Marrying Down?

[tld221]

Originally Posted by TheEpitome1920

I can't remember where I read this but something about AA women are more likely to marry men without degrees.

so is that settling or is it facing some reality that non-degreed AA men are more suitable to marry?

i was told (by a black professor) that once black people graduate from college, they automatically enter the middle class, regardless of the student loans they owe (because taking out loans means you have the priveledge of having good enough credit to take them out - dont know if i agree), regardless of the job you have (because that degree opens you to more job opportunities than without it) simply because the way your brain thinks as far as future goals and outlook is definitely different with college than without. i dont know if that makes sense, but this professor shut me down in conversation once saying "you can't go around crying 'i'm from the hood and that's what i represent' when you graduate from a prestigious university (or one at all) and work on a salary vs an hourly wage."

with that said... i definitely didnt grow up middle class. i been poor, but i cant say i ever went hungry, or without clothes and other necessities. did i go without some experiences as a child and teen? sure, but that happens.

so im torn. i dont think i could relate to a dude who hasnt been to college and is from the hood, cause my mentality isnt hood. it never was - just cause you live in the hood dont mean you have to be hood. on the other hand, if dude is college educated, and therefore by this theory, middle class, he could have had a host of middle class life experiences that i wont ever relate to. i know they could be little things, but they definitely add up.

so would i ever marry down? no, because i would think its important to have some sort of common upbringing. would i marry up? dont know about that either - wouldnt want my partner looking at me all sorts of ways like "omg i have to show you the world." dont want any dude thinking he has to culture me into some high society for me to be suitable.

is it too picky to say to marry somewhere in the middle?

[Still BLUTANG]

i can't read through this whole thing to see what (or IF) i responded, but i feel like this:

if i can take the time to go to school, get my degreeS, work, own a home, yadda yadda yadda, the brother who will marry me needs to have the same level of commitment to achieving goals and setting up a comfortable life for himself. So, I don't see it as a step down to marry someone who is, say, a credentialed professional or career military (not, i wound up in the military because of X Y or Z).

For example a good friend is marrying an electrician who has a HUGE government contract. My little income is laughable to him. He has no college, but he's a good man with a REAL PLAN. I'd marry a brother like that.

i don't think there's really such a thing as marrying down, i think to many people are trapped in playing games to keep UP with the joneses. I know the damn joneses, and their life really aint that sweet.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by Still BLUTANG

i don't think there's really such a thing as marrying down, i think to many people are trapped in playing games to keep UP with the joneses. I know the damn joneses, and their life really aint that sweet.

shoot i hear that!

[Dionysus]

Originally Posted by Still BLUTANG

i don't think there's really such a thing as marrying down, i think to many people are trapped in playing games to keep UP with the joneses. I know the damn joneses, and their life really aint that sweet.

For me, it isn't so much about "keeping up with the joneses". I got almost everything I wanted as a child, in a material sense. I hated most of my childhood. So you're right that having a lot of material things=happiness is false.

With me it's more about lifestyle and mentality. However, when I posted earlier in this thread, that was like three years ago. Since then, I have interacted with so many people who have different backgrounds than me. Some of these people I have a lot of common with. I've learned that your financial/educational background, or the one you grew up in, doesn't always dictate preferences and attitudes.

So if they're open-minded, intelligent, have similar values, and like the same type of places/foods/movies/shows/music/whatever...it doesn't matter to me if they're a lawyer or a bartender.