Full video

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what class would you say you are right

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now first class

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first yeah I'm proud to be working F

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could you ever be upper class do you

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think I wouldn't want to be if you're

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not white you can never be upper class

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why why why would you say that you are

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working class so I still work 50 hours a

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week and I shop at

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Aldi do you have aspirations to change

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your class no

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I'd say it's education yeah it's

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upbringing yeah it's culture yeah and

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undoubtedly it's also money I'm probably

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more towards the working class side of

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it because I well I just lost my J my

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value system is going to be ingrained

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isn't it I'm much more concerned about

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underprivileged people who do not have

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things they should have like a home and

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a job or Beckham yeah good good example

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I mean he's got more money than God and

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he's certainly not not going to be

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considered upper class would you not

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want to be upper class it sounds

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wonderful thaty no there's upper and

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everyone else hi everybody Welcome to a

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new episode of easy English so I'm on

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bright in seafront today and I want to

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approach the topic of class in the UK we

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have a structure of social classes which

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look like this starting at lower class

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and ending at upper class but today I

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want to know what the people of Brighton

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think think about this scale I want to

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know which social class the people of

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Brighton think they categorize

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themselves into I want to know what

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categories can Define you and if just

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your state of mind can affect your

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social status I want to hear about the

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stigmas attached to the upper and lower

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classes and if the class system is a

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relevant or helpful structure before we

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get started please don't forget to

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subscribe to easy English to be notified

1:53

for each and every new video that we

1:54

publish let's go do you know what class

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you are in the UK

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working class yeah okay uh working class

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working class yes definely working

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class lower middle class probably

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traditionally working class in terms of

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my background definitely working class

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lower middle lower middle lower lower

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middle I'll say I was born into the

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working class uh I'd say I'm lower

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middle class in I'm working class I

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would um place myself in the middle

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class how about you

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middle class why would you say that you

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are working class so I still work 50

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hours a week and I shop at

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Aldi because I've worked all my life

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okay okay and how about you why would

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you say well I grew up in a cc State I

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was born into working class and luckily

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like I got out of that like cycle

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because of like going to University

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maybe lower middle lower middle okay and

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why why did why did you change your

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opinion just I'm a homeowner know as

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somebody who's been had the Good Fortune

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to be able to go to a university and

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spend my professional life and higher

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education I think that probably places

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me in a middle class why would you say

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that you are this lower lower middle you

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think you are why is that um because of

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my income and my job occupation I'd say

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it's education yeah it's up bringing

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yeah it's culture yeah and undoubtedly

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it's also money I I mean I don't know

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what the definition

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of middle class is apart from if you own

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your own house maybe okay well I'm

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certainly not an

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aristocrat have you always been lower

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lower

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middle uh possibly possibly a bit higher

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now I think I'm probably more toward WS

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the working class side of it cuz I well

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I just lost my job i' I've definitely

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changed but it wasn't intentional it was

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just because I suppose I went into

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professions that and became a manager

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and was able to buy a house and I

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suppose that makes me call myself that

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because if I was really still working

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class I'd probably be in social housing

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or renting I would imagine if you move

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away from a rental market and you go and

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own your house you become middle class

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we all working class F you work to own

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your house and you own your house you're

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probably middle class what school is

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quite significant okay cuz you went to a

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nice fancy school I went to private

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school and I was um small younger Junior

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School was Private yeah and how would

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you get into a private school your

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parents pay before we carry on with this

4:56

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our pub now back to the episode is that

5:51

how you define your class you are from

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how much money you have your education

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and where you live but I I think I think

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individ but all of those things are

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entwined why when upper class okay um

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what in Britain I wouldn't be I'm not in

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the upper classes because a I'm not

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British and I'm not white and

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it's you know that's those are defining

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characteristics essential

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characteristics could you ever be upper

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class do you think I wouldn't want to

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be okay I wouldn't want to be but but

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could you be just start off with um uh I

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think if you're talking upper upper

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class then it's something you're borned

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into no I can I'm working to middle but

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I can never be upper and I don't think

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I'd ever want to be upper either can

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someone who isn't upper in the upper

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class ever go down

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to lower lower middle no maybe no

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probably not cuz their value system

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their value system is going to be

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ingrained isn't it how come you can

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change when only there is a restriction

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on how much I think even even if you

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start a middle class and you earn lots

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of money I don't think you can tip into

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the upper class because I think what

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maybe just here in England that is a lot

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of generational wealth and it's a lot

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history towards it you are born into up

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class you know I don't I don't know if

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you can move into up class with the

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amount of money you have I think it I

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think class there is a culture thing I

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think nowadays maybe in the past you

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couldn't go up to the upper class but

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nowadays it seems that you can so for

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example the Middleton would have been ah

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middle class definitely middle class but

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perhaps their children and grandchildren

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now would be upper class if you see the

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circles that they move in and how

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they're accepted and how people aspire

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to be like them that's a great example

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you can't go up the ladder just from

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money so it's impos it's impossible to

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climb but you you climb down though

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sink okay but then here's a good

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question to test your theory maybe I

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haven't sunk then maybe I haven't maybe

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I'm just poor can an upper class person

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ever be lower than upper class ever can

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they ever come down the P oh interesting

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oh yeah I think when it comes to the

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upper upper class yeah it's it's a

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privilege there's not a lot of choice

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there for anybody whether you are or not

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uh yeah I think it's it's something that

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is given a mindset it's a mindset yeah

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absolutely and with middle class I just

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don't think you can do that I think with

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I think middle and working are like

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quite close to each other you know I

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think you know there's not too much of

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culture difference so I think you can

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move that way and I agree you can't you

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can't really go to upper class don't

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want to be part of yeah of course does

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privilege come into this oh my God yeah

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I mean it's all things I hate really the

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key word really is the privilege part so

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obviously the the upper

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classes had privileges where they took

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you know advantage of them or not they

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still had them so it's I think it's

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probably more difficult for them to go

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down the social scale and for people on

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the bottom of the social scale to go up

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the social scale you have someone that

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is upper class maybe that you know well

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it's more comfortable than me for sure

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so and uh but I wouldn't give a label we

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know of people who you know if you ask

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them what they do they say oh I manage

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my father's

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estate which is very nice if you can get

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it not every body who's upper class is

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wealthy any longer I mean there's also

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the issue of inheritance you said

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comfortable does that mean money you

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think they have more money probably more

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assets ah so they're not rich they're

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wealthy maybe like inheritance want to

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say that

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though the prime example in recent years

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was I believe it was when Boris was

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prime minister that you know 90% of the

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cabinet had gone to eaten so you can be

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extremely Worthy

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yeah and be working class right for

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example

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yeah footballers nice good

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example is there um stigma attached to

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certain

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classes not any longer no no I don't

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think so I've struggled growing up being

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working class I've struggled with being

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working class cuz there wasn't I wasn't

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proud to be working class like actually

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I was a bit embarrassed to be working

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I'm proud now of where I've come from

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because I've moved not moved class but

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like I've got out of the cycle of not

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doing much not not not leaving the

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hometown not like striving or achieving

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and like doing everything I can but like

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growing up and even now I struggle with

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growing up working class cuz there is I

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think you there is you you made to feel

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a little bit ashamed to be working class

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know somebody who has you know a a

11:02

country Mansion for example that they've

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inherited and gone to eaten yeah would

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certainly you know I think probably

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assume that somebody who

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has wealth from entrepreneurial

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activities um but you didn't go to a

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private school is it's still not upper

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class in terms of like politics you know

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I think there's a part of the problem is

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the lack of connection with the

11:30

different classes do they working class

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um way too many um upper class um

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candidates become you know represents a

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country that they don't really

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understand and maybe don't feel the

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compassion to understand how they wish

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to understand I have nice life now cuz

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I've worked hard for it yeah but I'm

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never going to have that life and I

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don't want that life because you're too

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detached from the people that are going

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through the struggle and people that are

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trying to

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achieve what is normal life

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providing you're working and you're not

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a burden on

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society if

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needlessly right then then that's okay

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so is the class system dissolving then

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in in the UK is it as prevalent as it

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was a couple decades

12:20

ago I think it is but people don't

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probably don't um it's not as as

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acceptable to for to it as it used to be

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I'm much more concerned about

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underprivileged people who do not have

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things they should have like a home and

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a job that's the real value of moving up

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is that your problems change and we all

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have problems your problems change you

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go from I need food I need survive we

12:48

can't turn the heat on put jumpers on I

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can't do my homework cuz my hands are

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cold to okay well what restaurant were

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we going to go to oh I've been to that

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restaurant you know last week I don't

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want to go anymore I don't like the food

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your problem it and that's that's a huge

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part of that changing you know is the

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problems that you have if you can stand

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on your own two feet and provide for

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your family then that's that's pretty

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good whatever class you think you are

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rather than class much more important

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is how kind you are and what

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contribution you're making to society

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thank you for watching this week's

13:25

episode let us know in the comments

13:26

below what class you consider yourself

13:28

to be in and how it works in your

13:30

respective country and as always we'll

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see you next time SRA

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