Is Austin really weird and progressive? the forum seems mainstream (catholics, churches)

[carolinajack]

i dont consider most everyone that, and why would it be insulting to say the working class is NOT elitist. lots of people generalize about conservatives on here and other places and i dont see the defense. and having been one myself i can speak with it not being narrow or very narrow, any more than people saying conservatives are racist or mean or big greedy big business folk.

i dont know many stay at home moms who are working class, most i know are middle class or better(though not saying that there are not many out there, i am sure there are plenty) but the ones i know arent.

[readymade]

I guess it's just that "working class" generally conotates more physical labor. Construction workers, people who work at McDonalds (which I used to do), etc...

So, I guess I took what you said to mean that sales people, web designers, teachers, musicians, nurses, and so on in the NorthEast (where I'm from) are mostly all elitist. And that's just not true. That's all. I'm just sticking up for my non working-class North Eastern bros.

[carolinajack]

yes it does, i dont see your point. if you read what i said, wasnt saying the working class was elitist

[readymade]

Originally Posted by carolinajack

yes it does, i dont see your point. if you read what i said, wasnt saying the working class was elitist

No, I got that. It's the fact that you said everyone else was elitist that I had a problem with.

[carolinajack]

elitist views, not what they do for a living

[readymade]

Originally Posted by carolinajack

elitist views, not what they do for a living

All I was trying to say is that MOST people in the North East no matter WHAT they do for a living are not elitist. Some are, sure. Some are everywhere.

[carolinajack]

i didnt say most, i said the elitist progressives, the ones whom i defined as elitist. not ordinary people who go to work and dont think the water they drink is better than the water you drink, or the clothes they buy is better than the clothes your buy or the coffee you drink or the car you drive or the carbon you omit.

[readymade]

Do you think it's elitist for me to think that the water I drink out of a glass bottle is better than the water "you" (you, meaning "someone else") drink out of a plastic one is better? Because my using a glass bottle puts a smaller footprint on the earth as well as the fact that plastic leaks estrogen & other chemicals into the water. Therefore my water is safer and more environmental to drink.

I do believe that, heh. Does that make me better than "you?" Eh, I don't know. I'm sure I do something else horrible to make up for it. And "you" probably volunteer.

I guess there are worst things to be than "elitist." Pretentious, a rapist, not funny being some of them. Maybe I'm a down-to-earth, consensual sex w/ my husband, funny elitist! And I guess I'm OK with that.

[R_Cowgirl]

I sure wish we could get back to what words REALLY mean:
Pro⋅gres⋅sive  /prəˈgrɛsɪv/
–adjective
favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform

Con⋅serv⋅a⋅tive   /kənˈsɜrvətɪv/
–adjective
disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change

~~~~~

IMHO - both of these positions are necessary for a society to exist. We need to be smart about what needs to be changed (cleaning up corruption in govt and business; dirt roads to paved roads; improvements in medicine; healthier infrastructures; safer streets, etc.)

AND we need to be smart about what to hold onto. (Tradition; community feeling; cultural values that support that community feeling; historical structures and stories that remind us who we are, where we came from, and what we stand for; smart financial lessons from the past that can be applied today; natural resources that are irreplaceable; preserving ALL the Constitution - since it's not multiple choice!, etc etc.)

The problem is, people keep trying to label and make this an either-or proposition. In a society that works, there's a nice, albeit delicate, balance between the two. Labeling, screaming, sliming, and putting people in boxes doesn't help. I would hope that we can all work to find that balance again, cuz if we don't, there may not BE a second chance!

Now, everyone hold hands while we cross the street!

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by carolinajack

elitist: thinking and believing that what one believes and what one does in life has greater values and views are more important than others. talking down to those who dont agree with them or have the same interest or awareness. progressive and i used to be one big time, in the northeast part of the country are pretty elitist with the excepting of the working class left

Oh, ok. One thing I really, really hate is when people 'talk down' to me, especially about things like relgion. Because I'm Episcopal, I hear a lot about not being moral enough, or religious enough. Annoying.