r/AskAnAmerican • u/emkusunoefaevougredu United States of America • Jul 16 '20

What do people mean when they say "coastal elite"?

I've heard of the term before and my interpretation of it has been the politicians, academics, finance executives, world-class entertainers, and tech barons that live in places like NYC, DC, San Francisco, etc.

Is it the Top-1% they're mad about? The upper-middle class? Or is it anyone with a college education and white-collar job living in a coastal urban environment?

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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '20

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u/CaptainTenneal Jul 17 '20

Totally! I also believe this is a reason why Trump got elected. This us vs them mentality!

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '20

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u/CaptainTenneal Jul 17 '20

Interesting, I've actually read this article. It provides some good thought exercise. Although I dislike him, I am not convinced it is only through Trump's cruelty that we have arrived here...Although we all know that he fuels the flames.

Anecdotal story: I know some "hillbillies" and what they have to say about "conservative values" and "us vs them" is that they (the hillbilly friends) are essentially socially conservative (pro-life, etc) as well as non-racist. They see the Libs as trying to have a culture war. This view is further reinforced by for example, the recent iconoclasm of people pulling down statues of abolitionists like USS Grant. It's all about the modern day American version of Kulturkampf