Status, hierarchies, cliques, competing, judging the worth of others

[Adze]

(hmmm how to start this.....)

Do you pay much attention to those things?
avoid them? hate them?
play hard and try to out-compete others in a group and go for higher ranking?
Ignore the whole status thing wherever possible?
Do you find yourself judging the intelligence or value of others in a group, or new to a group?

I expect there are tendencies for certain types to be more focused on status and competition, but I guess I'm looking for some other variable here besides what's expected in a personality type.

I can admit I've come from a somewhat low socioeconomic background and have tried to avoid the status thing where I can, but I'm realizing it may have impacted my life profoundly.

There are probably a lot of areas that could be discussed here, but, yeah, opinions? examples? personal experiences?

Sometimes holding a position in a society, group, culture, workplace etc. is unavoidable - how do you people deal with it?

[username]

i pay attention to the power games only because i am interested from anthropological perspective. Apart from that i could not care less about my position in the society or in any group.

[skip]

I'm an Angeleno so it's inherent in the culture. I try to meet a minimum level of expectation, what would pass muster with say, 85% of people I generally interact with, for the purposes of smooth social interaction and I leave it at that. I have to admit I find conspicuous consumption vulgar. I was raised to believe that attitudes and behavior are what determine class, not money or possessions. I certainly saw enough growing up in southern California to verify that.

I used to remove myself from all of the clique/power stuff. I thought doing your job well and being a decent person was enough and found out the hard way that it's not not even close.

[msg_v2]

I used to remove myself from all of the clique/power stuff. I thought doing your job well and being a decent person was enough and found out the hard way that it's not not even close.

Nope. It explains a lot about the world, though, once you realize how little that matters.

[Thevenin]

I've been rather oblivious throughout life, stuck in my head, which has turned out to be an interesting place, so far. So, I never really notice, much less care, about this stuff. I am probably the most non-materialistic person I know and I'm a bit of a loner, so what other people have or want (i.e., social status, wealth, power, etc.), means nothing to me. At the same time, I try to be a good person. I'm impressed most by people who actually accomplish brilliant things although I don't believe that this confers a special status on anyone.

"He who wants little always has enough."

[stuck]

I'm impressed most by people who actually accomplish brilliant things although I don't believe that this confers a special status on anyone.

Yep, I don't give a shit about 99.99% of the crab heap, but still cling fervently to the brilliant, accomplished, brave or otherwise extraordinary- mostly the brilliant, though. At the same time, I realize that TED talks are my temple, and I'm really no better than Lance 4-Loko with his new Js. It's the same exact thing to me. This is a function of a crisis I'm having with the modern world.

I used to be even more severe when I was less wise, disregarding the entirety of society and focusing on the historical scale, with the hopes of painting myself small, yet visibly, in the corner somewhere.

Humility, failure, creeping success and all of its compromises, understandings, and trappings has led me to:

At the same time, I try to be a good person.

Because it derails the entire shit train and lets me relax.

I'm an artist by trade and a touch histrionic (common within the profession), and it seems like we all sniff each other out at our level.

[Polemarch]

Life is largely a social game, and playing it well yields a lot of rewards. So I won't equivocate - I do care about things like status and hierarchy, because they impact my ability to achieve the things I want.

[Ptah]

If and when possible not to, I don't care about such nonsense. That is, by nature I don't give a damn. Only in a strictly consequential sense do I care.

About the only exception -- rare to be found in reality -- is status and/or structure as rises from (and strictly adheres to what of minimal practical necessity follows from) merit and/or ownership.

[kari]

I am probably the lowest of the rung of that particular ladder. What else is there do but to delight in it? My survival isn't contingent on it anymore. Status is only the byproduct of being a Man of Value. There's no gain in artificially raising your status.

[Hephaestus]

From a certain light, saying you don't care about such things is a form of snobbish elitism.

Firstly, egalitarianism is easiest to achieve by denigrating yourself. It is one thing for the elite to deliberately go swapping handshakes with the lower rank and file. It is quite another thing for the rank and file to drop in on the elite. RHIP. Those with rank have the privilege of dispensing with it without ruffling too many feathers. Those without treating those who have it as equals are likely to make life more difficult for themselves--and can easily be painted as oppressors and ruffians.

You needn't seek out social status, but it is unwise to be unaware of it because by and large, most people do, and they tend to be very defensive of not only their own social status, but that of those they would aspire to usurp. How much care you take not to tread too heavily depends much on the actual effective power there is to make your life less pleasant. The social hierarchy of a neighborhood is easier to ignore or flaunt than the protocols of a courtroom--though a stunning amount of disrespectful behavior is on display down at the courthouse these days. (I'm not saying suit and tie are required. Blue jeans, closed toe shoes and a decent shirt satisfy--but flip flops, shorts and a tank top are decidedly poor choices.)

Egalitarianism is a tricky beast.