Class-Based Insult

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For as long as society has existed, two things have been true — there are "haves" and "have-nots", and there are people looking to insult each-other. Blend these two concepts together, and you get a form of insult that has stood the test of time — insults designed to target people in a different social class, whether based on material wealth or their literal social title.

In all cases, the intention is typically to distinguish oneself as different and better than the people being insulted, setting the insulter up as the superior party by looking down on people who aren't like them. Such insults are generally based on stereotypes about the class being insulted, and if not, they use language that implies merely being a member of that social class is a bad, hate-worthy thing. This is usually a bullying tactic, either out of genuine disdain for the "others" or to torment someone the bully simply dislikes; though not every character will share these motives. Where the real differences lie is in who is doing the insulting, especially as each "side" can insult the other with equal levels of vitriol and stereotyping, but from wildly different angles.

The primary variant has rich characters insulting poor ones. Given that Rich People (especially The Proud Elite, the Rich Bitch, and the Upper-Class Twit) are generally stereotyped as being selfish, spoiled, arrogant, and abusive, it's not a surprise that they're the ones typically doing the bullying. Such characters are almost always just jerks looking to punch down on people who have less than they do, or spoiled brats who turn to Condescending Compassion, even if they try to claim they don't hate the poor. The common thread is that wealth and status are seen as an inherently good thing, that a lack of such is an inherent character flaw, and that lower-class characters ought to be put in their place, such as by:

• Simply being called poor, or another term (like "pauper", "peasant", or "plebeian")
• Being compared to pests, like bugs
• Having their parents mocked
• Having their profession/education mocked
• Being stereotyped as a Lower-Class Lout

Lower-class characters aren't always the victims, though. While not nearly as common, they can be the insulter targeting people who have more than they do. Typically the more sympathetic group whenever the classes clash, their insults may not be seen as bullying so much as calling out the people in power... but that doesn't mean the people they're calling out have actually done anything. In a sympathetic light, they may have genuine reasons to be angry; in others, they're simply attacking people behind a shield of social injustice. The victim is usually going to be a sympathetic rich character, like the Spoiled Sweet; failing that, they'll at least be neutral, with no real evidence of actually being a bad person. Generally, insults thrown at the rich involve picking any negative stereotype and assuming it applies, such as:

• Being an arrogant snob
• Being spoiled or ungrateful
• Being detached from the "real world"
• Getting unfair advantages, or outright benefitting from nepotism
• Being stupid and/or incompetent
• Being lazy/weak from never having worked a day in their life.

The real-world context behind this trope is likely why the rich characters are generally cast as the insulter. With money and status comes power, and with power, words hold more weight. While a poor character can certainly be a Jerkass with a chip on their shoulder, they're still going to be the one less advantaged in most situations. A wealthier character, however, is able to simply be cast as a spoiled bully that sees themselves as better — nuance isn't necessary to explain why they're such a monster, and the audience is far less likely to relate to them. Class warfare scenarios also generally pit the put-upon lower-class against the wealthy oppressors, meaning that a poor character is more often the hero if the two groups conflict, rather than someone with an unjustified hatred (especially if the work goes on to validate the anti-rich stereotypes that would otherwise exist as unfair insults).

It's Truth in Television; plenty of words exist as (or were born as) insults for those in a different class. For example, the word "villain" was originally a synonym for the word "villager", which picked up a stereotype of being rude — hence the evil, class-neutral definition of today. That being said, this is also so common that listing examples will be an exercise in futility, so No Real Life Examples, Please!.

Overlaps with Pretender Diss, Money Slap, Academia Elitism, Relative Ridicule, and Pitiful Worms, among others. See Kill the Poor and Eat the Rich for more extreme displays of class warfare in fiction.

For this trope to apply, actual, concrete insults must take place and be described in the example. A society simply being classist doesn't qualify, nor does a classist character who never actually engages in this sort of bullying. The character must be talking to or about someone in a different social class and be insulting them specifically for it. How the insult manifests can vary, but it must go beyond the general existence of classism and classist beliefs.

Examples: