3 ms·

What happens if you are from a lower caste but wear the white thread to misdirect? Or you lie about being / not being vegetarian by choice / at birth?

serialNumber 3y ago
If someone really wanted to find out, they would be able to. You could misdirect someone just passively asking, however as soon as the questions got more pointed, you'd have a hard time keeping up the charade. Something as simple as the clothes you wear or the food you ate or the mannerisms you had could "give you up".
sharkjacobs 3y ago
What happens if you lie on your resume? what if you practice speaking with a more prestigious accent than you grew up with? What if you carefully study your friends who went to private schools and summered in the Hamptons to learn how to imitate their ineffable shibboleth mannerisms? The answer is yes, you can do these things, and it will confer exactly the benefits you imagine. And the consequences for getting "caught" aren't usually serious, either. But sometimes they are.
- lozenge 3y ago
  > What if you practice speaking with a more prestigious accent than you grew up with? What if you carefully study your friends who went to private schools and summered in the Hamptons to learn how to imitate their ineffable shibboleth mannerisms? > The answer is yes, you can do these things I mean, I personally can't. (From a UK perspective.) First I would need access to these people and spend a lot of time with them. That could be difficult in itself if they are discriminatory. Then I would need another separate social group to practice my new personality with. Plus I'm just not a good actor. So it's not surprising that people's movement in social class is pretty limited. This isn't even getting into how people of your previous class will treat you if they think you've deserted them.
- lucb1e 3y ago
  > What happens if you lie on your resume? Lying about credentials or experience is a bit different from wearing a piece of clothing you arguably find pretty or obviously inconsequential things like saying you eat meat or not
- curtisblaine 3y ago
  That's a bit oranges and apples though. If I lie on my resume I can be lawfully fired. If I try to pass myself as upper class nobody can do anything.
isanjay 3y ago
I had a friend in college who was an OBC. But he pretended to be General caste. By the end of final year, most people knew about it, but no one confronted him.

serialNumber 3y ago

If someone really wanted to find out, they would be able to. You could misdirect someone just passively asking, however as soon as the questions got more pointed, you'd have a hard time keeping up the charade. Something as simple as the clothes you wear or the food you ate or the mannerisms you had could "give you up".

sharkjacobs 3y ago

What happens if you lie on your resume? what if you practice speaking with a more prestigious accent than you grew up with? What if you carefully study your friends who went to private schools and summered in the Hamptons to learn how to imitate their ineffable shibboleth mannerisms? The answer is yes, you can do these things, and it will confer exactly the benefits you imagine. And the consequences for getting "caught" aren't usually serious, either. But sometimes they are.

lozenge 3y ago
> What if you practice speaking with a more prestigious accent than you grew up with? What if you carefully study your friends who went to private schools and summered in the Hamptons to learn how to imitate their ineffable shibboleth mannerisms? > The answer is yes, you can do these things I mean, I personally can't. (From a UK perspective.) First I would need access to these people and spend a lot of time with them. That could be difficult in itself if they are discriminatory. Then I would need another separate social group to practice my new personality with. Plus I'm just not a good actor. So it's not surprising that people's movement in social class is pretty limited. This isn't even getting into how people of your previous class will treat you if they think you've deserted them.
lucb1e 3y ago
> What happens if you lie on your resume? Lying about credentials or experience is a bit different from wearing a piece of clothing you arguably find pretty or obviously inconsequential things like saying you eat meat or not
curtisblaine 3y ago
That's a bit oranges and apples though. If I lie on my resume I can be lawfully fired. If I try to pass myself as upper class nobody can do anything.

isanjay 3y ago

I had a friend in college who was an OBC. But he pretended to be General caste. By the end of final year, most people knew about it, but no one confronted him.