IceNine
Rookie
- Feb 13, 2017
- 25
- 6
- 1
Before the election, I read an interview with writer J.D. Vance (author of Hillbilly Elegy), and he pointed out a disturbing side of American class relations, namely that the group that values political correctness the most (specifically white, educated, middle or upper class), the ones who pride themselves on being "inclusive," "non-prejudiced," "accepting of people's differences," etc. are everything but the above when it comes to the white, poor, uneducated part of the population. Responding to a question asking for an explanation for this, Vance says:
The “why” is really difficult, but I have a few thoughts. The first is that humans appear to have some need to look down on someone; there’s just a basic tribalistic impulse in all of us. And if you’re an elite white professional, working class whites are an easy target: you don’t have to feel guilty for being a racist or a xenophobe. By looking down on the hillbilly, you can get that high of self-righteousness and superiority without violating any of the moral norms of your own tribe. So your own prejudice is never revealed for what it is.
That quote has stuck with me ever since, because it is something I noticed right away after moving to America. For example, I saw Ivy League students volunteer at free legal clinics and other programs that benefited the surrounding rural area's (mostly white) poor population. It looked good on their resumés, partly because it served as proof of their social and moral conscience, of their commitment to "give back". But among themselves, they spoke about the people they helped in the most derogatory terms (for example "white trash"), and had plenty of stereotypes about them ("calling child protection services on someone is the trailer-trash way of getting even"). Did this attitude make them less PC, less inclusive, tolerant and accepting? Not in their own eyes, apparently. They couldn't even (for all the dollars spent on their top notch education) see the hypocrisy of this attitude, or if they did, they didn't think it was a big deal at all. And they certainly didn't understand why so many white working class people are completely unimpressed with their status and education, and don't see them as champions of equality, liberty and justice.
I don't completely buy the idea that our need to feel superior is a fixed human trait, that we just have to look down on someone. That implies that we can't change. And if we can't change, then we don't even have to try.
I am curious about what other people think of this. Any thoughts are welcome, but please:
-No name-calling (libtards, snowflakes, hillbillies, the stupid Americans, etc.)
-Don't brush it off as insignificant and point out that "racial inequality/abortion/same-sex marriage/terrorism/whatever, is more important." Unless those issues are relevant to this discussions, I don't want to look at rankings of what is more deserving of attention than the current topic.
The whole interview with Vance is here: Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People
The “why” is really difficult, but I have a few thoughts. The first is that humans appear to have some need to look down on someone; there’s just a basic tribalistic impulse in all of us. And if you’re an elite white professional, working class whites are an easy target: you don’t have to feel guilty for being a racist or a xenophobe. By looking down on the hillbilly, you can get that high of self-righteousness and superiority without violating any of the moral norms of your own tribe. So your own prejudice is never revealed for what it is.
That quote has stuck with me ever since, because it is something I noticed right away after moving to America. For example, I saw Ivy League students volunteer at free legal clinics and other programs that benefited the surrounding rural area's (mostly white) poor population. It looked good on their resumés, partly because it served as proof of their social and moral conscience, of their commitment to "give back". But among themselves, they spoke about the people they helped in the most derogatory terms (for example "white trash"), and had plenty of stereotypes about them ("calling child protection services on someone is the trailer-trash way of getting even"). Did this attitude make them less PC, less inclusive, tolerant and accepting? Not in their own eyes, apparently. They couldn't even (for all the dollars spent on their top notch education) see the hypocrisy of this attitude, or if they did, they didn't think it was a big deal at all. And they certainly didn't understand why so many white working class people are completely unimpressed with their status and education, and don't see them as champions of equality, liberty and justice.
I don't completely buy the idea that our need to feel superior is a fixed human trait, that we just have to look down on someone. That implies that we can't change. And if we can't change, then we don't even have to try.
I am curious about what other people think of this. Any thoughts are welcome, but please:
-No name-calling (libtards, snowflakes, hillbillies, the stupid Americans, etc.)
-Don't brush it off as insignificant and point out that "racial inequality/abortion/same-sex marriage/terrorism/whatever, is more important." Unless those issues are relevant to this discussions, I don't want to look at rankings of what is more deserving of attention than the current topic.
The whole interview with Vance is here: Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People
