WTF is a 'Brahmin', as in 'Boston Brahmin'?

ProfessorPlum

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:49 AM
Original message

WTF is a 'Brahmin', as in 'Boston Brahmin'?

Does the whorporate media even know? They keep saying Kerry looks/sounds/acts/smells like a "Boston Brahmin". Just what the hell is that supposed to signify to me?

He seems like a mature, thoughtful person to me. What the hell is a 'Brahmin' and why is this a bad thing?

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JPJones

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:50 AM
Response to Original message

1. The highest caste in Hinduism n/t

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aeolian

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:50 AM
Response to Original message

2. upper caste in traditional

Hindu culture.

Supposed to imply some sort of elitism.

Actually, I'm surprised that they even know such an esoteric word.

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ProfessorPlum

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:52 AM
Response to Reply #2

7. Yeah, but why is it only associated with Boston?

Why don't we hear about the Bushes, who would like to present themselves as Texas Brahmins? I've never ever heard the word associated with any other American locale than Boston.

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RoyGBiv

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:59 AM
Response to Reply #7

12. New England

It's origin is as a term used to described the intellectual, social, and cultural elite of New England. This dates to the 18th century. The term centers on Boston because in the past, especially during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Boston was seen as the intellectual and cultural center of the nation.

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bluedeminredstate

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:51 AM
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3. An uppercrust,

Beacon Hill, Mayflower type of Bostoner. Similar to the FFV's - First Families of Virginia. BFD. He can't help his upbringing. At least he's in the right party.

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daydreamer

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:51 AM
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4. I wondered about the same thing

What a stupid word.

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aeolian

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:52 AM
Response to Reply #4

6. ???

"Brahmin" is a stupid word?

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Jeff in Cincinnati

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:51 AM
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5. Elitist Snob is what they want to say...

You see, George W. Bush is dumber than a bag of doorknobs, so he's a "real person" who understands the common man. John Kerry, on the other hand, is mature and thoughtful and has never been to a monster truck rally. He's an elitist.

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yewberry

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:52 AM
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8. Yep, the priestly caste in India

but around here (Boston) we use it to refer to upper-class, old-money types. They even have their own accent (think Mr. Howell & Lovey.)

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ProfessorPlum

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:54 AM
Response to Reply #8

9. Thurston never talked about

pahking his cahh.

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yewberry

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:57 AM
Response to Reply #9

10. They didn't have cars on the island

but you can try the accent out by craning your neck a bit and talking through your teeth. It's fun.

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markbark

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Wed Oct-13-04 12:02 PM
Response to Reply #10

13. Ah Yes... the ol' "Back Bay Lockjaw" (n/t)

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hughee99

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Wed Oct-13-04 11:58 AM
Response to Reply #8

11. Or Major Winchester from MASH.

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Monte Carlo

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Wed Oct-13-04 12:04 PM
Response to Original message

14. 'Boston Brahmin' refers to several rich and prominent families in MA...

... WASPs that had a long tradition of power in the state, all the way back to John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600's.

Kerry himself is connected to these families through his mother, but that he is a blueblood is no mystery. The GOP, however, is trying everything they can to attach every negative label they can muster on Kerry.

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ProfessorPlum

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Wed Oct-13-04 12:04 PM
Response to Original message

15. I wonder who first coined the term "BB"

and why it is still around to be used to beat our candidate around the head and neck with.

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cheshire

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Wed Oct-13-04 12:05 PM
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16. Compaired to the lowbrow classless assclown *.

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Robert Oak

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Wed Oct-13-04 12:10 PM
Response to Original message

17. He is a Brahmin, so what?

FDR was a Brahmin, JFK was a Brahmin.

Clinton was not, but he had exposure to the elites from Georgetown onward.

Fine by me...

I'd rather have a Brahmin who has been thinking about leadership
and issues all of their life
versus some guy who said a "sinners prayer" and realized he could
manipulate the evangelical base to gain power.

Besides * should have been a Brahmin, his Dad sure tried and sent him
to all of the right places...but * flunked out of Brahmin school...
the grooming process for leadership.

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Bridget Burke

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Wed Oct-13-04 12:30 PM
Response to Reply #17

18. Do FDR & JFK really count as "Brahmins"?

FDR came from New York Patroon stock--those were the old Dutch landowners. And the Kennedys were Irish Catholics--never quite at the top of Boston society, no matter how much money they had.

Kerry has plenty of Cabots & Winthrops in his family tree but his father's parents emigrated from the Austro-Hungarian empire. Not only were they Catholic--but they had converted from Judaism. I'm sure there are some in Boston who consider him beneath them.

http://hometown.aol.com/wreitwiesn/candidates2004/kerry.html

But this is just quibbling over terminology. I agree that Bush & Kerry both were born to wealth & power. But Bush squandered his luck until this last chance at proving his worth.

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MsTryska

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Wed Oct-13-04 12:58 PM
Response to Original message

19. From Slate...

http://slate.msn.com/id/2096401

In covering this year's presidential contest, journalists keep using the phrase "Boston Brahmin" to describe Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. What exactly is a Boston Brahmin?
.....

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