I'd like to assume for a moment that you're honestly curious about this...if
you're not, then ignore this. And I tend to jump fast, so the logic may seem
incomplete at times...if this is the case and you're curious, lemme know...
I used to think along the same lines, but I found that it caused me
problems. Elitism leads you to feeling separate...different...apart. You
begin to think in terms of us and them, with a very small (i.e. 1) us and a
very huge them...this is self-fullfilling (or was for me) as you tend to
recede further into your world of "us". To some, this is a sign of clinical
depression. To others, this is loneliness...words words words.
Basically, elitism causes me to recede from other people and makes parts of
my life incredibly difficult. Elitism can be a good feeling because it
leaves you feeling positive about yourself...but the crumbling that occurred
for me was the understanding that all of this was based on a center of
gravity OUTSIDE my self. You're only elite IN TERMS OF someone else. When
you think of yourself on your own terms ("I'm not better. I'm not worse. I'm
just me."), this changes. Of course, when I still thought as an elitist,
this stuff sounded like fluffy cowsh*t, so I understand if this sounds like
fluffy cowsh*t.
Fitter...happier...more productive...radiohead, anyone?
This feels like an advertisement for mental health...anyway, my point is
that elitism can lead you into choppy psychological waters if you're not
paying close attention.
Blah blah blah...but I wouldn't be surprised if many people on this list
fall into similar traps and sometimes putting this into real words could
actually help.
back to your reguarly scheduled brainwashing...
---brian
------------------------
Brian W. Gause
Senior Technical Writer
SECTORBASE.com
568 Howard Street
First Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Direct: (415) 365-8203
Fax: (415) 365-8263
-----Original Message-----
From: laerm [mailto:laerm@soulfood.org]
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 5:30 PM
To: idm@hyperreal.org
Subject: Re: [idm] Elitism
On Thu, 11 Jan 2001, Michael Upton wrote:
quoted 2 lines What is elitist about saying "I'm sick of how much shit there is out
> What is elitist about saying "I'm sick of how much shit there is out
> there, and I think the easy access to gear contributes to it"?