You got me thinking….
I come from a different background. ( Well not me personally- my mother spend all her life working as a journalist, ) — but most of my colleagues are average individuals, who come from average families and who had average opportunities when they were choosing their career…. There would be no reaction if any one of us said their spouse drives a truck, collects garbage, works in a burger joint for a minimum wage (Well, journalists also work fort minimum wage around here…) — — and, there are very, very few of us who, at some point did not do similar jobs ourselves (waiting tables, bartending, all sorts of things really) …..actually when we were in high school- the head of my newsroom was a waiter in this place where I was bartending (YEs, I know.. teenagers working with alcohol… :) … there were no such rules around here during the 90-s. )
But, now that you have mentioned it…. I have seen a lot of that “elitist” behavior from some western (Especially US) journalists… And I have no idea where does that attitude come from. If nothing else it is professionally wrong — we all need to keep our hand on the pulse of the people (not the ones who speak in their name) and the closer a journalist is to blue-collar circles- the better opportunities does he/she have to see how things really happen on the ground….To make it even worse, I have seen quite a few instances of journalists.reporters (Especially in places like Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria) who , literally, look down at the people they are interviewing- I remember, about the time when Aylan Kurdi’s body was found and the buig wave of refugees was happening there was this woman from NEw York (can not remember who she was working for) .. who could not hide how much she was despising the people whose suffering she was supposed to portray… I remember — Standing on the Macedonian/Greece border, looking t the families on the other side of the fence who have been surviving in the open for weeks she was actually saying stuff like “How could anyone of them imagine a civilized society will help them- can’t they smell themselves….” or “All of these brown parasites hoping for welfare….”
That kind of attitude is completely insane (besides moral wrong) ..since the middle and lower middle class is always the bulk of the audience… and, because most of the real, reliable info I (and most of my colleagues) ever got- always came from those circles, not the “intellectual” ones… another thing is that the predictions of a guy selling something on a street corner are usually much more exact than the ones of even the best political analysts… but I suppose that in order to know this, you actually have to talk to people first
That is not to say that there are no incredible journalists in the US…. some are amazing professionals as well as great human beings (Arwa for one…)
But what is noticeable is that this elitists- stuck up attitude is much more present with the younger generation of journalists than the older ones- the ones that started working in the past decade or so ….It is simply a shame for the profession — individuals like that can never do a good job- simply because they can not see things without their personal filters…. the worst thing is that the ones who are having that concept now- are the same people who are ging to teach future generations of journalists in a few years- and if they take that attitude with them… then journalism in the US will be running into a lot more trouble than it is now
As for how some people react to your husband….Do not worry about it… By doing that, they are simply showing how small and weak they themselves are. And how much bigger and better than them are you and your husband.
Again, it must be because of the simple fact that everyone around here
(president of the country included, who at the age of 15 was arrested for stealing jeans since he couldn[t afford a pair — and the richest guy in the country started off as a scalpel in front of a cinema… ) at one time or another had to take jobs of all sorts, so, no one sees nothing wrong with any job…. but, looking down at anyone who makes an honest living- that is nothing more than a display of their own stupidity and the lack of understanding on how things work….
I think it was Richard BRanson who said he never creates an opinion about anyone- before he sees how they interact with people who are beneath them ion a social ladder.. and it is a great test of a personality
SO do not be bothered by it…love it, embrace it… have fun with it…make it a test for everyone new in your lives — — since their reactions to his work will tell you all you need to know about who they are, and what they are…