America Economic Apartheid

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by Carri Anne Yager

My sister-in-law, a Licensed Practitioner Nurse, said to me once, “I’m worried.”
“About what?” I replied.
“I’ve been taking courses toward my R.N. for years, and I’m almost finished. I only have one course left.”
“That’s wonderful! What are you worried about?”
“I’m worried about… myself. Because I know I should go for it, but I keep putting it off.”
“Why are you putting it off?”
“Because things will change at work.”
“What do you mean?”
“Where I work, the RN’s and the LPN’s don’t talk to each other. I get along really well with my coworkers right now, but I’m afraid that would change. It’s stupid, huh? I’ve already filled in for nurses because they know I do a good job. The only difference is that I would get paid more…”
“And you would be losing friends?”
“Well, I’m comfortable with the LPN’s I work with now, and I know they wouldn’t trust me anymore if I became an RN. They would treat me like an outsider, and I would have to fit in with the RN’s where I work.”
“And you don’t like them?”
“Not really.”
I felt badly about my sister-in-law, and mentioned the situation to a friend. He said, “Some people can’t handle leadership.” Giving my friend the benifit of a doubt, I suppose he had interpreted my sister-in-law as someone who didn’t want to boss her friends around. Perhaps this was a part of the conflict. But having spoken to several people who dislike the idea of “moving up” at work because they don’t want to be like the higher ups, I am inclined to view this situation as a result of segregation between social classes in America. To show a bigger picture, I met an extraordinary person once, an RN, who said she would never become a doctor because she did not like their ways.
Certainly the problem is not exclusive to the medical field. My cousin works with the mentally disabled, and dreads meetings in which the administrators and the counselors seem to be separated by an invisible block of ice. Although she graduated from college with straight A’s, she completely rejects the idea of continuing her education in order to get a job that would offer more in terms of pay and benefits. She is completely uncomfortable around professionals.
My point here is not to blame professionals and otherwise advantaged people. I am a professional myself, a believer in education and personal development. For this reason, I think it is important for a civilized culture to take an honest look at the values of American society. Do we dare attempt to integrate… and do we really believe in equality?