Even though this is a now 18 year old article, you still see the same type of elitism in the various metropolitan areas, where these people gather to work in finance/consulting/tech/law.

I've heard people be completely open about only wanting to mingle and network with "peers", where they'll immediately ditch people at networking events / parties / etc. if they're not up to the snuff. They'll ask what school you went to, or where you work(ed), and bow out if its not a target school or top-tier firm.

But people like that are a minority in my experience. I went to a good business school, and many people there had the same background stories - especially the type of undergrad schools they went to.

(With that said, I'm pushing 40, and every now and then I do meet new people that within 2 mins will ask or probe what school I went to. Always feels a bit weird to me to bring up alma mater when it's almost half a lifetime ago...especially if those asking are even older than me.)

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ge96 4 hours ago | parent [-]

There is also that idea of surrounding yourself with "good people" or like minded, people you want to be.

I was friendly to everyone and one guy he just drank all the time, reeked of alcohol, no prospects in life, no ambition. Am I supposed to force myself to be around this person just to be nice/equal terms. I want to be around ambitious people.

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xyhopguy 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

No one wants to be around an alcoholic. But it's not to be nice, but to understand them, their struggles, and their perspectives.

Anecdote - I was at a concert with my brother, outside in the smoking area. A homeless woman came by, didn't say anything but was kinda just looking around. My brother is the only one who spoke to her, he offered his cigarette butt. Which is exactly what she was looking for.

Never would have occured to me- but I would guess it made her feel more seen and human.

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WalterBright 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I like being around people who talk about interesting things other than sports. I remain baffled at how people find sports interesting.

	▲	ge96 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I'm not a sports guy either, sucks since a lot of women are into it too, I'll see it on their dating profile like ooh man... I'm not gonna be at a stadium watching people run back and forward on a field.
	▲	irishcoffee 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I love sports, and until a few years severely disliked theater and had no idea why people liked it. Didn't make sense, boring, long, generally stupid. Then I decided to get over myself and see what the fuss was about. Now I get it. I imagine you could do that if you wanted to. Up to you.