Classism

Classism is the bias against, discrimination against or dislike of an individual or group due to their social class.

As with other forms of discrimination, such as the various forms of racism, classism is pervasive in leftist and liberal thought. Many supporters of populist political movements, such as Brexit and Donald Trump's MAGA campaign, have faced abuse due to many having working-class and rural backgrounds and are often stereotyped using classist lines. Jemima Kelly of the Financial Times reported on 2 December 2020 that a now-suspended Twitter user tweeted on the platform that "Trump supporters are like fans of Brexit. Illiterate, unhinged, ill-informed and bonkers!".

In liberals

Classism and elitism have long been common among supporters of left-wing and liberal ideologies such as communism, globalism and socialism. It is also prevalent in anti-Trump activists, "Remainers" (people who oppose Brexit) and other opponents of populist movements.

Against Brexit supporters

The UK voted to leave the European Union, a far-left, globalist oliogarchy, in June 2016. Many supporters of the vote to "Leave" have been unfairly targeted and stereotyped due to their perceived class background. Terms like "Brexit Chav" are commonplace on Twitter, with the word 'Chav' generally describing an anti-social lower-class youth, among middle-class liberal supporters of the failed Remain campaign.

Eddie Dempsey, a pro-Brexit trade unionist speaking on behalf of Labour Leave, pointed out on 6 June 2019 that middle-class liberals view white Brexit supporters from working-class council estates as "yobs" and "football hooligans" who secretly harbor racist views.

Woke British Labour Party MP Emily Thornberry was accused on 16 December 2019 of calling Northern English working-class Brexit voters "stupid". Thornberry, a representative a Remain-voting constituency, is alleged by fellow Labour Party MP Caroline Flint, who represents the Leave-voting constituency of Don Valley, to have told her "I'm glad my constituents aren't as stupid as yours".

Against Trump supporters

During Donald Trump's 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, and in reaction to his November 2016 victory, many liberals used classist lines to attack Trump's core supporters.

Disgraced sex pest and impeached former US president Bill Clinton used classist stereotypes to mock supporters of Trump on October 12, 2016, 3 weeks before Trump beat Clinton's wife Hillary in that years US presidential election. Clinton, a native of Arkansas, said that Trump's base is "what I grew up in [...] basically your standard redneck". The crowd of liberals that Clinton was addressing laughed at these comments.

Elitist musician Billie Joe Armstrong of 'punk' band Green Day blamed the election of the conservative US president on the 'uneducated white working-class'.

In an opinion piece written by Brendan O'Neill on 3 June 2019, it was suggested that the reason why Donald Trump is widely disliked in the UK, especially among the liberal and predominantly middle-class, privileged people were to march against Trump in London later that week, was not political but rather a classist one; as O'Neill put is "a snooty mocking of white-trash America" by people who claim to be cultured and sophisticated.

On January 29, 2020, RINO political strategist Rick Wilson mocked Trump supporters on liberal-biased TV channel CNN by using the term 'Boomer rubes' ('rube' is a classist term that stereotypes people from rural backgrounds as stupid and backwards) and saying "Donald Trump's the smart one, and y'all elitists are dumb" in a mocking Southern Drawl. Host Don Lemon evidently found these classist remarks funny as he doubled down in laughter on live TV.

On November 2, 2020, Hollywood elite liberal feminist musician and Biden supporter Lady Gaga was heavily criticized for her condescending portrayal of 'rednecks' in swing states in a Biden campaign advert. The ad was part of Joe Biden's campaign for the 2020 US presidential election, in which Biden claimed victory against incumbent president Donald Trump, although many Americans (including Democrats) suspect electoral fraud took place in that election.

By abortion advocates

It is common for abortion advocates to use lines like "what if the child grows up poor?" to justify the murder of unborn children.

By the SNP

In January 1998, Brian Souter, a homophobic, millionaire pedophile who has donated thousands to Scotland's leading far-left party the Scottish National Party described the Northern English customers of his company Stagecoach as "the beer-drinking, chip-eating, council house-dwelling, old Labour-voting masses".

See also

• Elitism