Is the kind of anti-intellectualism that I’m seeing plastered all over the internet. Maybe it’s confirmation bias on my part, but I swear that people are getting increasingly pissed off with having to read anything.

I think this strain of anti-intellectualism is actually a lot better than what we had in Bush II.

The strain is passively anti-intellectual, not aggressive like the Bush II years. I think that a large portion of it especially from younger folks is really about the fact that the doors are closing, and that being curious or educated doesn't actually benefit you in the way that it used to. In essence Bush II anti-intellectualism was based in a perceived slight. It was a "oh you think you're better than me?". Conversely, "I ain't reading all that" to me is more of an admission of intellectual capacity mattering less in people's daily lives.

They very much lines up with elite over reproduction, and the labor crisis that's happening globally including in AES countries like China where they have a huge unemployment issue with recent graduates. I think it's reasonable (but ultimately wrong headed) to deduce based on what's happening in the world that education isn't an unalloyed good. It's expensive, it's difficult, it doesn't have the same economic benefits it did 10 years ago let alone 20 or 30, and it makes you feel bad about yourself and the state of the world.

Intellectualism has been sold as a means to and end, rather than something intrinsically valuable, so it's not a surprise that the foreclosure of the future is leading people to anti-intellectual conclusions.

[–] doleo@lemmy.one 2 points 13 hours ago

I think this is an interesting perspective, thanks for sharing. It reminds me of the bill hicks bit he did about sitting in a cafe and being asked, “why are you reading?”.

While I think your ideas about the motivations of younger people are very plausible, I’m not so sure that the slightly older generations ever lost this aggressive habit.

Again, I was watching something the other day, and the streamer was getting angry about an online commentator because they were sat in front of a full book case.

Anyway, I’m not disagreeing with anything you said, I’d overlooked the context that some people have arrived at these feelings by. I would say, though, that the spread of people online is greater than ever before. So there’s a chance to run into a wide variety of different positions. Including men raging at book cases!

[–] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 8 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

Ah anti-intellectualism:

frothingfash : I am a white man reactionary, that means I’m special and it’s a gross insult that I have to even exist in a world alongside anyone else!”

doomjak : “I don’t think that’s true, you’re just being mean for no reason!”

frothingfash : “You think you’re better than me? Fuck you elitist! I’m BETTER THAN YOU!!!!”

[–] simontherockjohnson@lemmy.ml 10 points 20 hours ago

This was 60% of people on TV in 2002.