We have all been subjected to them before. Clad in societies best and most extravagant fashions… or not. Fancy and upscale bistros are reserved to waste away nights end… or not. Lavish outings make for an accustomed experience advising the rest of the world of their savoir-vivre… or not. Knowing no boundaries of material and space, the “exclusives” of our time populate the most likely areas where one thinks the posh reside… or not. The indentifying attributes of the privileged, described above, signify a cast of society who live outside of economic normality. However, the “or not’s” describe the people I am going to talk about; the people who, without reason, think they are better than everyone else.
I get why the man who drives the five hundred thousand dollar car doesn’t want to associate with me; or why the woman with the one hundred thousand dollar array of diamonds around her neck doesn’t wish to speak with me. But what I don’t get is why people without the risk of fortune think they are exceptional. The older I get and the more I go out, the worse this contagion seems. Clubs and bars, brimming with clusters of know-it-alls, ibetter’s, prettier-than-you’s, too-goods, and, my favorite, don’t-talk-to-me’s. Yet in their diminutive circles of trust, all these people seem normal. The guy driving the expensive car doesn’t have an ounce of normal in him, irregardless of his friend circle. So why do “common folk” of our time assume the attributes of a lifestyle worth twenty times their value? My answer: Perpetual Obscure Observations of People.
Our first reaction to the stuck up man, driving the expensive car, is to elude him, as he would shun us. All this with hopes of giving him a hint of his own treatment. The problem with our reaction is that it makes us appear aloof to others around and if other proletariats handle cavalier the same way we do, then we now have a perpetual cycle of misjudged arrogance brewing in a public scene. This stimulates group after group to reject the common validity of others. Perpetual accusations of obscure observations of the people around us stems from a self-indulgent need to be appreciated, while afraid of being poorly judged and perceived by others who we tag as being unappreciative. We need to stop assuming people around us are “stuck-up” and we need to stop combating the “stuck-up” by being stuck-up. Go out to have fun, not to omit others at first glance or tote around personal audacity. Clean up the “ibetter” attitudes the next time you are out and welcome everyone to the fun!