‘You can take a person out of a place, but you can’t take the place out of the person’ is a saying that is often used to comment on someone’s inability to adapt to lifestyle variations or differences in locations away from his or her comfort zone.
The remark is often used in disparaging terms. Social flexibility is regarded by many as an indicator of refinement, sophistication and urbaneness.
History has created a hierarchy that presents folks of some backgrounds as exemplars of lifestyles that others ought to aspire towards living. The thinking behind this social arrangement is rooted in unfairness, most of the time.
A closer look at the social skills of members of the ‘uppermost’ social layer often reveals that they are not flexible at all. They have been encouraged to believe that they don’t have to make an effort for anyone else.
Why is it alright for elites to simply be themselves, while rank and file people are expected to modify their attitudes or behaviour to function effectively in social situations?
