Yup.  It's often framed, as with school uniforms these days, as "we must
prevent these poor dears from spending beyond their means in an attempt
to keep up with/outdo their peers", but in practice...

Take away everyone's green belly stars and some sneetches will still,
inevitably, find some new way to signify who is In and who is Out.
"Status" is one of those things that seems hardwired into humans.

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Kelly St. Clair
kellys@efn.org