That's right---lash out because you made a mistake. Get out all that vitriol.
You miss the point. What random strangers think of me effects me not at all. Neither do your or their affectations of class. People with true class see past the clothing.
I think you miss the point. You're swimming against the tide, here: like it or not, how you present yourself in public matters. Scream at a wall if you want, but you'll never change this.
If you wish to dress to the nines to attend Carmen because you like to, or your date likes you to, or you enjoy the tradition of doing so, knock yourself out. But if the reason you are enduring that tux is just to project "class", then you are a phony. You are not classy, but class conscious.
Untrue. I dress for occasions that require it because I have respect for other people and the occasion. It's what people who wish to live in a polite, respectful society do.To put things in perspective, I am not a stuck-up stiff. In high school I was a mohawked hard-core punk. I have tattoos, and I had piercings---five in one ear alone. I ride a Harley. I'm a complete epicurean. I participate in FR WoD threads on the pro-pot side.
But I'm also a former naval officer who learned a thing or two about the importance of proper appearance and public image.
It wasn't a mistake, it was intentional. I am aware of your intended meaning for "class" and was using rhetoric to point out that it is a bastardization of a term that has everything to do with social status caste systems and little to do with politeness. Thats why I used quotation marks. It's also why I called your grammar cop routine pretentious.
You're swimming against the tide, here: like it or not, how you present yourself in public matters. Scream at a wall if you want, but you'll never change this.
It only matters if it effects me. I'm not trying to change random stranger's shallow opinion. I'm trying to remain comfortable while watching a public performance. We're talking about the opera or going to a restaurant, not someplace that matters to me what opinions are made and has earned my respect. I am not advocating tennis shoes for the Oval Office.
Untrue. I dress for occasions that require it because I have respect for other people and the occasion. It's what people who wish to live in a polite, respectful society do.
The opera is not an occasion that demands respect. The only respect that is required is to purchase a ticket and to not disrupt the performance. The person I attend with demands respect, and so may be accommodated with formal wear if we both desire it, but the stranger in the aisle seat has no claim on my attire.
But I'm also a former naval officer who learned a thing or two about the importance of proper appearance and public image
Military appearance and bearing are a whole other thing, touching on discipline, uniformity, and a rigidly enforced caste system required to do their job. There, clothing strictures are a tool of the trade.