On Memes and a Social Class Meme

One of the things I am enjoying about the library learning 2.0 is the almost complete lack of memes. Many of them simply clog up time and bandwidth. In the blogging world, some do not even recognize the definition of meme, and instead think of it as meaning me-me. One of the most popular of the new MCL blogs is the one titled Cheese Sandwiches. Recently, he shared most eloquently why a past acquaintance grew tired of sandwiches. While not inclined much to participate in memes, it inspired me to participate in one on social class that I've been hanging on to from The Goddess of YA Literature, titled What Privileges Do You Have.

Another thing I enjoy about the library blogs is the conscientious attribution found there. This often gets lost in the blogging world. Like a bad game of telephone, bloggers will just link to the blog where they found the meme. In fact that seems to be the point of blogging memes, rather than the original author. I found this meme on another blog, introduced simply as something that reminded him of his past. It wasn't intentional, but this is blogging telephone.

Thanks to The Goddess, I was able to find the explanation of the meme's origin from one of the authors. Who knew you could find where a meme originated? (That Quaker blog does look interesting.)

The meme:

What Privileges Do You Have

Based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you please acknowledge their copyright. Bold the true statements.

1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18.
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school.
17. Went to summer camp.
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18.
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18.
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child
23. You and your family lived in a single family house.
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home. [with 2 mortgages]
25. You had your own room as a child.
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18.
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course.
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college.
30. Flew anywhere in a commercial airline before you were 16.
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as a child.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.