4 ms·

"I have never encountered an individual who claims to hate the 'elite'" I don't know what to tell you there. Go talk to more individuals? Go read some right-wi

by ss108 5y ago

"I have never encountered an individual who claims to hate the 'elite'" I don't know what to tell you there. Go talk to more individuals? Go read some right-wing propaganda (e.g. almost anything that comes out Josh Hawley's mouth, or certain off-bench remarks from Justices Alito and Thomas--and yes, all of these individuals are also "elite", but because their views are in the minority among elites, they can't like they aren't "elite" and rail against the other elites). Go see who likes them, how it plays with that base, and see also how it plays with the far-left camp (e.g. Bernie, who I generally like but who has a lot wrong, and AOC) too, though they may use different language. It's a pretty popular meme (I wouldn't call it worthy of being labeled an "idea") among certain segments of the population, sometimes for different reasons. "And what do you mean by 'elite' anyways? If people dislike those in the position of authority, especially politicians, they generally have very good reasons for that." I was not thinking of politicians, but, fwiw, I would say blind/reflexive hatred of politicians is a prime example of a kind of idiotic and adolescent trend in American culture to just hate traditional authority figures. There are probably plenty of good reasons to hate them, sure, but ask people who say things like "oh yeah they're all corrupt" how they know that, what evidence they have, whether they can list the past several major corruption scandals, how corruption here compares to other countries, etc, and they can't do it at all.

ensan 4y ago
As you said, Hawley (Stanford and Yale alumni), JD Vance (Yale alumni), even Trump (from a wealthy family and Penn alumni) are all political elites but also quite popular with the right-wingers. So it's not really about hating the elite, unless by the elite you means a specific subset of Democrat politicians and activists. How many people would object to being operated on by a prominent Harvard surgeon because that person is part of the elite? How many would oppose their children attending an Ivy League or a selective and private university on the ground of being an elite institution? Do people hate engineering professors at MIT because they're elite or do they actually respect them because of their expertise? "oh yeah they're all corrupt" To be clear, I believe that the Harvard and Yale alumni and the other political elites who planned & supported the many coups of the 20th century, started the Iraq war (Bush admin), bombed Libya (Obama) into poverty, etc. are all corrupt and deserve our contempt. It does not have anything to do with corruption scandals either because it's a structural problem where politicians have to cozy up to the defense and oil industries among others to advance their careers and get paid.
- ss108 4y ago
  "As you said, Hawley (Stanford and Yale alumni), JD Vance (Yale alumni), even Trump (from a wealthy family and Penn alumni) are all political elites but also quite popular with the right-wingers. So it's not really about hating the elite, unless by the elite you means a specific subset of Democrat politicians and activists." They appeal to their base in part by disavowing that status. Hawley and Vance in particular are pretty much throwing out much of what they learned in law school by cozying up to Trump with the stolen election bs. Going off of their credentials is silly, and I think you know that--listen to what they say. They are feeding upon and taking advantage of the rabid anti-intellectualism and anti-elite hatred of their base.

by ss108 5y ago

ensan 4y ago

As you said, Hawley (Stanford and Yale alumni), JD Vance (Yale alumni), even Trump (from a wealthy family and Penn alumni) are all political elites but also quite popular with the right-wingers. So it's not really about hating the elite, unless by the elite you means a specific subset of Democrat politicians and activists. How many people would object to being operated on by a prominent Harvard surgeon because that person is part of the elite? How many would oppose their children attending an Ivy League or a selective and private university on the ground of being an elite institution? Do people hate engineering professors at MIT because they're elite or do they actually respect them because of their expertise? "oh yeah they're all corrupt" To be clear, I believe that the Harvard and Yale alumni and the other political elites who planned & supported the many coups of the 20th century, started the Iraq war (Bush admin), bombed Libya (Obama) into poverty, etc. are all corrupt and deserve our contempt. It does not have anything to do with corruption scandals either because it's a structural problem where politicians have to cozy up to the defense and oil industries among others to advance their careers and get paid.

ss108 4y ago
"As you said, Hawley (Stanford and Yale alumni), JD Vance (Yale alumni), even Trump (from a wealthy family and Penn alumni) are all political elites but also quite popular with the right-wingers. So it's not really about hating the elite, unless by the elite you means a specific subset of Democrat politicians and activists." They appeal to their base in part by disavowing that status. Hawley and Vance in particular are pretty much throwing out much of what they learned in law school by cozying up to Trump with the stolen election bs. Going off of their credentials is silly, and I think you know that--listen to what they say. They are feeding upon and taking advantage of the rabid anti-intellectualism and anti-elite hatred of their base.