In the “Cleanse the Gene Pool - Bomb the Next Local Fair” thread, on MPSIMS board, there a a few good examples of snobbery. This kind of attitude seems to rear it’s ugly head often on message boards.
So what exactly do people get out of ridiculing others?
Simple question, huh?
Peace,
mangeorge
Jeez, only a real twit would ask a question like that…
Ahem. Sorry. But don’t tell me you couldn’t see that one coming a mile away.
Of course I did… that’s why I left the opening. To see what kind of person would jump in.
Peace,
mangeorge (Twit, indeed :D)
Is it snobbery to want people who are too large for their clothes to wear something more concealing? Is it snobbery to want drunk people not allowed on rides that will spin them into oblivion so I then have to see someone upchuck in the middle of the carnival?
Some of my statements were exaggerated for what I thought would be humorous effect, and I never thought someone would take them seriously. I don’t expect every 5-year old I saw to grow up with a toothless smile, I don’t really expect a Fair and Carnival Police to turn people away based on appearance. I thought I had made it clear in my opening statments to that thread that I was not referring to everyone I saw there, just a handful of people that really stood out.
I have nothing against people not as educated as I. I do not look down on them. As I stated later in the thread when I saw people getting offended, the majority of my family is from rural Kentucky, and I have nothing against people who make a living working the earth. I also mentioned the place I went to was in a very urban setting, not far from downtown St. Louis, so none of my comments were even aimed at those who live in rural areas, but it seemed that’s what many people were getting upset about.
Are you claiming you’ve never seen an overweight person wearing clothes too small and wondered to yourself don’t they know that doesn’t look good? You’ve never seen a person smile with horrible teeth and wonder how difficult could it be to brush daily? When someone posted a link in MPSIMS that led to the http://www.geocities.com/trailerparkpage/ under the title “White Trash has a New Mascot” why is that humorous and funny, when it’s the same sort of generalizing I presented in the OP? Are you saying you didn’t find that the least bit amusing? You’re being judgmental in labelling people snobs when you don’t really know who we are, taking the fun out of something that wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.
I only laugh at others because I have the ability to laugh at myself. I have called myself ugly here more than once, and (to little_tiger’s dismay) I often make fat jokes about myself also. I laugh about my ineffectiveness at the plate when I used to play baseball (was asked to bunt by the coach with 2 outs cuz I was such a poor hitter), I make cracks about how horrible I am at picking up women. I’ve called myself a dork, a nerd, a clown, a loser, and a putz.
In the animal kingdom, the act of smiling (showing your teeth) is a threat. Look back at everything you thought funny - Wile E Coyote getting blown up, Ben Stiller catching his balls in his zipper in “Something About Mary”, or Kevin Kline’s barbs at Michael Palin’s character in “A Fish Called Wanda” and you will find you are laughing at someone else’s misfortune. Much humor is, at it’s core, mean and aggressive. We laughed when Wally killed a gerbil, no one felt sorry for the gerbil. We laughed when we ridiculed him for owning the putzcycle. We laugh when we make fun of someone for being stupid. Where is the line drawn that this suddenly becomes snobbery? If you don’t think it’s funny, fine, but don’t get judgmental.
In answer to you question: What I got out of it was humor.
There’s such a thing as moral snobbery too, you know. So enjoy your seat on your moral high horse as you look down and pass judgment on all us snobs who are able to find humor in places you can’t. While you’re up there, think about all the times you’ve secretly laughed at someone’s appearance, or felt a little better about yourself cuz you knew something someone else didn’t - and if you’ve never done it, then let me know, so I can look you up, cuz I’ve always wanted to meet someone who can walk on water.
Forgive me if I’m missing something, but I thought that both the trailer park page and the MPSIMS posting were poking fun at people, not because they’re poor, but because of their spending choices with their (admittedly limited) cash and their lack of interest in personal hygiene and household upkeep.
As the trailer page noted, $$ are available for sports cars and satellite dishes, but apparently not for toothbrushes, paint, trash removal, or lawnmowers. There’s nothing that prevents people (whatever there economic status) from picking up trash around their home or doing some painting. Decent paint costs $15/gallon. A brush costs $5. I’d say a whole trailer could be painted for less than one month’s satellite charges, and picking up trash costs nothing.
Sorry (and I realize this will offend those who belong to the Church of Political Correctness), I will continue to look down on those who make the life choices depicted in the trailer page and described in the MPSIMS posting.
Again, my problem is NOT with those who can’t afford anything other than a trailer. My objection is to those who would rather sit on their butts watching soap operas or stock car races on TV rather than taking care of their kids, pets, homes, or personal hygiene.
Arghh. their economic status
Ok, maybe sometimes I tend to jump to conclusions. Maybe it was the wording;
“Cleanse the Gene Pool - Bomb the Next Local Fair”
I didn’t get to the part where you wanted to bomb only the few who offended your sophisticated sense of decorum.
Anyway, it isn’t just that thread, but terms I see on many of these threads. Terms like;
Slack jawed.
Pimple faced.
Unibrowed.
Trailer trash.
NASCAR, WWF of racing.
Etc, etc, etc.
Like it or not, these people are part of your gene pool.
Peace,
mangeorge
Not mine. We got a nice pond higher up the intelligence curve. It’s a bit harder to breathe in the rarified atmosphere, but the view is spectacular.
BratMan, I have to let you know that it was NOT your OP in particular that set me off, but some of the posts that followed. I think a few people, at least, know my views on small farms and the ag aspect so I’m going to skip over that. The stuff that got to me were the posts pointed towards/against bikers wearing tattos and leather.
The first true biker I met was in South Florida and was nicknamed Ted E. Bear. The name fit.
My sister, who is a smart, beautiful, funny girl, is married to a prototypical biker, except he’s a skinny little guy. Their (our) friends are also prototypical bikers - long hair, goatees/beards, leathers.
One of the friends in particular has no teeth. The crystal meth took them. Two years ago he locked his telephone and his car keys in the trunk of his car so he couldn’t call/drive to his dealer and spent three days curled up into a ball on his living room floor while he came down. He has a set of false teeth but usually goes without because the ones he has fit poorly, hurt him, and the dental policy he has from one of his THREE jobs won’t cover a new set and he can’t afford them on his own.
His soon-to-be-wife is also a recovering alcoholic/addict with bad teeth due to meth abuse. She’s putting herself through school in an effort to become a drug and alcohol counselor. She can’t afford the dental work either.
Another acquaintance from that particular AA group owns the local Harley shop.
They are also some of the nicest, most accepting, most NON-JUDGMENTAL people I know.
Minneapolis recently had an international AA convention. The entire first floor of the Metrodome parking ramp was bikes only.
I know that this is a very small sampling of people in the scheme of things, but it pisses me off when some people look down on others because their hair is long or their tattoos show or they are NOT Harley posers. Yeah, they rev their engines sometimes - little kids think it’s cool and adults are horrified, both of which turn my friends on. Yeah, some of them have no teeth - they can’t afford to pay for them. Yeah, some of them are fat - they can’t afford the trendy diets or health clubs or ground chicken instead of beef.
Look. 15 years ago I thought leather pants look stupid. Still do. Today I think bell-bottoms look stupid on all but enlisted sailor. I’m not going to start a thread on it, though, because how people dress or look doesn’t bother me and is none of my business unless it does something to me. And I think it’s disgusting that when people look at my smart, beautiful, funny sister when she’s dressed in her leathers that they don’t know or would not believe that she plays classical piano, is a vegetarian, and has been sober for two years.
Geez, there’s much more but there is too much stuff swirling in my brain right now so will sit back and watch for a while.
Take deep breaths, put your heads between your knees, and be calm.
Oh yeah, you’re in a pond!. Still… 
Peace,
mangeorge
See, BratMan007, I told you so. 
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=29928
Peace,
mangeorge
I must point out the difference between “snobbery” and rascism or bigotry. I am a snob, which means I have high standards and I don’t like compromising them. I am neither a rascist nor a bigot, however.
And why is being “non-judgmental” a good thing? Sounds to me like people incapable of judging others have no opinions or standards.
I do NOT, though, obviously, have high standards when it comes to spell-checking “racism” before hitting the “submit reply” button . . .
So mangeorge, you’re telling me you’ve never secretly laughed at someone’s appearance. You’ve never had someone walk past you reeking of BO and wished they wouldn’t stand so close and haven’t they ever heard of deodorant? You’ve never been in a situation where you something that someone else didn’t and you felt just a twinge of intellectual superiority and pride?
If you’ve never had a laugh at someone else’s expense than you are as close to perfection this planet has seen since Christ. Remember, he who is without sin may throw the first stone (or something like that) I agree with you on the ugly person thread though. Deformities and medical conditions are not funny. But when you have control over how you look and dress, but fail to exercise that control, you are now an open target and I plan to take aim.
This world is filled with archetypes that everyone can identify with and laugh at. That’s what I saw in the “Bomb the next Local Fair” thread; I stated my generalizing types that I thought could be seen across the country (think Cletus the slack-jawed yokel from the Simpsons - and before mangeorge jumps me for using those words, that is his full title on the show) and then people responding with the types of general people that they thought were seen country wide. And then people got offended. I saw no evidence in any of those posts of people meaning ill-will or harm. It all seemed like a little poking fun at archetypes, not entire areas or classes of people.
I also have to put in my 2 cents with sandyr and agree with her that bikers have been given a bad rep. I knew many bikers when I was in the Air Force and I agree whole-heartedly with what sandyr said. For the most part, they were friendly, fun, kind, and generous (every year had a Christmas toy drive for needy children). It’s Hollywood that has painted them as bad-asses that will kill you for breathing on their bikes. (Breathing ok, but I don’t suggest you touch without asking permission first :D)
That should read “you knew something that someone else yada yada yada”
I once read a zen story that went something like this:
Teh master drew a line in the dirt and asked his student to make it shorter. Teh student walked up to the line and erased 1/4 of it.
The master looked at him with disapproval. He retraced teh line to its original length, and then he drew a line twice as long next to it. “that,” he said “is how you make someone elses line shorter.”
Posted by Eve:
“I am a snob, which means I have high standards and I don’t like compromising them.”
Good for you. Your standards will prevent you from getting to know some interesting, intelligent, strong, funny people.
BTW, from http://www.dictionary.com :
non·judg·men·tal adj.
Refraining from judgment, especially one based on personal ethical standards.
nonjudgmental adj
refraining from making judgments especially ones based on personal opinions or standards; “sympathetic and nonjudgmental”
Where is this “Cleanse the gene pool” thread? I can’t find it.
Anyone have a link, please?
Thanks.
So who's standards am I suppose to make judgements about? Of course I can only make judgements based on my own personal ethical standards. I'm wrong sometimes but for the most part I seem to get things right.
Marc
I’m not sure why, Kinsey, but it’s in MPSIMS. Here;
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=29876
Peace,
mangeorge