This world lacks manners and sophistication

Restrictive gender conformity aside, what about the people who can't afford those nice clothes, hm?

 

The Titanic sunk. And everyone on it died.

 

Having just looked up the nearest Tommy Hilfiger store and seen a $300 blazer and a bunch of $70 dress shirts, I'm going to disagree with you on the bolded part.

I don't like spending more than $20 on an item of clothing, and I still manage to dress very similarly to the guy in that picture pretty often.

Alexander, I know you often wonder why your threads get heated. It's because you act as though people who are not wealthy lack class, or lack taste, or lack relevance. The vast majority of people on EC are not nearly as wealthy as you are. We still go about our lives, dress the way we want, have friends, work, study, and consider ourselves to be decent people.

Most of us can't afford to buy designer clothes, live in mansions or eat off bone china. We still have manners, beliefs, kindness, family ties, and dare I say it, class.

 

I've watched titanic. But perhaps you didn't notice the 3rd class arrangements. Rats in the halls and rooms, clothes that haven't been washed in weeks, and no fine china. But they still managed to know each other better, and communicate better, and have more fun than the first class.

As for the fashion, have you never thought that pressure to conform might be a bad thing. Apart from not being able to afford any of that, it is probably uncomfortable - particularly the dress - and it promotes a preoccupation with one's appearance, which is just really really shallow.

 

I do appreciate the aesthetics of previous times- the dresses, the decor, the art. But would I ever want to live in any time other than the 21st century? Hells to the no. I would prefer my somewhat equal/better rights, thank you very much.

Life back then was only great if you were white, male, and upperclass. God forbid if you were a woman, a POC, LGBT, or lower class. I mean, think of life if you were lower class. It was a dirty, disease ridden, smog filled hellhole! Watch Les Miserables and tell me how you'd like 19th century France.

 

From what I've read of your other threads, you seem like you do need some real world experience, and you need to get away from your mother. So why don't you do that? You're old enough to leave home. So get a job, rent a flat, and start learning the value of things. Its what everyone else has to do.

 

I do wish people would dress appropriately, not just guys. I have serious issues with people wearing pajamas in public. Hell, when I was in high school, a lot of girls would do their hair and makeup but show up to school in PJ's.

REALLY?! You went to all the trouble of making your hair and face look perfect but couldn't take like two more seconds to put on some clothes? Really? Oh, gosh, and what is with people wearing clothes that are clearly the wrong size? Where does it end? I do hate spandex by the way, too. Usually, if someone's wearing spandex, it's almost always over a body part the whole world could really go without seeing.

 

^This

But yeah, I kinda get what you're saying.

Some cases we've progressed and in other cases we've gone backwards

 

1. They go hand in hand
2. Tradition for the sake of tradition is meaningless

 

I like the idea Alex, and I do love watching early 20th century (1900 - 1955's), all seems quite nostalgic for some reason, even though I hadn't been born.

If I was to sit down for a meal with my family, however, nobody would say a word, then my Dad would talk to my Mum about religious stuff and ignor everyone else.

I think if everyone got on well, then it's a nice idea.

I do love the thought of putting your hat on, leaving the house, and wishing everyone a good day etc - people were far more sociable back then, from what I can tell anyway.

 

I have to say.....Alexander made a thread about class, manners, and sophistication...and he gets ripped apart.

Isn't that just interesting?

I *think* that the idea of this thread was how in the years/centuries of the past, people actually had class - or, I guess, class was required. There were no Walmarts for people to wear Pajamas to....my god, you actually had to WEAR CLOTHES! :O Shocking.

I am someone who thinks class is extraordinarily important. You don't have to be rich..you just have to use your head and be respectful, kind, and collected.

I think we have issues, in this current day and time, of doing two things at once. We can't have freedom but keep it together - it's all out there.

After reading this again, I think it does show that Alex comes from a very wealthy family...which is probably why some of you are trying to burn him at the cross. However, I am not abundantly wealthy but I get it. I cannot stand just letting things go - we need some structure. People need to dress nice and behave. That would have been one of the good things about living in the past. I wouldn't go back, because I want healthcare and the freedoms we have today. It'd just be nice for people to show some respect.

 

Nope. I like the way people are today, mainly because they're free to act that way. And if I don't like the way someone acts, I'm free to leave/ignore that person.

 

Why? Why do people have to dress nice and behave? Granted, for a cohesive society to prosper, people have to refrain from physical violence, but that isn't what etiquette is about. Its about following a social protocol which is horribly restrictive, opposed to freedom of speech, and has no positive affect on human communication.

Furthermore, you are equating class with, effectively, morality. You're saying that the upper and upper middle classes are the ones which serve as a role model for those dirty, immoral working class idiots. I completely disagree. Class is one of the worst things to ever touch humanity.

 

My family eats dinner together, we talk and have fun together. This is not something that died in the past. If you want to eat with your family...talk to your family about it.

As being "proper" well some things like don't chew with your mouth open or you know don't speak while others are speaking are common sense and just being polite. Then you get into weird stuff like having an assortment of 12 forks or no elbows on the table. That's when I just stop giving a crap. It's completely arbitrary and serves no purpose.

And in terms of fancy dress and stuff, I am constantly perplexed as to why anyone would spend as much on clothes as they do. I mean brands are so incredibly unimportant who gives a crap? You can get really nice clothes for cheap I can say honestly I can't tell the difference between a pair of $20 jeans and $200, maybe I'm "uncultured" but I DO have a lot more money for friends and family!