Since I normally don’t care what the proletariat thinks of me, I never really thought about it…. but I am part of at least one “Elite” and I totally dig it. Or, to put this in a way that illustrates my point:
5inCE 1 NORm4LLY don’T c4Re Wh4+ t3H pR0leT4R1@t Think5 0F m3, 1 n3V3r R3@lly +h0u9hT @8OUT It…. but I @M P4r+ oph @t L345+ onE “eLI+e” 4nd I +0TALly D1G I+. – [[[wp:l33t|1]]][[[e2:l33t|2]]]
The sequence of events that lead me to this observation will have to wait for another time, but I wanted to comment on this briefly as I get ready for my weekend… because it is relevant to how I feel right now. I was perusing an essay about the structure of power in groups that try (or pretend) to be without hierarchy and I came across a passage or two I liked even though must of it is silly and annoying. Since most of what I like is in one block, I am going to take it in one chunk:
“Correctly, an elite refers to a small group of people who have power over a larger group of which they arc part, usually without direct responsibility to that larger group, and often without their knowledge or consent. A person becomes an elitist by being part of, or advocating the rule by, such a small group, whether or not that individual is well known or not known at all. Notoriety is not a definition of an elitist. The most insidious elites are usually run by people not known to the larger public at all. Intelligent elitists are usually smart enough not to allow themselves to become well known; when they become known, they are watched, and the mask over their power is no longer firmly lodged.
Because elites are informal does not mean they are invisible. At any small group meeting anyone with a sharp eye and an acute ear can tell who is influencing whom. The members of a friendship group will relate more to each other than to other people. They listen more attentively, and interrupt less; they repeat each other’s points and give in amiably; they tend to ignore or grapple with the “outs” whose approval is not necessary for making a decision. But it is necessary for the “outs” to stay on good terms with the “ins.” Of course the lines are not as sharp as I have drawn them. They are nuances of interaction, not prewritten scripts. But they are discernible, and they do have their effect. Once one knows with whom it is important to check before a decision is made, and whose approval is the stamp of acceptance, one knows who is running things.
Elites are not conspiracies. Very seldom does a small group of people get together and deliberately try to take over a larger group for its own ends. Elites are nothing more, and nothing less, than groups of friends who also happen to participate in the same political activities. They would probably maintain their friendship whether or not they were involved in political activities; they would probably be involved in political activities whether or not they maintained their friendships. It is the coincidence of these two phenomena which creates elites in any group and makes them so difficult to break.
These friendship groups function as networks of communication outside any regular channels for such communication that may have been set up by a group. It no channels are set up, they function as the only networks of communication. Because people are friends, because they usually share the same values and orientations, because they talk to each other socially and consult with each other when common decisions have to be made, the people involved in these networks have more power in the group than those who don’t. And it is a rare group that does not establish some informal networks of communication through the friends that are made in it.” – quotation in context
Obviously Elites in the sense listed will always exist and have always existed. Ina way they are a reflection of something I have always known – that [[wp:Darwin]] lives in both the physical context and the social one… power struggles are inevitable and vital. I don’t mind this – in fact being someone who firmly believes in the power of completion (usually within boundaries) as a way to efficiently search for optimizations I find this desirable.
I have in the past railed against specific elites that I felt were not doing a good thing for a group. I have railed against specific elites that have misused their communications in my mind. Basically, if they were fucking up or fucking me or the group over. However, when an Elite is working well they are both inevitable and efficient.
I am a member of several Elites – not all of them are undisputed in their respective arenas and not all of them wield as much influence as I would like – but they exist and I am rather pleased by it.
Bit me losers, I am L33t as hell… and I’m not gonna take you anymore! ๐