Not Joe Six-Pack

[kevin_standlee]

I've been avoiding most mention of politics here, partially because at least as far as the presidential election goes, it hardly matters how I vote, on account of I live in California, and it's a forgone conclusion how this state votes. (Happily, this means we don't have many presidential campaign commercials in our market.) The things on my ballot about which I'm passionate are voting in favor of Proposition 1A (High Speed Rail) and against Proposition 8 (undo existing same-sex marriages and prohibit future ones). But anyway, mckitterick pointed me at an article about "Joe Six-Pack" that resonated with me.

Mind you, I don't drink beer, and I have a B.Sc. in computer science and have a professional job that means that most people would consider me one of the Filthy Rich, despite my being under a crushing debt load and living in a medium-size apartment and not in the lap of luxury. Therefore, I can't be "Joe Six-Pack." Still, I was very taken by the article to which I linked above.

I've been reading a book about the growing anti-intellectualism of the USA. It's depressing reading. I hope we as a people aren't going to say that intellectually incurious people (a phrase I picked up from jaylake) like the current president and the woman running for vice president on the Republican ticket are "What America Should Be."

Comments

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

See, I told you it was useless to argue with a True Believer. Oddly enough, I agree completely with your posted story from The Onion.

You've defined "snob" in a strange way, but do that extent you are acting like a whole lot of other people in our society. The USA has been increasingly becoming anti-intellectual and relying solely on what might be considered "magical thinking." BTW, people on the left end of the ideological spectrum are just as capable of such fuzzy-brained thinking, of which I despair just as much.

For the record, I'm not at all happy with what is likely to happen to the economy under an Obama administratrion; however, I'm sufficiently worried about the creeping loss of civil rights in this county under the current Republicans, and even more worried that McCain would continue that trend, that I'm prepared to vote for the Democrats to slow down -- it's probably impossible to stop -- the creeping police state into which we're slowly slipping.

My own personal political beliefs tend toward libertarianism, if it weren't for the fact that there are so many loony libs out there who think that libertarianism is "I have the right to do anything I want, and you don't."

I'm sorry that you feel you have to pour so much hatred onto someone simply because you disagree with them politically. Presumably I'm going to be one of the people up against the wall when the True Right Thinking People are in charge. But I do remember the series of quotes that ends with "And when they came for me, there was nobody to speak up," so therefore I feel I have to do something now before it's too late.

[daveon.livejournal.com]

I don't actually have much of a problem with people being snobs.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

I guess it matters what one considers a "snob." I am disdainful of people who openly distrust people solely because they are intelligent. Unfortunately, it's politically popular to pick on smart people and to condescend to "Joe Six-Pack."

[daveon.livejournal.com]

As I said elsewhere, I believe that life should be aspirational not flat. A snob looks down on other people, but there are times when people should be looked down on. Your comments about anti-intellectualism are particularly on the mark for that.

I think the qualative difference is this: you shouldn't look down on people because you think you're superior. You should be allowed to if they are deliberately acting inferior because they think its clever or they feel comfortable being that way.

I am a food snob. I like eating and I like good food and drink and I like to try new things. I can think of nothing worse than going to a Cheesecake Factory in a new city because you're scared that you're going to not like the food and you want a big portion.

We're not on the planet all that long, we really should be paying more attention to just how amazing living actually is.