Snobbery is as Snobbery Does

Editorial note: Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author

Yesterday my wife, daughter and sister-in-law enjoyed a long-planned girls afternoon. So I suggested our son Ethan and I do something – head to the Mall of America for lunch and then walk around. I told him to pick the restaurant and he selected the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company – a place he’d been curious about but had never tried.

I was looking forward to the afternoon with Ethan but as soon as we walked into Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, some inner alarm went off but I’m not exactly sure why. Oh, yeah. It’s because I’m a snob and somehow convinced myself I wasn’t supposed to like the place.

Now, to be clear, it’s not like I woke up yesterday morning and realized I’m a snob. I’ve been a snob as long as I can remember; it’s probably the trait I like least about myself. But something about being at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company really drove home how snobbery is a truly myopic way of viewing the world.

The reality is that everything about the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company that I was supposed to hate – the templated corporate look, cheesy cocktail names, over-friendly wait staff, was built for Ethan and my enjoyment. Ethan incidentally is learning about the Vietnam War in school and we spent a big part of our lunch discussing that particular era of history, which the movie?Forrest Gump?portrays. Ethan asked me questions which caused me to draw back upon my own education, life experiences and evolving political views. It turned out that the restaurant was an ideal setting and aligned with my headspace at the time.

Earlier yesterday morning, while out on a run, I was incidentally listening to an episdoe of the Hit Parade podcast?devoted largely to the career of Phil Collins. I loved Phil Collins during his 1980’s commerical heyday but, during recent years, had convinced myself that he sucked. As I ran I literally found myself smiling every time I heard a snippet of one of Collins’ many hook-laden, catchy songs. I couldn’t for the life of me remember what about Phil Collins I had found so objectionable. Perhaps becuase, much like the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Phil Collins had enjoyment without artifice as an objective. And for some reason that’s just not acceptable.

I recognize that I can’t magically undo years of snobbery. Yet I like to believe yesterday was something of a turning point for me. A reminder of how easy it is to take the ultimately restorative and fullfilling joy out of enoyment, if we let ourselves.