Law School

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I understand your point. I just don't think it's a well-taken point.

In a circumstance like you described, where you specifically said it was not said pretentiously but people think you are being snooty, the problem is not that the statement sounds pretentious, but rather that it is perceived as being pretentious. There is a difference -- the same difference as between something being implied and inferred. If it sounds pretentious, then a hearer is being reasonable in assigning pretentiousness to the speaker. If it is said in an unpretentious manner but is nevertheless perceived as pretentious, then a hearer is not reasonable in assigning pretentiousness to the speaker.

In other words, if you tell people you're going to law school in a way that sounds pretentious, it's your problem. If you don't sound pretentious but they perceive pretentiousness anyway, it's their problem.

I would not expect my point to be well-taken by you because you are always going to find something wrong with what I say. No big deal though.
I definitely agree that it is their problem though. It is really unfortunate when that is the case. I found that happening to me a great deal in my hometown, but I suppose that is because people in the town assumed I was a snob because of my family's status in the area. That's why as someone else said, I just started saying I was going to grad school. It didn't alleviate the problem completely, but it did help some.