Racism/ Classism in Chile

I have never done one of these group posts before, but I thought I would give it a shot since this topic interests me. I do have to say that while I understand how Racism and Classism are related, I also think they are two totally separate issues. Mostly because Chile has practically no diversity. And yes, the indigenous people (and Peruvians/Bolivians) end up at the bottom of the totum pole, but thats not what I want to discuss.

Classism is such an integral part of Chilean society. And its so visual. My friends can see someone walking down the street and without ever talking to them they could tell you if they are flaite, or cuico. I also have some friends, as ignorant as they are, who dont like to go below plaza italia because its "too dangerous". Ridiculous.

But I think this very obvious and structured class structure makes it difficult for Chileans. If you are born middle-upper class. You are going to be labled that forever. And that means there are certain jobs you can have and certain jobs you can´t have. For example, this middle-upper class person can never wait tables or wash dishes to make a living. While to me, a gringa, it seems that if you are working thats the respectible thing, its not the same in Chile. You can only have jobs that correspond to your class level. If you are middle-upper class and you take a job as a waiter or waitress, society and your peers will look down on you.

Its hard for me to undertand all of this, since in the US anyone can have any kind of job, and I feel like class is not really an issue. Education defines our social structures instead of class. But here, I feel that for many chileans class is something that limits them and controls them.