I Am a Snob (and What That Means)

I've mentioned before how I am pretty snobby. Sometimes when I describe myself like this IRL, it surprises people and they argue with me, "No you're not! What are you talking about?" This is because my definition of "snobby" seems to be different from everyone else's. (I have the same problem with the word "feminist": B thinks I should stop calling myself one since it just confuses others. But I feel like my definition is the correct one and everyone else is just wrong, so I won't.)

As far as "snobby" goes, I don't care at all about 1. how much money people have; 2. if they own expensive/branded products; 3. how attractive they are (or how much they weigh); 4. what schools they went to, or degrees they have; or 5. what cars they own. I love shopping at thrift stores, and I would pick the awesome greasy hole-in-the-wall restaurant over the five-star fine dining establishment every time.

That doesn't mean I'm not snobby though. People who care about that sort of thing are actually just not snobby enough. According to my worldview, all of these things are rather beneath the cultivated person's notice: in other words, I don't care about them (or at least pretend not to care, there is some hypocrisy involved here as being poor, ignorant and obese isn't something I actually want for myself) because I think I'm too good for that.

So what do I judge people on? Ignorance is a big one: I expect people to have a basic knowledge of science, world history, philosophy, and geography (and so if people don't know what evolution is, who Napoleon is, or where Australia is, I will not view them as my equal). Being a sophisticated or "cultivated" person is almost as important, which means appreciating literature (NOT Stephen King, my god), art (and real art, horrible shlock like Thomas Kinkade doesn't count), music (beyond the top 40!), and travel (package tours don't count).

Taste is another. I tend to look down on people who wear clothes that I define as "tacky" (which would include profane t-shirts, Disney paraphernalia  or anything with kittens, angels or Indians). I judge people based on what they eat--because while eating cheap food is fine, it has to be delicious. The idea of eating Velveeta, Jello, grocery store white bread or grape jelly horrifies me (B and I still mock this one person who served lettuce in jello!!! to him once). Home decor is the same way (here's an example of an apparently nice house, that to me seems almost repulsive in its tackiness).

Typically when hearing the word "snob" people think of someone obsessed with Coach purses and bottle service, who sneers at the "little people" (all of which I consider horribly tacky BTW). To me, a snob is someone who feels they are better than most other people. The metric by which they make this judgment isn't so important. Most intellectuals (and liberals) qualify quite handily by this definition, and as both it's maybe not so surprising I do too.

I feel conflicted about being a snob, because on the one hand it is really rather morally repulsive to think you are superior to most people (80%? I asked B and he says it's more like 98%, but that's B for you). On the other hand, I do think I'm better: smarter, better educated, better able to appreciate beauty and culture and quality...It's very possible this is all delusional of course (because there's no rule that giant black candlesticks are hideous), but even though I know it intellectually I cannot convince myself of its truth in my heart.