Inverted Snobbery

[stbeaker]

I have noticed that MN has started to berate anybody who can afford to do or buy anything nice. See the recent 18k holiday thread with people calling the op grotesque.

Surely MN should be for all. For the rich, for the poor, and for everybody in the middle.

Now obviously if you are commenting on threads about people asking for advice who have a weekly shopping budget of £50 about how you shop in Selfridges food hall then you are an insensitive div.

But if you start a specific thread about a luxury holiday or what designer bag to get - then you should be allowed to do so without being labelled grotesque or having COL thrown at you.

I agree. Mumsnet in general has a race to the bottom attitude about most things, I've noticed.

And it’s the people who feign disbelief about how a holiday can cost 18k - like they don’t believe it’s possible. Surely people can’t be this simple?

I mean I can’t afford a 300 million quid yacht - but I’m absolutely aware they can go for that and a lot more.

How can people possibly be so unaware of the world around them?

I completely agree OP. There seems to be a massive distaste for people who can afford things others can’t. Actually it’s more then distaste, it’s contempt much of the time, with the added assumption that these people are out of touch. I can’t afford 18k for a holiday, but fair play to people who can! It’s their money, they can spend it how they want, what’s more, I’ve got no problem hearing about it.

It goes the other way too . I keep seeing the term chav and chavvy on here .Some people live in their own little bubble so anything that is a bit different to their norm gets labelled. Honestly if I had the money , I'd be spending it on nice holiday , bags etc too .

It’s really weird. On one hand the OP is berated but then on other threads posters are recommending 2 weeks in ikos which wouldn’t be too far off that

I find inverted snobbery as off putting as regular snobbery. But blatant show the wealth content can be a bit crass sometimes.

Yep and it's being echoed/stoked by Labour if you look at the language they use to justify each policy.

I agree - but sometimes a question has to be a question. If somebody wants to know the best 5 star hotel in NYC then you have to ask that question.

Likewise if somebody wants to know the best value bnb in Blackpool you have to ask that specific question.

I think it is old fashioned snobbery tbh.
Someone spending £18K is frightfully vulgar - why on earth don't they have friends with a family holiday home in Cornwall or France for a cheap and much more classy break. The poshest people I know are by far the tightest. I have very expensive holidays compared to my wage (spend 25-30% on holidays) and the poorer friends always congratulate me whilst wealthier and upper class people tend to be suspicious about how I afford it and sniffy about my 'vulgar' choices.

That thread really irritated me! It seems to be the actual mention of amounts of money that's the problem - loads ask about business class flights or long haul, multi-stop trips which would naturally cost that sort of money, with no issues but the second a price tag is attached it's like the MN frugality police come running 😂

I imagine anger fuels this kind of response. There is a huge divide between those who have and those who don't. It's always been this way. You have to develop a thick skin to post on MN.

People think everyone else is in the exact same situation as them and are confused if any evidence is shown to the contrary. Why, I have no idea. Maybe they live in small bubbles where their friends and family are only like them.

I really dislike it when someone posts a thread about a genuine, not-first-world problem or question they have and it instantly gets derailed by someone yelling "you should be grateful because I can't afford xyz/my income is much lower than yours" etc. and no actual help, advice, or acknowledgement of the topic. Just making it about them.

I am so far removed from classic Mumsnet - I'm left wing, earn a lot, spend a lot, don't have kids. I have friends who are multi-millionaires and friends who have been on benefits their whole adult lives. I don't resent people who have money or who claim benefits, I respect people who work hard and contribute to society in some form or another in a way that they can and respect people who have been dealt a pile of shite that they're just trying to get through. However I have no respect for the people who want it all on a plate and just blame everyone else for all their problems without trying to move forward with anything to help themselves or who make it all about them.

I love a luxury holiday thread.

It really has become a bizarre place

But 18K is an absolute flippin fortune. It's like another world for me. I literally had no idea that people would ever conceive of spending that amount. For me it's like hearing they are planning a trip to the moon or something. I haven't had a holiday in many many years, so completely out of touch with costs these days. Not really inverted snobbery just genuine incredulity.

So you honestly didn’t know 18k holidays were a thing? Can you really say that hand on heart?

Yes!!!! My hand is on my heart. I am obviously totally out of touch

I come from a bit of hybrid background where I spent time in both working class and middle class environments, and I’ve been on the receiving end of both. This country is probably always going to be classist. What I’ve found on MN though is mostly middle class snobs berating those on lower incomes.

So what do you think a business class flight from
a UK airport to let’s say LA costs? What would you guess?

Yep. Someone posted a thread a while ago worrying about paying off their mortgage into their 70s and they just got roasted for daring to complain when they owned property.

An absolute bomb surely?

Well yes - but I’m asking what your guess would have been without research.

I would definitely be taken aback at someone spending 18k on a holiday but would I drop 18k on a horse if I had the money? Without a doubt 😂

I haven't researched it but maybe a couple of grand?