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A related thing is the strain that seems to exist in British culture to seem and act deliberately crass and lower-class. I can compare it to an Eastern European

A related thing is the strain that seems to exist in British culture to seem and act deliberately crass and lower-class. I can compare it to an Eastern European country with extensive tradition of upper-class culture, but pretty much levelled by fortunate and very unfortunate historical happenings. I can very rarely see that here as an individual thing. People generally want to at least know how to speak the clean standard language and be polite. For some time I've found it baffling that some people in Britain want to be consciously not like so, as to me it feels more disrespectful even to yourself than the others. (Okay, I'm making it more dramatic for the argument. I don't really care that much.) But then I had the theory that mine is the republican, egalitarian sensibility where cultural aspiration doesn't make you "posh" or feel like sucking up to your conquerors. Actually I've heard from people here that went to school with some of the remnants of old aristocracy and these seem to act pretty haughty and awful. The good thing is, we no longer have to really care. If I lived under British royalty, in a consciously class society where Norman aristocracy still holds 1/3 of land, it would be different. My advice would be to maybe retry the Commonwealth, preferably with a land reform.

thinkingemote 5y ago
As mentioned in another comment, the upper classes (and most politicians) have great manners and charisma. You feel good around them. But most people are never going to be around them. It's tough to attack them on their personalities when they have better ones than the majority of your own friends. Meeting them one is surprised by how not snooty and haughty they are. But hardly anyone actually meets them. It's easy to attack on their personalities as most people will never meet and interact with them (or politicians either!). Optics. it's easier to criticise an image of them than the reality of , for example: landowners, historical abuses, establishment inertia, oppression, invasion, colonisation, corruption, injustices etc.

thinkingemote 5y ago

As mentioned in another comment, the upper classes (and most politicians) have great manners and charisma. You feel good around them. But most people are never going to be around them. It's tough to attack them on their personalities when they have better ones than the majority of your own friends. Meeting them one is surprised by how not snooty and haughty they are. But hardly anyone actually meets them. It's easy to attack on their personalities as most people will never meet and interact with them (or politicians either!). Optics. it's easier to criticise an image of them than the reality of , for example: landowners, historical abuses, establishment inertia, oppression, invasion, colonisation, corruption, injustices etc.