Reply to What are some things people do unknowingly that make them seem elitist?

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[quote=Anonymous]Anytime you make life choices that are different from others, but you talk about your choices excessively, you run the risk that you will be considered elitist by others who did not make the same choice you did (this is whether or not you speak judgmentally about the choice or not).  Anytime you spent more money on something than someone else would or could spend on the same category, you could be perceived to be elitist if you speak about it.

- you picked a house based on school district (and spent more money to get into that neighborhood)
- you picked a more expensive car (for any reason)
- you choose more expensive food options (organic, WF, special cuts of meat, buy BLSL, hormone-free, chemical-free, etc)
- you take more expensive vacations than they do
- you have more expensive hobbies than they do
- you like to buy "quality"
- you avoid certain countries, vendors, brands, materials, etc
- you pay for regular activities for your children (teams, sports, even daycare)
- you pick a political position based on values that others can't afford.  For example, pushing for clean air standards when they are driving the least expensive car/truck that they can afford to do what they need to do).  Or fighting against the Keystone pipeline when they see it as a way to keep gas prices down.  Or pushing for gun regulation/registration when they are gun owners.  All things that could end up taking money out of their pockets.

and so on.

How do you be more aware of these issues?  Look at your life and compare with theirs.  If you have options that you chose that are more expensive or harder to come by for any reason, stop and consider how you represent that choice when you speak with your family.  Usually a bit if introspection and observation of your extended family can expose where your values differ from theirs and often where you've made choices that they would consider elitist.  After you've flagged a few topics, then just avoid those topics in conversation or avoid stating your position on those topics.  If you can't figure it out, work on spending more time talking about them and their choices in conversation.  Ask questions.  Avoid giving details about your choices.  If you need to give answers, give short pleasant answers.

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