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PaperclipPerfector  2yr ago (text post)   3220 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 7, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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After recently becoming rich (read: middle class in socal), I've started doing more rich people things; eg I'm a member of a couple museums I like near me, the gemological institute, and I bought a membership and season tickets to my local orchestra. Hence, I've been going to more soirees, concerts, events and such and have developed some feelings.

Re: Some types of 'cultural' activities are just better than other types. I know, I know, taste and what have you. That said: if the only thing that you do outside of work and buy shit is watch sports, I am tired as fuck of you. Even if I disagree with 80% of the people here on 90% of reality, at least your fucking here! That already give you a bunch of points or interest.

Everyone I meet at these highfalutin type situations likes dumb garbage prole entertainment. They watch sitcoms or NFL or MMA or whatever. The problem seems to be when that is the ONLY thing you consume.

Secondly: Man I love having a social circle that includes some cultural elites. A lot of dudes I used to be around in trade actually had more money than these people, but they spent it on eg a bigger truck or cloths or shitty furniture that is still expensive for some reason or vacations to Cabo or Acapulco. I know that finding these things to be fucking lame as fuck and boring makes me an elitist piece of shit but fuck man. Acapulco? You're gonna spend 10k for 7 days in a shitty hotel?

Basically, I am devastated but unsurprised to find that the better half actually do live better.

Also I got the subject of my most recent ban in the mail and it is fucking beautiful; a heavily used Stanley no. 8 type 9 jointer from 1900ish in nearly mint condition somehow; many carful owners. It is now my precious son and lives on a special shelf so I can admire it from my computer.

within the cultural upper middle class I find the consumers of low culture more interesting

There are a ton of PMC dudes from perfectly decent upper (middle) class backgrounds who just watch basketball, smoke weed and play GTA (etc) in their free time, I don’t think this is really uncommon.

People hike for status?

I don't know about hiking in particular but there's a conformity to a lot of these activities that at the most charitable are reflective of status and at the least charitable are indicative of pretense. A reasonable rule of thumb is whether a local could do it cheaply, an outsider couldn't do it without paying, and the modest locals might arbitrage their resource to the wealthy outsiders. The status anxious locals save up to imitate being a wealthy outsider, often somewhere else, and the wealthy outsider is already partially imitating the modest authenticity of a locale. It wasn't a PMC careerist who came up with fishing, horse riding, making wine or any of the other stuff that is typically for toffs and peasants, but PMC careerists do come up with sales plans and can probably demonstrate a level of critical insight into that activity that is potentially more interesting than recycling what they've been told about a wine's terroir.

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