I'm a terrible snob.
I don't care about what people wear. You can look as shabby as you want. I'm not going to judge you harshly.
I don't care about the music people listen to. Classical or pop. Hip and cool or golden oldies. Whatever gets you tapping your toes is fine by me.
I don't care about what people eat. If haute cuisine is your thing, that's cool. If you're more partial to McDonalds, that's cool too.
I don't even care what people read. If it's airport fiction or supposed literary masterpieces, it really makes no difference to me. (admittedly, I'd prefer it if more people were reading books by me, but that's another story)
But despite this apparent tolerance, I'm still a terrible snob. There's one thing in particular that gets me turning my nose up, every time I witness it.
That thing is snobbery.
I can't stand snobs. I despise them. Those people who think they are better than other people, just because they wear more expensive clothes, or believe their taste in music or books or whatever somehow makes them superior to others.
I judge that kind of behaviour really harshly. I definitely believe that I'm superior to people like that. I guess you could say that I'm snobbish about snobs.
Of course, I have to live by me own standards. If I'm snobbish about snobs, this means that I am a snob, which means I have to be snobbish about myself. I definitely think that I'm far better than myself. If I ever see me walking down the street, I'll always turn my nose up at myself.
And now that I've managed to completely confuse myself, I think I'll go and have a long lie down.
I don't care about what people wear. You can look as shabby as you want. I'm not going to judge you harshly.
I don't care about the music people listen to. Classical or pop. Hip and cool or golden oldies. Whatever gets you tapping your toes is fine by me.
I don't care about what people eat. If haute cuisine is your thing, that's cool. If you're more partial to McDonalds, that's cool too.
I don't even care what people read. If it's airport fiction or supposed literary masterpieces, it really makes no difference to me. (admittedly, I'd prefer it if more people were reading books by me, but that's another story)
But despite this apparent tolerance, I'm still a terrible snob. There's one thing in particular that gets me turning my nose up, every time I witness it.
That thing is snobbery.
I can't stand snobs. I despise them. Those people who think they are better than other people, just because they wear more expensive clothes, or believe their taste in music or books or whatever somehow makes them superior to others.
I judge that kind of behaviour really harshly. I definitely believe that I'm superior to people like that. I guess you could say that I'm snobbish about snobs.
Of course, I have to live by me own standards. If I'm snobbish about snobs, this means that I am a snob, which means I have to be snobbish about myself. I definitely think that I'm far better than myself. If I ever see me walking down the street, I'll always turn my nose up at myself.
And now that I've managed to completely confuse myself, I think I'll go and have a long lie down.
This is a difficult one because all people are not the same. Some are cleverer. Some are stronger or faster. Some can paint or write or dance. It’s the word ‘better’ that causes the problem here. Is Philip Glass, just to pull a name out of a hat, a better person than I am? He’s better at composing but maybe I’m a better writer. I’d like to think that I am. That would make me feel better about him better at composing than I am. Better is an odd word. It’s not like ‘faster’. You may be faster than me but I might still be fast but if you’re better than me can I be bet? I prefer to distinguish things by the use of the word ‘different’. You’re different to me but that doesn’t mean you’re better or worse than me. That said I have to say I do look down on people who both read and write books I think are rubbish, e.g. Fifty Shades… I shouldn’t. I should say, “Each to his own,” but I don’t. I don’t think I’m a better person than they are but they have lousy tastes. I’m a great believer in the ‘be all you can be’ school of thought. I’m never going to be Proust but I’ve written more than Larkin. Whether what I’ve written is better than Larkin is a whole other issue. Too many people settle. In many aspects of my life I’ve settled but everyone needs some aspects of their lives where they refuse to settle. It might be the beer they drink, the women they date or the prose they write. I’ve settled for a quiet life that revolves around reading and writing. I’m lucky that I can afford to do that and my life is better than many writers who have to work to support themselves but that still doesn’t make me a better person.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside I’ve just started reading Hector and the Search for Happiness by François Lelord. You should check it out. It reminded me of some of your work.