(no subject)

[xatalantax]

Snobbery: The American Version is a great read (thanks ayun!), though the author sometimes has no idea what he's talking about (or rather, he often thinks he's making general statements about "everyone" when he's only got a clue about the behavior of a particular set of people).

There are so many quotable bits. I recommend it. I've been trying to figure out if I know anyone who's not a snob in one way or another - I know many of you have areas in which you're not snobbish at all, as I do - but I don't think I do. Do such people even exist? I'll bet that if you think someone doesn't have a snobbish bone in their body, you just don't know them well enough.

Comments

[ayun.livejournal.com]

I tend to think of it as a very fine semantic point - everybody's got an opinion on most subjects, which, naturally, he feels is 'right' - there's a certain judgmental quality that makes a strongly-held opinion into a point of snobbery, but I'm not sure what that is.

I, of course, was pleased to see an entire chapter on the snobbery of the publishing industry.

[grendel.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check it out on my flight back from Boston.

[bostonista.livejournal.com]

I am a total snob in many areas. And I'm fine with that.

[nepenthedreams]

I am snobby. But I mostly keep it to myself and other snobs that would share the same opinion on the same topic. I'm not going to make people feel bad when they probably just have different priorities and/or tastes than me. Anyway, I used to try to deny my inner snob, forced myself to try things that I wouldn't ordinarily try, etc - but eventually I realized it was futile and I'd have a lot more fun in life if I'd just accept myself the way I was made. Sometimes the lowbrow things I tried ended up being something I liked, but most of the time, there was a reason I thought the things I liked were better than that thing. I'm not sure if this is coming out making any sense, so I'm just going to go home from work now.

Book sounds interesting though.

[nepenthedreams]

This also made me think about reverse-snobbery. Like, people who are having a reaction to snobbery and suddenly they look down on all the things that the snobs like, because they think the snobs are looking down on them, so in a coping mechanism, they justify that their likes are earthier, more "of the people", more democratic and that the snobs are elitist. Then they start to revel in whatever they think the snobs wouldn't like, even if they didn't really like it either. I've seen this once or twice and I think I've even been this person once or twice.

using the word 'snob' loosely here.

[starless.livejournal.com]

And then there are those who commit their snobbery against perceived snobs. They don't seem to realize that they're just as snobby... as the snobs... they're.. snobbing?

Again with the 8am comments. I need to quit.