3 ms·

Not sure that's a thing, as hard to imagine anyone caring about an undergrad, no? If you have a trade or competence in any domain, it seems hard to believe any

Not sure that's a thing, as hard to imagine anyone caring about an undergrad, no? If you have a trade or competence in any domain, it seems hard to believe any significant number of people are preoccupied by this, as opposed to say, the contrasting anxiety about uneducated rednecks driving policy, etc. The graduates of state colleges seem like unlikely villains to anyone. However, I would give you the reactionary view of campus politics, but even that seems separate and not 1:1 to the status anxiety of people who thought university would make them palpably elite.

brewdad 7y ago
The graduates of state colleges end up being the ones who get out of the dying towns in the areas being left behind. They move to a thriving city often out of state and in doing so become the "elites" that are so hated by those left behind.
- motohagiography 7y ago
  While reciprocal, it does assume a class concsiousness I don't see in small towns. I'd argue they'd need higher education to appreciate fully how fucked they are. Their upside is running a business or marrying into a family that does, and while the pretenses of city people are absolutely a bogeyman, it's not defining to their identity. The small town conservatives I know dont talk about politics, they talk about business, hunting, hobbies and macro economic trends that impact their lives like interest rates and commodity prices. Complaining about "the libs," is considered whining. They're not defined or unite as a community based on their opposition to something. They're tolerant, not liberal, value freedom based on the necessary rules, and admittedly, see elites who lack traditional virtues as illigitimate but temporary. It's a bit complex to be dismissed as hatred.
  - mcguire 7y ago
    "The small town conservatives I know dont talk about politics, they talk about business, hunting, hobbies and macro economic trends that impact their lives like interest rates and commodity prices." A good friend talks about those. And he likes to go on long rants about the evils illegal immigrants. Pointing out that the lack of those workers would put a number of his best friends out of business doesn't help. You're right, it's complex.
mcguire 7y ago
Have you ever heard of the cliche of the high school football star whose career peaked his senior year and has been going down hill since? It happens. People who were the top of their social circles, but are not now, at times begin to resent anyone who can be a scapegoat. It doesn't help that those who left for a state school both have wider experience and an overly inflated sense of how wide their experience is. And, be honest, having a degree does open doors that are closed otherwise. A welder may make more money than a junior suit just out of college, but may forget that fact when he's working on a pipe outside in 40°F weather.

brewdad 7y ago

The graduates of state colleges end up being the ones who get out of the dying towns in the areas being left behind. They move to a thriving city often out of state and in doing so become the "elites" that are so hated by those left behind.

motohagiography 7y ago
While reciprocal, it does assume a class concsiousness I don't see in small towns. I'd argue they'd need higher education to appreciate fully how fucked they are. Their upside is running a business or marrying into a family that does, and while the pretenses of city people are absolutely a bogeyman, it's not defining to their identity. The small town conservatives I know dont talk about politics, they talk about business, hunting, hobbies and macro economic trends that impact their lives like interest rates and commodity prices. Complaining about "the libs," is considered whining. They're not defined or unite as a community based on their opposition to something. They're tolerant, not liberal, value freedom based on the necessary rules, and admittedly, see elites who lack traditional virtues as illigitimate but temporary. It's a bit complex to be dismissed as hatred.
- mcguire 7y ago
  "The small town conservatives I know dont talk about politics, they talk about business, hunting, hobbies and macro economic trends that impact their lives like interest rates and commodity prices." A good friend talks about those. And he likes to go on long rants about the evils illegal immigrants. Pointing out that the lack of those workers would put a number of his best friends out of business doesn't help. You're right, it's complex.

mcguire 7y ago

Have you ever heard of the cliche of the high school football star whose career peaked his senior year and has been going down hill since? It happens. People who were the top of their social circles, but are not now, at times begin to resent anyone who can be a scapegoat. It doesn't help that those who left for a state school both have wider experience and an overly inflated sense of how wide their experience is. And, be honest, having a degree does open doors that are closed otherwise. A welder may make more money than a junior suit just out of college, but may forget that fact when he's working on a pipe outside in 40°F weather.