"You're a snob. And that's okay." A Rant

The Gage Canadian Dictionary (c) 1997 defines 'Snob' as "n. 1 a person who cares too much for rank, wealth, and position, being too anxious to please or imitate people above him or her and too ready to ignore those below him or her. 2 a person who is contemptuous of the popular taste in some field, and is attracted to esoteric or learned things for their own sake: a literary snob, a musical snob."

Whomever it was who decided that being a snob would have such negative connotations should be tarred and feathered (in my most snobbish, condescending and humble opinion).

Today I was having coffee with a friend. The following is an excerpt of our conversation:

M.G.: "You sure are a snob." (spoken as a simple observation in the same way, "The sky is quite a nice colour today," might be intoned)

A: "Thank you. You're a dilettante and a snob."

M.G.: "Thank you." (mutual, appreciative smiles followed by questioning looks from the man sitting nearby)

I like to consider all my friends to be snobs. One is a welding snob. One is a music snob. One is a gay-intellect snob. My sister is a car snob. My cousin is a sports snob. The list just goes on, and I love them all. In the case of some of my best friends, the fact that they immediately came off as a snob was what caught my attention in the first place; if not for their "contempt" and desire for "esoteric or learned things," I would have never befriended them.

What would the world be like without snobs? Would art be raised to the status it is? Would music have come this far? I think perhaps it is the snobs who force us to pay attention and appreciate the immense value of some things. Some snobs are remembered for their tremendous impact on culture. They drive it forward and perpetuate the snob cycle:

Snobs become involved in something out of the norm > That thing becomes classified as 'edgy' > Which pushes it to popularity in "the scene" > Which carries it to generally accepted popularity > At which point, the new generation of snobs find that thing (which was originally esoteric) low-brow and must seek out something else that is unusual or Delphic to focus their unseeded passions on; Therefore, the cycle comes full circle and will continue on as long as there is a portion of the populous that craves the intellect and art that resides in snobbishness.

So, be a snob. Because that's okay.

M.G. (Dilettante/Renaissance woman and proud snob of eclectic taste)