Kinda like the educated gentry from the city look down theire noses at educated rednecks?
It's all the same everywhere. The book learned think they know and don't.
Them that can do, DO, because they do actually know.
Them that can't, languish, whether they know or not,
and them that won't, suck, and complain about it.
Maybe, but I think it runs deeper.
I think the ones who came here are seen as those who were captured in battle or defeated slaves or traded out as undesirables and sold off to the Arabs.
Those descended from freemen were a bit different, but get lost in the herd from afar.
The sooner they got off the boat, the better the perception (first pick, and all that), which is why the Caribbean folks (aside from being closer to 'home') are in the middle. The conquerors, the 'best' were the ones doing the trading, whether they got that title through combat, speed, or subterfuge, they weren't captured or sold (We'll leave the colonial era there out, but that's where they got the education, and perhaps some of the attitude). It is no accident many of those who come here with an education or to get one are related to some highly placed figure in their home government, and they are expected to work hard and earn their spot. (Unlike many of the Arabic exchange students I met in college who were here to enjoy the sins they could not at home, and who let their grades slide, in most cases, to a greater degree. Endowments fix all sorts of problems.) Most of the African Africans I met were from Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, or Sierra Leone and were raised Methodist (church outreach schools), so there is that influence as well.
Gentry from the city looking down on 'uneducated' rednecks only reflects back on people who only have credentials relevant in a wholly artificial social construct. They don't even have the skills to recognize skills. All they have is their sense of gentrification, reinforced by others in the same boat, so they dance in a circle and pat each other on the back with every step. It's all they have.
I find it all as amusing as being looked at as "oilfield trash" when I first got here by 4th generation folks, despite my own colonial roots elsewhere.
It's why I rarely play pedigree games. I am who I am, and if what my ancestors did or how long they have been around makes a huge difference to someone, I likely wouldn't much enjoy their company anyway. Personally, I only see it as adding perspective, perhaps a little deeper knowledge of history, and a legacy to live up to, not so much as bragging rights.
Hopefully, someday, my descendants can look back on my life and have the sort of reaction I have to some of my temporally distant relatives. My parents will be a hard act to follow in that regard, but all of us kids have gone places and done things of our own accord, and we just try to instill that in our own kids, too.
