to the OP...
i think that perhaps in addition to a projection of frustration towards others because the blue-collar advocate did not push himself harder, i imagine that it's a frustration
towards a society which does celebrate and reward people who climb the corporate ladder, as opposed to those who work hard and ethically. and of course you can do both, but (at least my) culture reveres those at the top of the food chain regardless of the nasty means they may have used to get themselves there. so i could easily see someone being pissed at those people who have risen through uncouth means, generalizes that, and therefore distrusts the whole group.
but yes, he also may well be masking his own disappointment - classical freudian reaction formation.
"[t]he instincts and their derivatives may be arranged as pairs of opposites: life versus death, construction versus destruction, action versus passivity, dominance versus submission, and so forth. When one of the instincts produces anxiety by exerting pressure on the ego either directly or by way of the superego, the ego may try to sidetrack the offending impulse by concentrating upon its opposite. For example, if feelings of hate towards another person make one anxious, the ego can facilitate the flow of love to conceal the hostility."
----
this thread is making me dizzy..
+1
At that moment something clicked in my brain... I had always thought that not only should Nicole go "do something" with her life. (My definition of "do something",) but also felt that she was judging me for actually going ahead and "doing something." She may have been judging me, but now I think, maybe not... Maybe I'm just projecting my own stuff on to her. Saying, "Nicole thinks my lifestyle is bad." When the reverse is really true. I can only speculate. (I still kind of think she judges people of higher economic status a little bit...A few other's have agreed.. But, hey! She never did say that out loud!! You can't assume anything.)
yeah... i have a friend who graduated, got pregnant, kept it, got married, and now works at a diner and is working on making a family. i know that's not a path i want to take, but at the same time, i haven't decided my own path yet. i used to feel superior - not morally, but in terms of class/money/status/whatever. more recently i have looked at her life and realized how supportive her family is, how much she loves her child, how her baby-daddy has chosen to marry her because he actually does love her, and they might not be rich, but they're living a life of love. the practical and classist side of me shivers and says they're just screwing with their ability to be financially secure and happy later on. some other side of me says they're living a really beautiful life. i figure both are true.
But those born with wealth also frequently feel "entitled."
yes. though i think it's often not as "evil" as it's portrayed. if you're born into relative wealth, you're probably pretty used to a certain degree of positive feedback. so why all of a sudden should you be deprived of it? like, if you've worked decently in school, done lots of extracurriculars, gotten into a good college, graduated well, and suddenly you're smack-bottom of the food chain... it's like all of a sudden you're putting the same amount of effort in that you always have, but with so much less return. hence entitlement - it feels unfair for that to happen. like a rug being pulled out from under your feet.
and just because i'm surprised no one has posted it yet,