Arrogance

 

What do I hate?  Whom do I hate?  (And I'm not saying that I'm right to hate anyone, but I do in fact hate... why?) 

I hate arrogance - but only a certain kind of arrogance.  I also love some forms of arrogance, and feel benign indifference about others.

I love the kind of arrogance of someone like Oscar Wilde, or Max Stirner, or Friedrich Nietzsche - or even Karl Marx.  For people like this, arrogance is a kind of affectation, a performance, a provocation, and a bit of joke.  They're being arrogant, but they know they're being arrogant.  And it's charming.  And I laugh along with it.  (John Waters is another example.)

On the other hand, I don't mind the arrogance of someone like Joseph Campbell, or Carl Jung.  They're arrogant, but they're so stupid that they have no idea how arrogant they are.  They're arrogant, but they don't know they're being arrogant.  So I can forgive their arrogance.

But between these is the form of arrogance I hate.  A perfect example is Thomas Friedman.  I absolutely loathe his arrogance. 

Another example would be Christopher Lasch.  I hate his arrogance with such a passion.  It's revolting, and it's detestable, and it's inexcusable. 

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