Middle-class
I had a conversation today with a couple of people at work about our Christmas party. I tentatively suggested someone we maybe should invite. This someone is the office manager who, up until September worked here. She had been the office manager for the past 4 years, since the company started. She had become...not very well liked. I didn't really like her and she was not particularly pleasant to me but i didn't hate her. There are a couple in our office, one in particular who hate her with a passion. When she left she got a card, but no leaving present. A couple other people who left a month after her and who are well-liked, we have invited to the Christmas do. Now, i don't think that she'd accept the invitation - i don't think she'd want to come, but i put forward the idea that it might be a nice gesture seeing as she didn't even get a leaving present and she had worked here for 4 years.
I was told that i was "so middle-class" in a way that implied it was a half-insult said to a naive little girl.
The person who said it went on to explain that knowing our ex-office manager, she would not appreciate the gesture as i intended it, but would suspect that i had some kind of evil plot, some ulterior motive behind the invite and would react accordingly.
This may well be true and it was not an option i had considered, but is it "middle-class" of me to have thought the way i did? I guess if one were ascribing class to people (which i don't) then you could say that i am middle-class and that she is "working-class" but personally i would never put those kind of labels on myself or others and is it really relevant to her supposed reaction or my own outlook? Aren't they more to do with who I am and who she is than what class we may or may not belong to?
Thoughts anyone?
I was told that i was "so middle-class" in a way that implied it was a half-insult said to a naive little girl.
The person who said it went on to explain that knowing our ex-office manager, she would not appreciate the gesture as i intended it, but would suspect that i had some kind of evil plot, some ulterior motive behind the invite and would react accordingly.
This may well be true and it was not an option i had considered, but is it "middle-class" of me to have thought the way i did? I guess if one were ascribing class to people (which i don't) then you could say that i am middle-class and that she is "working-class" but personally i would never put those kind of labels on myself or others and is it really relevant to her supposed reaction or my own outlook? Aren't they more to do with who I am and who she is than what class we may or may not belong to?
Thoughts anyone?