Why We Fear The Poor: The Class Divide We Ignore

Last week, I had an experience that made me reflect deeply on this tendency, and I realised how classism—the silent, overlooked bias—shapes the way we see others every day.

Feeling ‘Unsafe’ Around The Lower Class

It was a typical busy evening in Malaysia, and I was on a packed LRT with my friend, with nary a seat. Everything seemed normal until four Bangladeshi man boarded the train. That’s when I noticed my friend started to act strangely.

She stiffened. Her expression darkened. She quickly changed her position to avoid standing near them. In an exaggerated move, she even hid behind me, pressing herself into the corner as if trying to disappear. She was clearly making an effort to show them that they were unwelcome.

I felt embarrassed by her behaviour and to me, it was an obvious display of xenophobia attitudes, driven by pure hatred.

Once we got off at our stop, my friend immediately said, “Did you see how they were looking at you? It was creepy.”

I hadn’t noticed anything unusual and tried to offer her another perspective by suggesting that those guys might have been observing me out of curiosity. Perhaps they had never seen someone dressed like I was or maybe my hairstyle seemed unusual to them.

Of course, who am I to change anyone’s mind? Clearly, it was a futile to continue the conversation.

I couldn’t help wondering where this hostility was coming from—had she experienced something before, or was there some kind of mental block at play?

“But do you think they meant any harm?” I finally ask her.

“I just felt unsafe.” she muttered.

I did not respond, but in my mind, I thought: “They’re just here to take the train, like everyone else. Besides, they came to our country to work, not to make you feel ‘unsafe’.”

Was it Racism or Xenophobia? No—It Was Something More

At first, I thought my friend’s reaction was purely about race or xenophobia. But then something happened that made me see the bigger picture.

A few days later, we went to a wine bar, and there we met a guy from Australia. He was friendly, confident, and chatty. My friend’s reaction to him? Completely different. She was warm, engaged, and openly interested in what he had to say.

It was a stark contrast. Here was another foreigner, but unlike the Bangladeshi men, he was treated with admiration and curiosity rather than discomfort. Why?

The answer became clear: it wasn’t just about nationality—it was about class.

The Bangladeshi men were likely labourers; the Australian guy, on the other hand, had an air of “upper class” about him—he dressed well, spoke with confidence, and probably had a job that paid well. This wasn’t just xenophobia; it was classism in action.

No One Talks About This Because It’s ‘Normal’

Classism is so ingrained in our society that we don’t even question it. Unlike racism, which is often openly condemned, class-based discrimination happens quietly, subtly, and is even justified as “preference” or “common sense.”

Think about it—when someone crosses the street to avoid a group of construction workers, no one bats an eye. But if they did the same thing to avoid a group of well-dressed office workers, it would seem absurd.

Why? Because we’ve been conditioned to believe that lower-class individuals are inherently more dangerous, less refined, and even less worthy of respect.

The Fear We Don’t Admit

My friend’s reaction on the train wasn’t an isolated case. It was a reflection of something deeper—an unspoken fear that many people share but rarely acknowledge.

People naturally gravitate toward those who look, speak, and behave in familiar ways. But why is it that we feel most at ease around wealth, privilege, and those who fit society’s image of success?

Who taught us to fear the poor? We rarely stop to question our own reactions or challenge the assumptions we've accepted as truth.