For those who do struggle with poverty, I'm very sorry you're going through that. I have no advice, but I hope the best for you. Rest assured that although I am now middle class, I am not superior to you, and did not work harder than you to get where I am now. I was poor for most of my life and got out of poverty only by marrying a man from a middle class family. It was nothing I did to "earn" it.

One difference in mindset that I have noticed is the attitude toward something getting broken.

When you're very poor, there is no money to repair or replace things that get broken. So much as drop a plate while you're washing dishes, and you catch absolute hell for it. Even if you're not actually punished, you're at least scolded and lectured about how scarce money is, and this is why we can't have nice things, and what are you going to eat off of, now that you broke YOUR plate? (I did actually in real life hear my sister asked this question when this happened.) All of this is because "you need to learn to be more careful!" This can lead to such things as hiding it and covering it up, because naturally you don't want to be treated that way just for being human and making a mistake. Which leads to more scolding and lecturing about being honest and taking responsibility for your actions, but if you can get away with it, sometimes it was easier and less painful to just dodge it.

When you're middle class, of course, you still want to be careful. Even people who have lots of money aren't going to throw their dishes against the wall and get new ones after every meal. You don't *want* to break things due to carelessness or goofing around, but if it happens, it's unfortunate. Not a disaster. It might have to wait a couple of weeks, but we will get it fixed or replaced. It's only a plate. Broken plates are much easier to deal with than broken spirits.

I also noticed this when my nephew came to live with us for a while. He was terrified any time he broke something, or a cabinet door came off in his hand because the hinge was loose, or a small appliance suddenly stopped working while he happened to be using it. A lot of times he would try to hide it, deny it, and cover it up. My husband didn't understand. Why didn't nephew just tell him, so he can take care of it? Of course, I understood why. It took a while for nephew to learn that these things happen, and he's not going to have his throat ripped out for it.

I hope this isn't too heavy for social chat. If it is, mods are welcome to suggest a more appropriate forum. Can anyone else spot different ways of thinking along different socio-economic levels?