On Red and her brand of “elitism”
I mention in my /about that Red is somewhat of an elitist. Elitism is defined by google as “the advocacy or existence of an elite as a dominating element in a system or society.” while wikipedia gives a slightly more in-depth description as “the belief or attitude that some individuals who form an elite—a select group of people with a certain ancestry, intrinsic quality or worth, high intellect , wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes—are those whose influence or authority is greater than that of others; whose views on a matter are to be taken more seriously or carry more weight; whose views or actions are more likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose extraordinary skills, abilities, or wisdom render them especially fit to govern.”
no i’m not going to find more concrete descriptions outside of google and wikipedia you get the gist
Red, however, doesn’t care about things like intellect, wealth, or social status: to her they’re all just meaningless things, as befitting a hermit who spends much of her time in isolation. Her philosophy puts an extreme importance of the bond between trainer and Pokemon. When one becomes stronger, so does the other: that’s what it means to be a Pokemon trainer, mutual growth. A Pokemon will become much stronger with a trainer than it would have been living in the wild, and a trainer grows from fighting alongside and raising those Pokemon.
And what becomes of the strongest of trainers? They become gym leaders, champions, leaders revered by their peers and friends. As such, the definition of “specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes ” is a good one to describe Red’s worldview.
Those who are most capable, those who excel above others, those who are elites not by privilege of birth but by privilege of skill and worthiness. While she understands that not all aspects of society revolves around Pokemon, her attitude is much the same: those who are skilled, competent, and more “elite” deserve greater recognition among their peers and deserve to be leaders of their workplaces and the like.
In Pokemon, she respects anyone who makes the effort to raise Pokemon and train together, but she still believes that only a small handful are truly capable of becoming elites and the rest must learn to accept that. Those with skill will prove themselves in time: she did, after all.
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tangentwithtanner
gracieabrams
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