The premise of a snob is that a person thinks they're better than others. They have better cultural taste. Better education. They've read more good books than most
people. They have more money. And they flaunt this
opinion.
The mere act of showing disdain and contempt for a fellow human being is one of the most deplorable acts a person could ever perform. When you say that you're better, you must also say someone else is worse. A snob peddles in
this misery and humiliation of others.
So here's the contradiction built into the premise of
being a snob: the people doing the worst things, think
that they are the best people.
Remember... What does one gain by humilating or breaking
down another person? Absolutely nothing. Or else, if they
do gain some joy, then they suffer from antisocial personality disorder. In other words, they are a
psychopath.
Here are some warning signs that you may have snobbish
tendencies:
- Have you ever been surprised, and told someone
that you misjudged them, or underestimated
them?
- What were you doing judging and
estimating anyone else to begin with? Trying
to measure which of you was better?
- Are you obsessed with your ranking, how many
experience points you possess, or whether or
not you're a god or have Elite status on
your favorite website, bulletin board, or
online game?
- Why are you trying to outrank or be better than
the other members of a community of people you
purport to care about?
- How enthusiastic are you to offer suggestions
when someone asks for good books to read?
- Do you cite books that sucked more often than
books that ruled?
- Are you being charitable and giving good
advice for others to follow? Or are you serving
an ulterior motive, jumping on a chance to brag
about how much you've read?
- Do you only publicize journal entries in which you
think you did something remarkable?
- Are your publicized journal entries ignoring the
mistakes that you've made?
- What's your motive for publicizing your journal?
To make people jealous of your successes, rather
than to express empathy with the failings of others?
If you truly want to be a better person than most, avoid
snobbish tendencies. Identify what you do that's snobbish.
And don't just stop doing such things. Actually improve,
and clean your karmic slate. Apologize to the people
you tore down for personal gain. Make amends. You'll be
better served spiritually by replacing the faux
superiority you built up over the years by actually proving
that you've become a better person. Take back your negative
judgments, if you must. It's a better route in life.
Also keep in mind that the people a snob hurts, are people
whose respect the snob desired. The wrong effect was
produced, however. Go back and earn the respect properly!