What I love most about learning is reading a word like egalitarian because immediately I go to the dictionary and confirm that it means what I think it means. Side note: I misused the word pontificate in a conversation once and haven’t heard the end of it, so I look things up to make sure.
Egalitarian simply means upholding a belief in the equality all people.
It is often preached, but rarely practiced.
Instead, we get elitism.
Snob-ism.
And troll-ism.
Elitism says I’m better than you because of what I have, what I am, who I know, what I know, where I work, and that I don’t need toilet paper because I have a bidet.
Snob-ism, a made up word, says that my stuff is better than your stuff because I have it and you don’t. It also says that your stuff will never be better than my stuff (even if it is). In many ways, it is a lot like elitism, and for purposes of this blog post, they can be interchangeable because what matters is the last paragraph.
Troll-ism, another made up word, says that my beliefs are right, you are most definitely wrong, and I will hide behind my digital avatar, tearing you down for attempting to build a bridge between two polarities or partisan views. Trolls live underneath bridges and I also think they don’t like new bridges being built because that means territorial troll-gang fights on social network commenting systems used by local and national news organizations, but I digress.
I dislike all three of the above attitudes. No, I hate all three of those attitudes. They make me angry when I witness them in others and in myself. Yes, I am human. I have moments of elitism, snob-ism, and troll-ism. I don’t like it, but thankfully I have friends that correct me when necessary.
Elites, snobs and trolls only hurt people with their actions and words because they are above correction and human decency. It’s one thing to justify your viewpoint with a freedom of speech argument, but the reality is that there will never be a constitutional right to be an asshole.
2 replies on “Elites, Snobs and Trolls”
I suppose I’m (d) All of the Above.
That said, and as you stated above, we all have our moments of each.
I’ve found that if you avoid Internet discussions about politics, sexual preference, technology, and TV/Movies you seldom have to deal with any of the three. All four of those topics seem to attract the most assholes.
Unfortunately that will probably never change.
I didn’t think of (d) All of the Above. There are a few others, but I’ll refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Yes, Internet discussions about just about anything will do. Don’t forget guns, booze, and women.