People often seem to use the term “Elitist” as an insult (or at least in a disparaging sense), yet I’ve never really understood why being an Elitist is (or should be intended to be) a bad thing.
Sorry, I know, not much of an OP, but the title pretty much says it all: What’s actually wrong with Elitism, or being an Elitist?
Insofar as elitism is criticised, it’s usually because it exists as a facade. Lots of people like The Wizard Of Oz, so it becomes fashionable for elitists to pretend they hate it. It’s the pretence, not the hatred, that gets elitism criticised.
Because elitism is just one of many forms of being judgmental, which is often bad.
Not wanting to hang out with a friend who gets convicted of stealing from other friends may get you dubbed elitist, but unfairly.
Not wanting to hang out with anyone who isn’t a member of MENSA, on the other hand, would rightly draw some flack.
Is it wrong, in an absolutist sense? Cant’ say. It is something people will object to.
Coupled with the judgmental nature of elitism, there’s also an element of “looking down” on people who don’t qualify as “elite”. People don’t like to be thought of as inferior. Can you blame them?
How do you express your Elitism? Do you have a political office or great corporate power that you use to foster the interests of your Elite group? I’d consider that “a bad thing.”
Or do you have rigorous standards about, say, the wines you drink? If you share your feelings with like-minded folks, no problem. If you continually put down people with more plebian tastes, they will find you annoying. (Why don’t you convert them by sharing some of your wine?)
Some might consider me “Elitist” because I shot at Target; one visit to WalMart was enough.
I loathe Thomas Kinkade but subscribe to Juxtapoz. (& I like lots of the requisite Dead White Guys, too.)
Funny, they considered me a “Threat” when I shot at WalMart…
I’ve heard of preferring Target as being an example of snobbery before, but I have to snicker every time it comes up. It’s just funny to me.
The notion of elitism, I believe, carries an implication that the elitist will disparage someone else for their choices. Someone who only prefers to patronize expensive, snooty French restaurants isn’t really elitist until he sneers at the guy who loves him some messy barbecue ribs. Your tastes are better than his, and that entitles you to mock him. That’s what pisses people off about elitism; it has a strong dash of jerk mixed in by default.
I thought a target is what you’re supposed to shoot at… 
Elitism is often associated in the US with conceit and contempt for “ordinary people”, which is something we tend to resent strongly. We don’t like folks acting as though ordinary “common people” ways aren’t good enough for them. Look at all the flak John Kerry took just because he was thought to like French wines, or something.
It’s the name of elitism that people object to, not necessarily the thing itself. Professional sports couldn’t exist without elitism, for example, and nobody objects to their local professional football team being as elitist as they possibly can be.
But where “elitism” is just a code word for snobbery, it gets rightly disparaged.
You say “elitism” like it’s a bad thing.
The thing is, that word gets bandied about on these boards far more than is warranted, IMHO. People can be having a perfectly civil discussion on why they do (or don’t) like a TV show, movie, band, or beer, and give perfectly sound reasons why, and some ass is likely to pop in and shout “elitism” while completely ignoring the reasons listed upthread. I try not to let my knee jerk too much here, but whenever I read that word, my automatic thought is that the person who typed it is a buffoon.
I once in a while find myself in the company of people whose interests and mine do not coincide. Oftentimes these are along the lines of things that can be considered elitist. It’s hard to go to dinner if I want Sushi and they’d prefer McDonald’s. I prefer to hang out with people who are like me in some capacity so that we can interface as equals. I don’t know if this is so much zero sum as just lacking the capacity to talk to one another. I can’t share much with a construction worker about the finer points of construction, just like they have nothing to say about the topic of the Knights Templar, a subject I find incredibly fascinating. Just as often I run across people whose knowledge is so beyond mine that I feel like a grade schooler talking to them, and sometimes I run across people where it appears as the reverse. I try to cool any elitist snobbery in my mind by reminding myself that ‘Every single person on this planet knows something that I don’t know.’
It’s really a matter of humility. It’s ok to be elite, but not so ok to be elitist which I think implies lording your status over another of lesser status. Also, in our culture of awards, oftentimes people will seek awards whose criteria are easy for them to meet and then make an ostentatious show of such awards.
I have begun to hate talking about movies with film students, because they will nitpick about some technical detail and let it override the presentation of the whole. I watch films for emotional reasons, not to admire the technical craft. I generally can understand their points, but I do notice some people often have trouble divorcing themselves from their knowledge of the craft in order to enjoy someone else’s artistic expression. To me when I see something poignant and sincere in art, it seems kind of vulgar to not like it because of their use of a jump cut.
I’m obviously not “elite” enough to avoid typos!
And I’m not a very good Texan–don’t even have one gun.
In general it is good to frequently remind people at the top of the totem pole that (a) there are people lower down the totem pole (b) being low on the totem pole does not make one a bad person and © books, music, etc… popular among those low on the totem pole are not necessarily bad.
Obviously there are many different cases of people charging elitism, some more valid than others. All of them, including the invalid ones, serve this social purpose.
That said, emotion is a driving force. For example, one often hears literary types who disparage genre fiction. What’s particularly grating is that it often turns out that these people have barely read any genre fiction. If they’d be open-minded enough to look at a few of the better works of science fiction and fantasy, then perhaps I could ‘agree to disagree’ with them. If they won’t even consider my books, it becomes hard to not view them as snobs.
Undoubtedly many genre readers looks down on mainstream fiction without reading much of it first as well. But there seems to be a difference of kind. One can more easily tolerate the unfair bias of a 12-year-old boy than of a world famous critic.
Neal Stephenson has a great quip about how he went to some literary function and one of the great literary minds that was there had never heard of him. He told her that it was because his books sell millions of copies.
Elitism is often used in reference to organizations. In some cases it’s good. If you attend Harvard or join the Navy SEALS, it’s probably because you meet that organizations high standards of entry. Fraternities and sororities are often elitist in a bad way. Often, the only thing that makes them “elite” is that you aren’t a part of it.
Of course, it just gets entertaining when the elitist says “I’m not elitist, I’ve just been cursed with a low tolerance for mass-produced bullshit. It’s a brain chemical thing I’ve suffered with all my life, but I’m learning to better handle the slings and arrows of the madding riffraff.”
They combine elitism, pretension and martyrdom to inadvertently comic effect, and further attempts to explain what they really meant and they didn’t really mean to offend anyone only digs them in deeper.
Hm…are you thinking of the same thread I’m thinking of? COUGHpornCOUGH
It’s but the most recent example, albeit a particularly tasty one.
Elitism as the pursuit of excellence is fine; elitism as the exclusion of non-members isn’t. In the latter case you’re stopping people from reaching their potential.