal anecdotes shouldn't be arbitrarily dismissed, either. In my opinion.

No behavior or group of behaviors represents "an entire city", but certain behaviors consistently encountered over a period of years can certainly point to a trend.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

I move down here and in the office I got co-workers looking down on me because I rode on MARTA, one of my co-workers even called me worthless, people calling in calling me a stupid n****r over the phone.

Then I work in restaurants in Midtown and Buckhead where me and other staff were subjected to insults, name calling and even threatened with physical violence by customers who felt could talk to us any kind of way because we were in service jobs. Not just sometimes but DAILY! I definitely notuce that if you work a service job or work a job people deem "lowly" people here show a definite need to want to remind you of your place.

That is horrible and it saddens me to hear about it. What kind of person could treat people that way?

I'm surprised management or other customers don't rise up against that sort of thing. It's completely unacceptable.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

While true, personal anecdotes shouldn't be arbitrarily dismissed, either. In my opinion.

No behavior or group of behaviors represents "an entire city", but certain behaviors consistently encountered over a period of years can certainly point to a trend.

Those experiences are still just a tiny, tiny example of "people in Atlanta". Too many times comments on this site use those examples to represent Atlanta in a negative light, and this sounds like one of those times to me.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

Those experiences are still just a tiny, tiny example of "people in Atlanta". Too many times comments on this site use those examples to represent Atlanta in a negative light, and this sounds like one of those times to me.

I agree with that.

You certainly can't dismiss someone's personal experiences, but in this case they are clearly not representative of Atlanta in general. I've lived here for decades and have never once seen anyone treated like that. If I had, I would have said something about it to whoever was acting like such a stupid idiot.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by arjay57

That is horrible and it saddens me to hear about it. What kind of person could treat people that way?

I'm surprised management or other customers don't rise up against that sort of thing. It's completely unacceptable.

It had gotten out of control to the point that the manager started kicking people out of the restaurant who mistreated staff.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

So...you're comparing your interactions with celebrities in other cities to your office coworkers and restaurant customers in Atlanta. That makes a lot of sense.

I've said it often on city-data...your personal experiences DO NOT represent the character of an entire city. Any mature adult should realize this.

I think the OP's original questioning lends itself to comparisons.

I can say that based on my experiences working service jobs here that people in Atlanta are classist and look down on low-wage earners. However, it wouldn't be fair to say that about the city if I never lived and worked anywhere else.

I have worked service jobs in Atlanta that were frequented by or catered to middle and upper class people here, and I have worked jobs that catered to this same demographic back home.

I have worked and lived in rich areas in both cities, and I can tell you for certainty that the classism the OP asked about in this thread, I experienced on a DAILY BASIS working a service job in Atlanta. I NEVER experienced it back home--and the people we served back home really were rich AND famous--and they didn't act like this or mistreat staff at all. When I say "never," I really do mean I never experienced this at any of my jobs in another city lol. Could it have happened to me eventually? Sure it could have.

Do I think ALL Atlantans are classist based on my experiences? No I don't. When I worked these types of jobs in suburban Atlanta, I didn't have these problems. When I started working in Midtown and Buckhead, the disrespect and obnoxious behavior by the people who lived in these areas and came into our establishments was CONSTANT! It was never-ending and my former co-workers would tell you the same lol.

The thing that makes these experiences of mine laughable is that these were unimportant, wannabe high-class people who often couldn't afford their meals who acted the fool and talked down to us the most. And after all that hell they would raise, often times many of these people's credit cards would decline. Maybe instead of buying designer purses and driving BMW's they should put buying food first.