Quote:
Originally Posted by ladygreek
I understand that and to me it was pretentious and used to separate the "elite."
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There is separation in all walks of life. We're (read: within-race) not all the same people when you get to specifics.
There will always be some divergence to go along with all of the convergence in experiences.
The cream of the crop isn't just about performance. People will also rise to the top based on their cultural proficiency and that includes style of dress and speech. It's what people in my field call cultural capital, social capital, and human capital. You portray a certain image and are able to network, then you will be given the opportunity to show of your knowledge and skills, as well as develop your knowledge and skills.
The big issue with this is that it is based on dominant group ideals. Cultural capital is about the style of speech and dress that the dominant group values.