That's what it is. It's been bugging me for awhile around here, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Elitism, or I'm-better-than-you-ism, or holier-than-thou-ism, or whatever: I could really do without that in the world. I could really do without that on DKos especially.
Everything, everything in life, is about power. Are you gonna use that power for Good or are you gonna use that power for Evil? The choice is always yours.
All that being said, this diary is fucking elitist. :) I judge the people who do this. I totally do, I admit it.
I wonder what motivates people, mostly because I wonder what motivates me. I ponder it and seriously consider going back to grad school for sociology or somesuch. I guess I have a natural affinity for reading people, although I can definitely be off with that; it's certainly not a gimme, as I'm sure folks in the comments will remind me. :P I think I'm kind of an empath, so do what you want with that little nugget of information. I've never read tea leaves, I still don't get Runes, and I have no idea what your aura looks like, though, so don't think I'm a circus freak just yet.
I've never been very booksmart. I'm well-educated and stuff, but that's nothing big in this day and age. Dubya has tons of degrees but he's all "misunderestimated" and shit. A degree doesn't mean crap if you don't apply what you've learned or, say, forget most of it by smoking a skunky-smelling substance. I enjoy learning, but only in subjects of my choosing. In college, I aced just about everything (except math, of course) and was on the Dean's List for 8 semesters total. Given my intense personal life of late, I'd rather read John Grisham than Hannah Arendt. But y'all forced my hand on that last one, so now I'm reading The Origins of Totalitarianism. Too many big freaking words, but fascinating, nonetheless.
So being booksmart doesn't really impress me that much. I have a ton of stuff I want to learn before I die, and I will when it's time for each and every one of them. I don't fucking care what you know or don't know, although some semblance of a brain would be nice. I figure that most people on DKos are at least moderately bright because, ya know, they're here and all. :) We found a community to learn and to thrive and to have fun and to complain and to make fun of trolls. It's fantastic!
Except when it isn't.
What motivates me on DKos is what motivates me in real life: passion. I have a passion for politics, for writing, for integrity, for kindness, for understanding, for fairness, for the rule of law, for truth, for standing up for the underdog. That's what motivates me. Eventually, I'd like to get a paying gig out of this blogging thing. So that's what motivates me, what drives me.
Often times, I become quite naive on DKos, thinking that everybody else's agenda is as pure as the driven snow. Everybody else wants to elect more and better progressive Democrats, too! Yay! Let's all have a sleepover, and sing Kumbaya, and braid each others' hair! I'll totally make margaritas, and we can go to sleep full of nachos and jokes about Michael Steele! It will be AWESOME!
But there's this kind of vicious underbelly of DKos that makes me want to vomit. The one where people count how many times they've been on the Rec List. The one where people kiss Jeff Lieber's ass. The one where people look down on me because I'm not booksmart. The one where people insult another person's religion, or lack thereof. The one where people gang up on people they don't like in diaries and go absolutely insane. The one where certain people wouldn't even acknowledge my existence until I'd made the Rec List. The one where popularity trumps class.
I don't fucking care about any of that shit. Tell me what kind of person you are, not what you know or who you know or your DKos street cred. Big effing deal, man. If your head is so big that it can't fit through the door, then I'm probably not going to like you. If your ego is so huge that you need others to massage it, then I'm probably not going to like you. If you think you are better than me or anyone else because of anything listed in the last 2 paragraphs, then I'm probably not going to like you.
Being smart does not make you a good person.
Being smart just makes you ... smart. I'd sometimes rather hang out with dumb, nice folks than with smart, mean folks. I am all about nice. If you're not nice, then you can suck it.
OK, I'm putting my soapbox away now. Has anyone seen my flame suit? I think I left it in the I/P diary last night. Crap.