[mburbank]

I think you are right about a lot of that.

I don't think it's really classism as in "I hate poor people, let them drown".

I think it's more in the nature of a disengagement from the poor, an indifference to them and a general feeling that people in the underclass are there because they are unworthy and that when terrible things happend to them, it's at least a little bit their fault and when we don't have to be in such as much of a rush to help them as we would be if it happened to richer people who didn't have it coming. Trent Lott's porch and all.