Snobs R Us

DISCLAIMER: People will get offended by this blog. People will think I'm talking about them (I am). People will call me a hypocrite (I am). I am going to get into a subject that a lot of people don't want to hear about or read about or otherwise acknowledge in any way. But what I have to say, well, it needs to be said people! I just does. So enter at your own risk. And please feel free to be a comments troll....if any blog entry deserves trolls, it's this one.
American Heritage Dictionary defines a snob as:

1. One who despises, ignores, or is patronizing to those he or she considers inferior.

2. One who is convinced of his or her superiority in matters of taste or intellect.

I define a snob as:

1. A person who gets on my last nerve....or maybe second to last nerve as stupid people get on my last nerve. Wait...snobs are often stupid people... Now I'm just confused.......

To be open and clear...yes, I'm a snob. A dictionary snob. I think American Heritage is superior to all other dictionaries out that. I don't have a good reason. I don't have logic or research to back me up (unless the hours upon hours upon hours spent shelving dictionaries at a bookstore count as research). I just prefer American Heritage. So all you Merriam-Webster users...suck it! Websters SUCKS and so do you!!!!

Oh wait...Websters doesn't suck and American Heritage isn't superior (though it is still my dictionary of choice). They are dictionaries and I consider any dictionary that includes the word I'm looking up to be excellent. Just as I consider all books with words (and even the ones without) to be worth reading and all foods and beverages made worth trying (at least once).

Where am I going with this you ask? Good question...

Today I had the privilege to read a few back and forths on Facebook that made me wonder how some people function in this society filled with others so beneath them. I mean seriously?! How can you craft beer enthusiasts live in a world filled with green beer drinkers? How can you vegan, organic, farm-to-table, no trans-fat eaters stand to shop in the same grocery stores as those that love their deep fried Twinkies? Or you, you Tolstoy loving, history buff who only buy hardcovers...how can you stand to be around me and my ratty, sci-fi mass market paperback?

Unlike wealth or intellect, personal preferences are subjective and arbitrary. Just because I like to read a certain author doesn't mean the people around me will have the same love. Or just because you like sushi doesn't mean I do (though I do...I definitely do.) Your love of sushi and my love of obscure, modern authors no one else has ever heard of doesn't make us better than anymore else. It just makes us, us. Our unique tastes are what make this a fun place to live. A place to discuss, try new things, and learn. I absolutely love to introduce people to knew things, be it a new restaurant, a new author, a new musician or a new travel destination. Not everyone likes the things I introduce them to and that's OK. I'm not going to judge them for it. I'm going to ask them to introduce me to something they do like and learn from them.

You can love cheesy action flicks AND French cinema. Or enjoy reading Dickens as much as 50 Shades of Gray. Or love 80s hair band with the same passion as you love Italian opera. What you like and don't like doesn't make you superior. Nothing makes you superior. 

Unless you're the divine being (or Big Bang depending on your view point) that started this giant merry-go-round. And if you are....can you stop creating stupid people? PLEASE!!!

Stop being snobs people. Open yourself up to the experiences you feel are beneath you. It might surprise you to find out you like rom-coms or Katy Perry or green beer.

OK, you won't like green beer. It's gross. Not because it's green though, but because it is more often than not Bud Light.