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I interpreted "air of superiority" as snobbish behavior. I don't think most people reading the OP would condemn people for being successful, I sure wouldn't, quite the opposite in fact.
Some people just like wearing their success and/or pedigree on their sleeves (or faking it).
How the hell do you know how much they made or how they budgeted?
My friends and some coworkers assume I make about 50% of what I actually do.
I am FINE with that assumption and do or say nothing to disabuse them of this.
Sometimes I am sure that a purchase I make or a vacation I take makes them question the math, but I am fine with that, too.
I don't know about snob but it is obvious all the work values I grew up with no longer exist.
I remember the late 50's (yeah, I am that old) and early 60's when the very highest thing a man could aspire to be was a scientist or engineer and if you were involved in the space program you were at the top of the heap.
In 1961 if you had asked most any of us if we wanted to be a billionaire or scientist/astronaut nearly all of us would have jumped at being a scientist/astronaut.
While money was important back then I do not remember it being the main driving force to the extent it appears to be today.
Maybe I am wrong but today it appears to be more about the money and flash that goes with it.
That is because no one has respect for true professions anymore. You know, the ones where you have to study hard and contribute to society.
Better you be some worthless thug rapper pulling in millions or a guy who can catch a football for $200k a game.
Many of the kids who grew up in the area in which I live, fall into this category. They're subsidized by mom and dad, some living on the gold coast, a couple of them even living in Trump Tower, and they walk around like they've made it because they don't tell anyone they're being subsidized. I know because I know their parents who are quite open about it. The air of superiority comes from having material things most adults don't have. It doesn't matter to them how they got it, the bottom line is, they have it.
You must have given off some kind of "I've got money" vibe otherwise you wouldn't have gotten a second look from any of them.
You're showing a lot of scorn for people you really don't know any better than they knew you. They went to Ivy League schools and you didn't. They might have lower-paying jobs than you do, but perhaps they are free to indulge careers in fashion or retail because they had an income stream of inheritance money to use for luxury cars or homes. That's not against the law, even if you disapprove.
I'm not saying that no rich people have entitlement issues. Almost every day I, too, see people who are, as they say, born on third base and acting like they hit a triple. But I also see another form of entitlement: people who paid their own way and think they deserve a medal for it. I'm one of them myself but I don't think that makes me better than people who came by their possessions and their status easier than I came by mine. I also don't think I'm better than people who started out their lives the way I did but who failed to progress beyond meager beginnings. That's another kind a scorn I see a lot of here on C-D.
You say you have a good job, a nice home, and toys. Enjoy them and stop worrying about how other people got theirs. Your annoyance with people you make assumptions about is unbecoming and reads a bit like jealousy.
I don't know about snob but it is obvious all the work values I grew up with no longer exist.
I remember the late 50's (yeah, I am that old) and early 60's when the very highest thing a man could aspire to be was a scientist or engineer and if you were involved in the space program you were at the top of the heap.
In 1961 if you had asked most any of us if we wanted to be a billionaire or scientist/astronaut nearly all of us would have jumped at being a scientist/astronaut.
While money was important back then I do not remember it being the main driving force to the extent it appears to be today.
Maybe I am wrong but today it appears to be more about the money and flash that goes with it.
Pardon me Nicet4, I too am that old and recall the 50's. Not everyone thought being a scientist/astronaut was man's highest calling . . . I, for one, wanted to be a cowboy!
If they are anywhere near DC, they probably have trust funds. At lot of confidence comes from not having to worry about money and knowing you can afford what your "social set" considers a "reasonable" lifestyle.\
Pardon me Nicet4, I too am that old and recall the 50's. Not everyone thought being a scientist/astronaut was man's highest calling . . . I, for one, wanted to be a cowboy!
Cowboy was third down my list!
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