uses them big words, an stuff.

Trying to negatively frame his being competent while prettying up the moron as a guy you would like to have a beer with ...

Just going back to what they know.

Tried for six to twelve months, couldn't get any clips with him even raising his voice so had to go the uppity/arrogant route.

glad you posted this...

Last edited Mon Aug 17, 2015, 11:43 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm guessing that "arrogant" is the current buzz-word because of the disagreement over the Iran deal, and Obama's recent defense of it. But it's a word that has enjoyed circulation before, because it's a feely-word

on the main page. It used to be called "looking down you nose at someone". It is all body language. Most people don't know they are doing it.

get a better look at her.

... I assume you still laugh together over that.

Stupid people find that "arrogant".

Meanwhile, other smart people tend to find it like a breath of fresh air.

Unfortunately there's a lot of stupid people.

...to hide it.

popular with the right because she appeared even more ignorant than Bush.

...were states of being that were both respected and sought after. Willful ignorance is frightening.

better educated. Now, I feel lucky if I can find someone who reads a book once in a while.

I live in the Illinois town of Algonquin. If I am giving the name of the town over the phone, I often say, "Algonquin, like the Indian tribe." I have been dismayed at the number of people who respond dully with, "Whu-u-ut?"

did not hire idiots. One time Mr Nay and I were going to New Mexico for our 2-wk vacation. A coworker gasped and asked if we weren't afraid of all the drug gangs, the killings of tourists, and us not being able to speak the language. I said as gently as I could: "Are you sure you aren't thinking about the country of Mexico? We're going to the US state of New Mexico." Her: "I didn't know there was a state called New Mexico!" OOOOOOKAY. All these people had college degrees, BTW.

...at the time?

I could tell a few tales as well. Here are a couple of my favorites.

I once knew a short term dating relationship was over when the guy told me I was going to have to stop using "such big words." When I inquired as to what word(s) he was referring, I was incredulous when it turned out he was having trouble with ambivalent. I had been somewhat ambivalent about the relationship. After that, I no longer was.

Our now 25 year old son loves words and has a very sophisticated vocabulary, which began developing at a fairly early age. When he was in 7th grade, his language arts teacher was new to that age group, having taught 4th grade for many years. He used the word "anthropomorphize" and his teacher said, "Oh, Greg. That's not a word." My confident son promptly fetched a dictionary and showed her that, yes, it most certainly was a word. A few weeks later, she did the same thing. I don't remember what word was at issue that time, but I do remember thinking the teacher was a bit of a slow learner - had I been embarrassed by a student having a bigger vocabulary than I did, I would make sure to tread carefully on future occasions, and perhaps say something like, "I'm not familiar with that word. Can you tell me about it?"

His 8th grade language arts teacher mispronounced poignant by saying it the way it looks - POYG-nant. My son showed admirable restraint in not correcting her.

When forms came home from the school offices that needed to be signed and returned, if there were spelling or grammatical errors, I would correct them in a different color ink before sending them back.

have a special reputation for idiots; there is a well-respected medical school and university here, major corporate offices, etc., but the locals can be very insular and only partially educated. Lots of stuff falls through the cracks in schools here. I suspect it's happening everywhere, though.

Your son is a pip! I love those stories! No longer ambivalent, were ya?? Imagine that.

and they see that as arrogant. His appearance is elegant and graceful so that is seen as arrogant. He is a black man who was elected twice to be president which is far more outstanding than all but a few white men - that makes him arrogant. He does not cower to the insults and disrespect shown him by the repubs - that makes him arrogant.

I believe it is an "acceptable word" to express racism.

doesn't have the added edge of an implied threat nor does it likely make him doubt himself.

If it did, he would just have to tell himself, "I'm the president of the United States and that guy ain't and probably never will be."

And they're mad because he has more intellect in his pinky fingernail then they possess as a whole.

... referring to a black man as "arrogant" is what they perceive to be the PC version of "uppity", i.e. not acknowledging one's "place" in the hierarchy of whites being naturally superior to blacks, and the appropriate deference being shown.

For the intellectually-challenged (and that's my PC version of "stoopid&quot , anyone who speaks above their IQ level (i.e. in multi-syllabic words) is trying to intimidate them - ergo, being "arrogant". For many among the ICs, "being arrogant" can be as simple as referring to one's college education, "reading books", being able to quote statistics, or knowing "scientific stuff".

Of all the things Obama has been accused of, being "arrogant" seems to stem more from one's own lack of knowledge as opposed to someone else's possession thereof.

When I read the stats on how many Americans don't know anything about the Revolutionary War or the Industrial Revolution, how old the Earth is, where Iraq and Iran are located, or the difference between light years and Bud-Light, I understand why many of them think those who know such things are being "arrogant" - simply by virtue knowing such things.

The right wing media has (deplorably, but wisely) tapped into the natural distrust people of lower intelligence have of those who actually "know shit", and are able to articulate that knowledge on a regular basis. It's a matter of "he's trying to show you how much smarter he is than just plain folk like you" - something that is endlessly encouraged to be reviled.

That's why, IMHO, Republicans like Palin, Santorum, Huckabee, etc., are revered among low IQers - they've been taught that intelligence is a sign of "arrogance", and being a dumb stoopid fuck is something to be admired - and deserving of being voted into office for.

One part the worshipping of ignorance.

thats arrogant for ya.

Emphasis on "Black." That's the right wing's arrogance problem with President Obama. Oh, and that he had the absolute audacity to be legally and lawfully elected POTUS without having to cash in Daddy chits or get a sibling to game the electoral system.

But they never have the balls to say it out loud. That's their "safe" word. And if you call them on it, they act offended that anybody would suggest that they are racist.

Arrogance is core to most Republican elected officials.

There's a black man in the White House and he's NOT the butler.
And they just can't stand it.

. . . yeah, that answer is usually going to be "no".

That's arrogant.

They really want to say uppity.

... they suddenly stopped agreeing, and moved the goal posts ... then screamed he was arrogant for not accepting the new goal posts.

Not quite the same thing.

hypocrisy is SOP for the GOP

He's so far above them they think he's being arrogant.

Agreed...and if you want to see proof of that, just check out Obama's performance when he attended the 2010 Republican retreat.

That was an "intellectual beatdown".

Look at the RW Official Dictionary: "Arrogant" (adj). - when applied to African Americans, a synonym for 'uppity'

of Obama looking up.

photographing someone from a low angle or looking upward was shown to cause antipathy and fear
photographing the same person from a high angle or looking down led to biases for sympathy and trust
don't recall where i first saw this explained, or how credible it is

It isn't that they despise intelligence so much as they despise people who show that they're intelligent. The perception is that if you are using big words, you are doing so for your own edification. Ergo, arrogance.

I've been accused of "putting on airs" myself.

It's quite clear to me.

Have always pissed off the white supremacist haters ... It goes back nearly a century ...

Obama explains things to his opponents the way you would explain something to your four year old child. The right wingers are offended at being spoken to as if they were four years old. They're so offended they hold their breath until they turn blue, throw their toys across the living room, and hit the other kids in pre-school.

N.T.

But name the president in the last 50 years that wasn't. You don't decide to run because you think you're an idiot. You don't run because you think you might not be able to handle the job and figure out all the answers. You don't run for the job because you don't think you have a unique set of skill to bring to the job. Are some better at covering it up? Maybe. Clinton and Carter may have been the best. But many of us at one time or another have fairly arrogant attitudes and don't do a good job of recognizing it nor covering it up.

You can hear it in his voice every time he addresses his critics. Basically he'll often suggest it couldn't be done because he tried and couldn't get it done. If you're arrogant enough to think that it COULD be done, then his comment sounds very arrogant.

Like I say, virtually all of them come across as arrogant. It depends a lot upon whether one agrees with what they are saying.

But calling ones critics "sanctimonious" and "drug addled" is going to come across as arrogant to those critics.

the gracious humility of Donald Trump, George W Bush, Chris Christie, etc?

in a position of power.

He doesn't affect to seem any less intelligent than he is.

He affects no faux folksiness.

Americans has never particularly liked educated people as a rule of thumb, and the fact that he's AA is just the frosting on the cake for people who say that.

They want to believe he is arrogant and so they spread that opinion. They never actually watch him or listen to him say anything. Thus they don't "know" him and are vulnerable to others' characterizations.

Arrogant - Translation: Anyone with more than a double digit IQ.

He often tries to come off as the voice of reason. It's probably annoying when he acts like he's the only adult in the room even if you are acting like a spoiled child.

Last edited Tue Aug 18, 2015, 10:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Authoritarians don't like that, especially from "certain kinds" of people.

and he won't march to their orders.