Social status does influence friendships - In my opinion

by Matt Winters
(Austin, TX)

My official opinion is that social status does create a gap in friendships. It happens from the first time we encounter someone slightly unlike ourselves. Most people (culture) has made a big deal out of these differences. By big deal groups of people will continually change their overall behavior towards people with status.

Individuals are so aware of patterns going on around them that if many people do something, an individual is often swayed in that direction, but is not a rule.

I believe the science of relationships. That, what should be going on is that two people form a friendship which is essentially an emotional bond based on a person's individual perception of context. Context meaning the situation and /or things happening that influence the way to people behave around one another. If you take the context out, you just have two people sharing a solid bond.

I believe that friendships though don't often form in a vacuum and that we are so immersed in culture that went babies grow up they have an overwhelming sense to adapt to their immediate environment, then try to differentiate the world from what they currently know. This process of differentiation may be stronger or weaker in others based on values, happenings, rules, their home life, how strong their DNA is etc. I feel that all these things above influence us and that we interact with people based on some unwritten code based on how we see ourselves different than everyone else.

Assuming the above is true. If a baby grows up in the world, they will not know the difference between a wealthy other new friend or not. Chances are some one or multiple people around them will treat this new friend differently. They will treat this person as high status and a force not to be touched. Thus by sub-communication, this baby will notice that often people act differently to this new friend than others. A baby will follow the masses general behavior.

It is my opinion that one of the strongest ways that humans interact with others and form bonds is based on what everyone else is doing. If someone grows up in a racist house-hold because everyone else all around is doing it, can that baby grow up any other way?

I see this debate like a baby turtle in the ocean trying to arrive on shore. The water is societies (standard behavior) the shore is (societies ideal or abnormal behavior) If you take a person and immerse them in culture the under-tow of culture will pull them to assimilate to survive. It is only in small cases that the turtle fights against what is easy and gets to shore. (thus do what is unnatural)