After reading Susan Bickfords article, this article by James Duncan was a breath of fresh air! I found this article to be extremely interesting - and it made me think of the towns that I have lived in, and how this situation not only occurs in Bedford Village, but also in other small and large towns across the country.
The amount of research that was put into this article (ie. the number of "rustic" mailboxes) was fascinating to read about - and a very interesting social commentary. Seeing the statistics of alphas vs. betas in the Social Clubs or Garden Clubs was a fascinating finding. It is truely amazing how these people, although living in the same town (and are of the same socioeconomic status, race and culture) want to keep themselves separated by one another.
It was interstig to see the distaste for one another - the alphas find the betas as (for lack of a better terms) "posers." They see the betas as attempting to force upon everyone else their status - making it obvious that they have a foothold on the upper-middle class. But the alphas find this as an "imitation" of class, "easily bought into." The betas on the other hand see the alphas as "snobs" - the rich who attempt to underplay their status.
The comment that struck me was when Duncan talked about the alpha boy who did not know of anyone his age from the beta community! For such a small town, that notion, to me, is amazing! No wonder why the segregation is still occurring! The parents of the alphas and betas seem to reinforce those ideas in their children.
Overall, I thought this was an interesting article - one comment, though. I found it interesting that Duncan used "alpha" and "beta" as labels for the two main groups. It was almost as if he was subconsciously implying that the alpha group was superior to that of the beta group - simply by labeling them. I think the article might have read differently if he had used directional labels (easterners, westerners). But I suppose it is up to the reader to sift through the labels and to take the information for what it is.
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2 comments:
Haha! I was laughing out loud at your story about the pink flamingo restaurant!! I love that they put them everywhere.
I found the use of alpha and beta a bit odd as well. I got the impression that he viewed the alpha landscape as "better". Maybe I was reading too far into it though.
I worked for a firm in Chicago in that did really high end homes on the north shore (Nick, we were in Winnetka, Kenilworth and Wilmette) and the clients we worked with came to us to preserve that "old" look. What always fascinated me was that a lot of our clients would buy gorgeous hardwood floors and then hire guys to come in and literally beat up the floors with chains. For the weathered look of course.
Great comments. Maybe Duncan was playing mind games with the readers in attempt to play on our own biases, when he labled the groups Alpha and Beta. Or maybe because the Alhpa group was the original and the Beta's were "posers" who were encroaching as much as they could because the strict zoing laws would not let them be like the Alpha's. Anyways, your right about the child who did not know anyone from the other group his age, that is sad especially in small towns where everyone should know everyone.
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