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Cowgirlcontrarian's avatar

Ah, yes! I can buy "out of his depth". So often, because I hang around with smart people, I forget that an explanation for off behavior is that they have middling brains, but pose as experts or actually think their education makes them elite. Might be elite, but not necessarily smart. Thanks!

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Ann Robinson's avatar

They can also be quite smart about a lot of things and think that makes them smart about everything.

The hilarious part of this is the self-identified intelligentsia which thinks Brooks knows what he,s talking about as he showcases the rubes with the most sympathetic and kindly lens possible. So they all get to feel superior without feeling mean.

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Bootsorourke's avatar

"Oh... but he likes polishing my boots!"

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Danno's avatar

The "elite" label is a sign of actual achievement in sports competition, but when used in describing one's social strata, it's become toxic.

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Bootsorourke's avatar

The shutdowns, during which the elites were scolding everyone for not jabbing themselves or masking (because non-elites are dirty and dumb and don't care for others like "we" do)

accelerated that as their children could go to school and their maids and gardeners were considered essential.

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