08-19-2016, 01:36 PM
J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy author. The culture thing circles back to the notion of "differentness" (my word) and how we don't like people who are different. This cuts across all boundaries. Haven't read the book, but the author gives examples in a Fresh Air episode:
- Vance lied as a child when asked if his mother threatened him (she had), because the lawyers wore suits and didn't talk/look like people he knew and understood.
- Vance's grandmother recoiled at overt racism hurled at Tiger Woods, saying "they" (outsiders) would never accept "us" (the poor whites/blacks). That's doubly fascinating, as an old white woman strongly associated herself with Woods because she knew African Americans to be poor/uneducated (like herself) although Woods of course comes from decent middle-class suburbia and isn't dumb.
It's the "otherness" in reverse, and I still maintain that it has a lot to do with fear. People don't like to be "talked down to" even if they need to be talked to like children (see what I just did there?) I also maintain the low self esteem plays a huge role. It's this mindset that says, "I know I can't figure it out, but don't make me feel worse by saying so. So go F yourself!"
- Vance lied as a child when asked if his mother threatened him (she had), because the lawyers wore suits and didn't talk/look like people he knew and understood.
- Vance's grandmother recoiled at overt racism hurled at Tiger Woods, saying "they" (outsiders) would never accept "us" (the poor whites/blacks). That's doubly fascinating, as an old white woman strongly associated herself with Woods because she knew African Americans to be poor/uneducated (like herself) although Woods of course comes from decent middle-class suburbia and isn't dumb.
It's the "otherness" in reverse, and I still maintain that it has a lot to do with fear. People don't like to be "talked down to" even if they need to be talked to like children (see what I just did there?) I also maintain the low self esteem plays a huge role. It's this mindset that says, "I know I can't figure it out, but don't make me feel worse by saying so. So go F yourself!"