March 2004

1. Don't assume that it is a working class/working poor/poor person's job to educate you about class issues. Read up on class struggles.

2. Understand that knowledge from books is never as valid as knowledge based on personal life experiences.

3. Understand that a middle class/upper-middle class/rich position is privileged and not normative or average.

4. Don't assume that it is a working class/working poor/poor person's responsibility to tell you their life story. Never force discourse.

5. Never use a working class/working poor/poor person's experience to further your political agenda, especially if your political platform is not designed to specifically address class issues.

6. Understand how the amount of money you have affects every aspect of your life. With organizations, don't assume that everyone can contribute the same amount of money.

7. Understand how language can be exclusive. Understand that education and high brow language are often inaccessible to working class/working poor/poor people, but realize that class is not a defining marker of intelligence and never talk down to the working class/working poor/poor.

8. Understand anger and allow space for discourse about your specific privilege and/or moneyed privilege in general.

9. Design your specific political arguments with a class analysis. Ask yourself, how would this work for non-rich people?

10. Understand that you are part of the class structure (that you have a class position), but that your position is privileged.

11. Never whine about being middle class.

12. Recognize how classism interacts with and is complicated by other systems of oppression-racism, ableism, oppression of parents, etc.

13. Recognize that the decision by many people in (usually white) subcultures to "choose" being poor or working class is a lifestyle choice, and is very different from actually being poor or working class. Your privileged background affects your present status (what's in your head, how safe or comfortable you feel at any given time/situation, skills and behaviors privileged folks hold, etc.).

14. Engage in anti-classist struggles (and don't just focus on queer poor or working class people). Seek to build cross-class alliances.

15. Share money if you can.

16. Do not appropriate class struggles for your own uses.

17. Investigate how your organizations are classist, how you are classist.

18. Make meetings and events accessible (consider where you have them, when you have them, child care, etc.)

19. Understand that the right to have/adopt and parent/care for children should not be dependent upon class position or income, that society and communities have an obligation to provide for families.

20. Recognize that class does not equal income. Education, geography, job, and many other factors influence class status.