logictortured.com Blog

Why Teabaggers Hate Elites

I came across a very interesting opinion piece by Anne Applebaum over at the Slate.

As you likely know, as of late the Right has a profound hatred for elites. Anne points out that Americans have always hated its leaders. However, in previous times the leaders came into power not because of their skills, but by birthright. In decades past, you didn’t get into an ivy league school because of your grades, but because your father was an alum.

That changed in the 70s and suddenly your parental lineage didn’t keep you from becoming an elite, nor did it guarantee you to become one. Suddenly, Clarence Thomas, a son of a domestic servant and a farm worker, could attend and graduate from Yale Law School and become a Supreme Court justice.

So why do teabaggers hate elites so much? In the old days people could blame the unfair system for their position in life. Nowadays, that’s no longer true. If you didn’t better yourself through education and become an elite yourself, you’re a failure. And it’s all your fault. You can’t blame the system, your race, society, or your parents. Only yourself.

That’s pissing off whites who used to be able to be able to coast on their color, but are now held accountable to their failures.

So while the original tea party protest was about unjust taxation, taxation without representation. And while the civil rights riots were about fixing an inherently unfair and unjust system. Apparently teabag protests are just self-centered expressions of anger over their own failures. So much for the party who praises self-sufficiency so highly.

Update: 10-21-2010:

Great Quote on the Right’s view of Elitism from the New York Times:

On Saturday, at a G.O.P. rally in Anaheim, Calif., Palin mockingly noted that you won’t find her invoking Mao or Saul Alinsky. She says she believes in American exceptionalism. But when it comes to the people running the country, exceptionalism is suspect; leaders should be — as Palin, O’Donnell and Angle keep saying — just like you.

Share this:

Ebert Quote: RED

RED:

It features actors we like doing things we wish were more interesting.

Share this:

Joke of the Week

In the high school gym, all the girls in the class were lined up against one wall, and all the boys against the opposite wall. Then, every ten seconds, they walked toward each other until they were half the previous distance apart. A philosopher, a mathematician, and an engineer were asked, “When will the girls and boys meet?”

The philosopher said: “Never.”

The mathematician said: “In an infinite amount of time.”

The engineer said: “Well… in about two minutes, they’ll be close enough for all practical purposes.”

Share this: