As everyone knows, Democrats have struggled for generations with the perception that they're out of touch elitists.
No, it's pretty much just this generation. I'm pretty sure there are still Dixiecrats alive today who opposed the Civil Rights movement. I don't think "elitist" was the word people were using to describe them. It's bad enough when conservatives embrace the "things have always been this way" mentality but I hate to see liberals falling for it too.
Elitist in the Republican sense means obviously more educated than you, and in fact educated to the point where they see things that may be counter-intuitive.
It doesn't matter if someone is rich because they own a huge beer company. If they don't sound really smart, they aren't 'elitist'.
I mostly grew up in Westchester County (NY), where the filthy rich and the servant class live in amazingly close proximity. The contrasts were incredible. Yes, Joe's Mom cleaned house for Mark's family - and they sat next to each other in class every day. We had kids whose family was on welfare next to kids whose multi-millionaire families owned 6 or 7 houses. My best friend's older sister dated a guy who sent her a postcard over Christmas vacation, with a glossy picture of one their homes in Bermuda, apparently historically important enough to rate a slot in the rack. Some kids got fancy sportscars on their sixteenth birthday, with a credit card for gas, while others worked their butts off to buy an old shitbox and keep it running.
Surprise, surprise - the two economic extremes didn't exactly get along real well. Not so much jealousy on the part of the have-nots, as a complete inability to get inside each other's heads. I think it would have been a fascinating experience for some of the wealthy kids to spend a year in a 'disadvantaged' household.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chiming
no subject
Date: 2008-07-05 01:01 am (UTC)From:No, it's pretty much just this generation. I'm pretty sure there are still Dixiecrats alive today who opposed the Civil Rights movement. I don't think "elitist" was the word people were using to describe them. It's bad enough when conservatives embrace the "things have always been this way" mentality but I hate to see liberals falling for it too.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-05 10:54 am (UTC)From:It doesn't matter if someone is rich because they own a huge beer company. If they don't sound really smart, they aren't 'elitist'.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-10 07:08 pm (UTC)From:Surprise, surprise - the two economic extremes didn't exactly get along real well. Not so much jealousy on the part of the have-nots, as a complete inability to get inside each other's heads. I think it would have been a fascinating experience for some of the wealthy kids to spend a year in a 'disadvantaged' household.