- A tweet from 2016 went viral again this week, prompting users to answer the question: “What’s considered trashy if you’re poor, but classy if you’re rich?”
- Many responded to the post, commenting on how activities such as living with your family are frowned upon for poor people but are seen differently when rich people do them.
- The responses, and the fact that the tweet began to trend again, shows the tension Americans are feeling amid the recession and rising income inequality rates in the nation.
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This week, a tweet shared in 2016 went viral again. The post, from a Twitter user named Ana Samways, asked people “what’s considered trashy if you’re poor, but classy if you’re rich.”
What’s considered trashy if you're poor, but classy if you're rich?
— Ana Samways (@AnaSamways) June 6, 2016
It’s unclear why that tweet resurfaced four years later, and the user who posted couldn’t be reached for a request for comment from Business Insider. But people have taken to commenting and responding to it all over again, pointing out the glaring differences in how rich people and poor people are perceived today.
And at a time when Jeff Bezos has reportedly made billions since the pandemic started while over 50 million Americans have filed for unemployment as the nation creeps toward another recession, the average person is feeling that inequality more acutely than ever.
Twitter users pointed out how even little things, like being bilingual or eating donuts from an artisanal bakery are considered aspirational for the wealthy, while bilingual people among the masses are often accosted for speaking another language and eating donuts from a gas station or Dunkin' is often considered common or cheap.
And those are only a few of the hundreds of thousands of responses. Here are some of the viral thread's other most noteworthy replies.
One commenter listed several things the rich get praised for while others are shamed, including being bilingual and wearing sportswear in public.
🔹 Having an uncommon name or unusual version of a common name.
🔹 Being bilingual and/or mixed ethnicity.
🔹 Wearing sportswear in public.
🔹 Drinking alcohol regularly (i.e beer every day is apparently bogan, but if you're rich & drink expensive wine every day, nobody cares 😑)— Elliott | 🖤 BLM | 🌿 (@BecomingElliott) July 22, 2020
Another pointed out how tiny homes are trendy for the rich, while poor people are shamed for living in "trailer parks."
Living in a "mobile" home. Rich: tiny home, minimalist life style. Poor: trailer park, double wide, mobile home, etc.
— Lauren Rhoades (@laurenrhoades) July 22, 2020
Someone else took a jab at inherited wealth, linking it to a commonly repeated critique of government benefit recipients.
Living off money you did not directly earn.
— Daniel Felsenfeld (@DFelsenfeld) July 22, 2020
And another person wrote that rich people regularly get away with "gaming" the government, perhaps referencing things like tax loopholes.
Gaming the government for your personal financial gain
— TheBasilMag (@TheBasilMag) July 22, 2020
Similarly, one user pointed to government subsidy recipients.
Government subsidy. https://t.co/euY4h3m9x0
— Michael Brendan Dougherty (@michaelbd) July 22, 2020
One reply pointed out that some communities are ostracized for marrying relatives, despite the fact that it was very common in royal and aristocratic families for a long time.
marrying your cousin
— Eoin Keane (@EoinKeane101) July 22, 2020
Living with parents is also another double standard people pointed out.
Living with your parents pic.twitter.com/jFyqkihat0
— Father Joe Misty 🐫🇺🇸 (@joe_tonos) July 23, 2020
One user noted how simple branding changes the perceived quality of making things yourself. Buzzwords like "craft" and "bespoke" essentially act as fancy euphemisms for "homemade," which is often seen as tacky or cheap.
Survey says:
Homemade (craft) gifts.
Homemade (craft) beer.
Homemade (bespoke) apparel
Home schooling (tutored) &
The number one answer:
Accepting government money.— Donald Drumpf (@Donald_JDrumpf) July 22, 2020
And "protesting" also has another definition when you're poor — "rioting."
Protesting in any way, shape or form - for rich people it’s being woke and standing up for your rights, for poor people it’s considered rioting...
— Amy Goggins (@goodgoodatl) July 22, 2020
Illegal drug use is another double standard pointed out by one Twitter user.
Using illegal drugs.
— StuckInTheSimulation, LCSW (@JdGordon13) July 22, 2020
Even not dyeing hair has become fashionable among the rich, while it's seen as a lack of self-care in poor people.
Not dying gray hair.
Rich: authentic, nothing to prove.
Poor: doesn't improve herself.
— Living 400lbs (@Living400lbs) July 22, 2020
Eating donuts from an artisanal bakery is somehow much more Instagram-worthy than picking up a donut from Dunkin'.
This is so true, a breakfast of Dunkin’ Donuts is not something to be proud of but a donut from some artisanal bakery? That goes on Instagram.
— Jen (@FAinBOS) July 22, 2020
And finally, the most important double standard of them all — wearing leopard print.
Leopard print
— Casey Freeman (@CaseyLF) July 22, 2020
