Model Train Journal

What is "Class" ?
What does it mean to say that somebody has "class" or lacks it?

The have's and the have-not's:
+Who, in your observation and opinion, has Class?
+Who was an example of somebody who had class (they are now deceased) ?

Subjective, like art, and situational.

I have always equated equal parts smart/polite/patient as the key components of "class".

Throw strict moral fiber in with that definition and I can't think of anyone who meets such lofty criteria. Maybe Katherine Hepburn, although she had her moments.

Harkens back to the definition of a lady or gentleman as described in "Blast From the Past".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP-rXX6MICE

A person who is "classy" exhibits/embodies those attributes, aka they behave like a lady or gentleman.

BTW, the flick may have been off most people's radar but it is hilarious. It was directed by and the screen play co-written by Hugh Wilson, the guy behind WKRP in Cincinnati, Frank's Place, Famous Teddy Z.

All the above. And, "Class" like art is in the eye of the beholder.

I noticed that nobody mentioned money as a necessary ingredient to having class. I'd certainly agree with its omission. Class cannot be purchased, it seems.

A couple individuals who gave me some pause to reflect on a person being imbued with class are:
+Friar Alessandro
+Ibrahim Nasrullayev, on "Sweden's Got Talent."


Ingrid Bergman
Audrey Hepburn
Grace Kelly

Money/wealth can often just get in the way.

People with class give up their seats in public transportation to someone who is more in need. People that assist others for whatever reason; they are vision impaired, too short, too weak to lift a piece of luggage into the overhead bin, or they are using crutches or a cane and need help opening a door. IMHO Someone that see's another person or even an animal in some kind of trouble and offers assistance without even being asked is someone that has class.

People with class seem to know instinctively how to help others and almost always do so without the need or desire to draw attention to themselves or their actions. They actually believe that "doing good is its own just reward". They just "do the right thing".

This reminds me of Upstairs, Downstairs. The butler, Mr. Hudson, would refer to his employers as his "betters". It would never occur to me to say Dr. King had class. It's an inherently classist thing to say.

MurphOnMillerAve wrote:What is "Class" ??

Class is one of the taxons in the taxonomy of describing living things.
Humans (Homo Sapiens) are in the Mammalia class.

webenda wrote:Class is one of the taxons in the taxonomy of describing living things.
Humans (Homo Sapiens) are in the Mammalia class.

Then, can any of their fellow mammalians be possessed of Class?

How 'bout horses?
Dogs ?
Brave, desert-dwelling kitty-cats ?

MurphOnMillerAve wrote:

webenda wrote:Class is one of the taxons in the taxonomy of describing living things.
Humans (Homo Sapiens) are in the Mammalia class.

Then, can any of their fellow mammalians be possessed of Class?

How 'bout horses?
Dogs ?
Brave, desert-dwelling kitty-cats ?

Fin back whales......koalas......3-toed sloths.....

Today we live in a me first society. Like school on Sunday . No class.

robert. wrote:Today we live in a me first society. Like school on Sunday . No class.

And instant gratification. I want it now.....

HONDO74 wrote:

robert. wrote:Today we live in a me first society. Like school on Sunday . No class.

And instant gratification. I want it now.....

Fold in: it's not my fault; it's somebody else's fault; it's not my responsibility.

HONDO74 wrote:

robert. wrote:Today we live in a me first society. Like school on Sunday . No class.

And instant gratification. I want it now.....

And then there are the Entitled Ones, ever at the ready to criticize others and to have their hands outstretched for what they are certain they are owed by society , the absolute polar opposites of what Chuck described as necessary elements to having Class.