Is Being a Snob Always a Bad Thing?
The other day, I was talking with a lifelong friend and the subject of barbecue came up. He promoted a Houston place he likes and I was quick to say that it was garbage and not “real barbecue.” The idea of any meat that you have to put a sauce on to eat, being compared to true finger-lickin’ brisket, ribs or sausage is an affront to true BBQ lovers. He responded, “You’re a snob. You’ve been conned into thinking that it has to be $50 a pound to be good barbecue.”
While, I don’t agree that price is a direct correlation, I had to admit that yes, I am a snob. There are some things that I do look down my nose on. A McRib is NOT barbecue and neither is a lot of the stuff out there that sells itself as such, but smothers the meat with sauce to trick you into thinking it has a smokey flavor. True BBQ not only doesn’t require sauce – it is a sin to apply it.
But it’s not just my taste in BBQ. I am a snob in movies. I am a snob in books. I am a snob in music. I am a snob in sports. I am a snob about good behavior. I am a snob about being happy. Pretty much anything you see me writing about regularly here on my blog for past fifteen years is something that is important to me. As such, I am pretty much a snob about it.
Being a snob is not about being rude (at least for me.) It is about being a connoisseur. It is about investing my time, money, interests and passion wisely and not wasting them. Those resources are vital, rare and precious – why would I waste them?
I choose to hang out with people that have good hearts. I don’t care if they are rich, poor, straight, gay, chaste, addicted or a number of other things that cause some folks to close doors. I care if they have good hearts and are good people. I will not tolerate or allow into my life the negative Nancy’s or the hurtful, manipulative or otherwise crass folks. Yes, I am a snob.
What is your take? What are you snobby about?
by Chris Doelle
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