SLITHERING SOCIETAL SNOBS

Snobbery is one of the most base and despicable traits a person can have, especially as it so often stems from a false sense of superiority over others.

- By Dinesh Chandrasena

Most tragically, it is usually directed at those who have no choice in their societal standing. Whatever happened to the idea of the "haves" uplifting those who have less? Offering the proverbial helping hand to those who need it? Instead, today it has become almost a pastime to look down upon, belittle, and ridicule those who struggle. This tendency has, in many ways, accelerated the downfall of civilized society. The default assumption is that money, whether in abundance or in scarcity, is the root of snobbery. In reality, wealth is only a small part of the "have and have-not" struggle that surrounds us. One of the clearest examples of this in Sri Lanka lies in language.

Our nation’s three languages form the cornerstones of the cultural triangle that is Sri Lanka. As in any multilingual society, there are those who believe that the language they were born into is inherently superior. Then there are those who, influenced by colonial ideas of hierarchy, treat English as a marker of supremacy and imagine that fluency in it elevates them to a higher plane. The truth, from what I see in both education and the creative industries, is that fluency in any language is a gift. Honing one’s skills in one’s own tongue, while also mastering others, enriches life and deepens experience.