[mc32]

Someone could easily put out an article titled, inside the secretive world of the atlantic article titling to increase page views. That's about as illustrative as this article.

The US has always been a place with a love hate relationship with the wealthy. We like building people and personae and tearing them down lest they get too comfortable in their perches.

The Atlantic continues this tradition of faux populism but with a twist to drive readership.

[marincounty]

I think is human nature to examine, and scrutinize the one's who utilized a relatively safe/encouraging environment in order to get to that perch.

I have seen too many wealthy individuals legally bend the rules the poor, and middle class can't in order to get to that perch.

Whether by hook, or crook, luck, family backing, and yes--sometimes honest hard work that person makes it to the perch; the peons will look up at that perched individual, and their resultant behavior. We watch what that perched individual does with their goodies. If they narcissistically waste their goodies, we get annoyed. If they buy up apartment building, and kick out section 8 recipients we get annoyed. If they buy up houses so they don't need to look at the peons, we get annoyed. If they waste money while their neighbors are starving, we get annoyed. Basically, if they act like jerks, we get annoyed.

Why, because we all inhabit the same little space. "Want to act like a jerk--fly to another planet." This one is too small.

In American, we provide a pretty good starting pad for most people. They can go and do pretty much whatever they want. They make their money, and then go to extreme, complex lengths to not give back to the nest---is frustrating, and ugly. It's no wonder--sometimes we want to pull them from their perches?

(Excuse the avian metaphors--it's early, and I can't write.)

[Kalium]

People grow ever-more-sensitive to the acts of those on perches. There's remarkably little consensus on what constitutes being a jerk. This is a bad combination.

When there is zero room for error and all jerk-ish-ness is punished by trying to drag someone from their perch, you've created a dangerous place to visibly be on a perch. When you couple this with a society where it's virtually impossible to not be a jerk, you've created a society where those on perches will quickly grow deaf to being called a jerk. When you have both, the people on perches will just do whatever they want, because they will conclude that they will attacked all the same no matter what they do.

And if you're going to be considered a jerk no matter what you do, why should you care about the people who call you a jerk?