{"id":2148,"date":"2025-02-08T19:31:07","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T00:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/?p=2148"},"modified":"2025-02-08T19:35:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T00:35:49","slug":"im-in-with-the-in-crowd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/?p=2148","title":{"rendered":"I’m In With The In Crowd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Reid Fitzsimons (this is an article about elitism<\/em>, with photos of people deemed to be elite, past and present)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people want to feel they belong to something, almost an innate human characteristic. Historically people belonged to, and had allegiance to, family-clan-tribe. As great migrations and the such led to interactions of different people and cultures (and assimilation, forced assimilation, and destruction of cultures and people), blood relationship ties to some extent gave way to other commonalities, geographic being an important one, and things such as kingdoms and countries evolved. There were also smaller associations of people with shared interests, guilds being among them. Of course, any discussion of belonging to a group has to include religions. It would be wonderful to say all these relationships, loyalties, shared beliefs, senses of belonging, etc led to a world of perfect harmony<\/em>, as when in the early 1970s Coca-Cola exploited a gentle but overall silly song in a cynical ad campaign. Yet there would be no perfect harmony for humans,rather endless raping and oppression and pillaging and slaughter and lots of other atrocities. To be fair there have been plenty of bright and hopeful moments in human history; sometimes it almost seems to cycle. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
L:<\/strong> a scene from the 1970's ad for Coke R:<\/strong> James Quincey, apparently a white male, is the CEO of Coca-Cola with an annual salary of about $25 million and a net worth of $135 million. For his company, \"Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of our values and our growth strategy and play an important part in our company's success,\" though there has been some DEI backpedaling since Trump's election.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Associations in today\u2019s world actually still include those from long ago,for example countries in Africa are largely artificial remnants of European colonialism, and tribal affiliations remain strong and important. Likewise class structures, especially along economic lines, continue omnipresent. A sense of belonging can range from benign to violent, including everything from being a member of a bowling league to a member of an urban gang. There are people who feel they belong especially to a small community (\u201chometown pride\u201d), a country (patriotism), and a more supercilious claim of belonging to the world (a \u201cglobal citizen\u201d). Some of these belongings- memberships- are more imagined than real, which leads to a group in which lots and lots of people believe they belong, or at least yearn to: the elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

With the exception of some uses of the word- an elite athlete or elite cello player, for example- the underlying idea of elite is being better than others, and therefore qualified to tell the non-elites what to think, how to speak and act, and what to believe. Elitism is largely a state of mind, and to some extent a defense against one\u2019s own inadequacies. While elites don\u2019t necessarily dislike those they view as beneath them, they often do. Most commonly, they hold the non-elite in a kind of contempt. In their most compassionate mode, the non-elites are viewed as cute and lovable pets, hapless and dependent, to be given treats or disciplined, depending on behavior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The paternalistic approach to slavery made the plantation elites feel good about themselves<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes elitism is familial, such as with legacy admissions to Ivy League universities or in politics, as with the Canadian Trudeau\/Trudeau prime ministerships. Requirements to belong to the elite often involve wealth, academic credentials, political-cultural-media-corporate power and, frequently, privilege. Its important to differentiate between elitism and privilege. The latter often implies someone was raised wealthy and had conveniences, material goods, and comforts handed to them, and this certainly can be the case. Nevertheless, privilege doesn\u2019t necessarily require wealth, merely a parent that is willing to put his or her child\u2019s well-being above personal desires, read to the child often, don\u2019t hesitate to say you love them, and say No a lot more than Yes. No one can pick whether they are born to wealth or poverty, the great question is how does one respond to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
Left: Canadian elites and prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and son Justin Right: Justin at age 30, 14 years before he became prime minister<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I myself was raised in an upper-middle class suburb of Washington, DC, kind of on the lower spectrum of privilege- public schools, local swimming pool but no country club, vacations mostly to visit relatives via car travel, never airplanes. Most of my peers were of similar status, our fathers having higher level government jobs, some lobbyists, a few lawyers and physicians, etc; well off but not classically wealthy. Nevertheless, I recall discussing a classmate, a good guy but not quite a friend, and an observation that, \u201cHis father is a plumber, you know.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I was clearly a product of privilege, for some reason I largely rejected it, which explains why I entered Army basic training soon after completing high school (as compared to going straight to college), worked for $2.33\/hour as a direct care aide in a nursing home, and lived in a 10x40 trailer (I proudly owned) while I attended college. For the most part my father paid my tuition but, being cheap, I attended the least expensive schools. Overall I wanted to \u201cmake it on my own.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Left: the exclusive DC area Congressional Country Club, initiation fee $120,000 Right: interior view of the Sidwell Friends school in Washington, DC; one of the most elite K-12 schools in the US; tuition about $55,000 a year; alumni include Chelsea Clinton, Bill Nye, and the Obama daughters<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While people who consider themselves as belonging to the tribe of elite people can be odious, and probably have a higher incidence of being so, they can be perfectly decent as well. Several years ago I was among an elite and moneyed crowd in Boston and was discussing with a very amiable person how to make apple cider, something I do now and then. A food processor is a useful tool, and I mentioned I had obtained an almost new Cuisinart brand, normally $150, at a thrift shop for $15. She responded, \u201cWell, I suppose some people shop at such places, but I certainly never would.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bashar al-Assad , recently deposed as \"President\" of Syria after 24 years, studied medicine at the University of Damascus, graduating as an ophthalmologist in 1988. In 1992 moved to London to continue his studies. He has a glamorous British born wife and was a darling of the Western elites until they could no longer deny he was a genocidal dictator<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Elitism is, more than anything, a state of mind, but it predicated on a desire to feel superior to others, and arrogance is an integral part of this. Many, and perhaps most, people are not<\/em> compelled to feel superior to others, which ironically provides fodder for those who do. While a strict definition of elitism is debatable, there are a multitude of characteristics that shape it. These include, for example, professing a love for \u201cthe arts\u201d and \u201cculture.\u201d This is not to say that some don\u2019t legitimately appreciate \u201cthe arts,\u201d but the important thing is to make others believe they do. An elite person almost always expresses outrage when there is a proposal to end government funding for public broadcasting (National Public Radio and PBS). Stats from a company that makes its money supporting NPR and PBS (Market Enginuity) reveal that 85% of the audience is white, the average household income of NPR listeners is $115,000, and they are \u201cmore likely to spend money on travel<\/a>, books, fitness, and they own financial securities, signaling that they have disposable income.\u201d In theory public broadcasting exists to serve the poor and underprivileged, in reality it is subsidized entertainment and affirmation for the elite.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR with a salary of somewhere over $1\/2 million, famously stated in 2021 regarding free speech, \"In fact, our reverence for the truth might be a distraction that's getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done,\" and \"the number one challenge here that we see is, of course, the First Amendment in the United States.\"<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Financial and material wealth is very important, but it\u2019s a little convoluted: elites often downplay their wealth but always desire more (recall Obama\u2019s 2018 quote, \u201cThere\u2019s only so much you can eat. There\u2019s only so big a house you can have. There\u2019s only so many nice trips you can take. I mean, it\u2019s enough.\u201d The Obama\u2019s own 3 or 4 multi-million dollar homes, and have a net worth of about $70 million). Elites believe their wealth is fully deserved, no matter the source. They tend to express great concern for the poor but, if they give of their own it tends to be a trivial portion of their wealth; typically their compassion is manifested by demanding others help the less fortunate, especially in the form of government spending. And, of course,the appearance<\/em> of wealth is very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
The Obama's doing the ceremonial digging thing for the Obama Presidential Center being constructed in South Chicago, at an estimated cost of well over $700 million<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The elite tend to share the same worldview- political, social, economic, etc- at a given time, but historically the specifics can vary widely. Currently, to be accepted among the elite, one has to express great alarm about climate change, vocalize support for anything labeled \u201csocial justice,\u201d be pro-open borders and unrestrained global population movements (i.e. from underdeveloped areas to more affluent ones), and support globalization overall. In Germany during the lead up to WW2, those in power clearly viewed themselves as elite and superior, and cherished the arts, classical music, architecture, wealth, the educated (unless they were Jews), and so on; but they didn\u2019t worry about camouflaging their goals in happy sounding language as the elite do today. Though the beliefs and policies of the elite can, and often do, prove to be disastrous, they are predicated on the idea they<\/em> will never experience the consequences; the fact that history often proves them wrong (thank goodness), not withstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister under Adolf Hitler, was educated in Germany, Switzerland, France, and England, and lived in Canada for a while: a cosmopolitan person of the elite at that time (the top hat is a clue); he was executed by the Allies in 1946<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Almost by definition, the elite are one in the same as those in control of economies, cultures, corporations, professions, academia, and the media. In countries that have legitimate elections, the government of the moment may or may not be part of the establishment elite, but their overall goal remains the same- to have power and control over others and be really rich, and to always gain more power and money. The highest echelons of the elite, currently embodied by the World Economic Forum, have as their foot soldiers millions of lesser people who really want to be part of them, which may include the upper middle-class, \u201ceducated \u201cpeople, and those holding mid-level or upper level management positions; basically those who are seduced by the ideas of being \u201creasonable,\u201d believers in \u201cthe science,\u201d and the infallibility of the establishment, and parrot the dogma of the elite. This brings up the title of this article: The first verse from a popular song in 1965- I'm in with the in crowd (Do-do-do), I go where the in crowd goes (Do-do-do), I'm in with the in crowd (Do-do-do), And I know what the in crowd knows. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Perhaps the two most elite people in the world today, German born Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, and \"President\" Xi of communist China. In 2022 Schwab stated, \u201c...but the Chinese model is certainly a very attractive model for quite a number of countries<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The out crowd<\/strong> goes by many different names, depending on how the elite class wants to control them. They can be fooled and manipulated by being termed \u201cworking families,\u201d the common man, the working class, the proletariat,the oppressed. They can be marginalized by being called conspiracy theorists, racists, xenophobes, fascists, mouth-breathers, bigots, ignorant, science \u201cdeniers.\u201d And they can be actually oppressed by implying they are somehow not quite human: two historically vile examples include the untermensch, used by the Nazis (subhuman, applied to Jews, gypsies, Eastern Europeans, and non- Aryans overall), and worthless niggers, used by slave holders and true racists in US history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The yearning to be viewed, at least in one\u2019s own mind, as sophisticated, urbane, cosmopolitan, refined, polished, cultured, debonair, suave, worldly...elite...is compelling to some, but it\u2019s okay to not<\/strong> need to control or have ownership over others; in fact it\u2019s probably for the best. Personally, I prefer being in with the out<\/strong> crowd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Reid Fitzsimons (this is an article about elitism, with photos of people deemed to be elite, past and present) Most people want to feel they belong to something, almost an innate human characteristic. Historically people belonged to, and had allegiance to, family-clan-tribe. As great migrations and the such led to interactions of different people ...continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ynMC-yE","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2148"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2148"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2204,"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2148\/revisions\/2204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservativeproletariat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}