Tom Nichols is an insufferable elitist prick

Tom Nichols is back in the news, talking about how gun owners:

The “experts” do not have expertise based on an analysis of the empirical evidence.  They have their prejudices reinforced from inside their elite echo chambers.

The public has come to realize that and doesn’t want to listen to these idiots and assholes anymore.

Case in point, his opinion on CCW:

Even when I was a Republican, I never understood people who measure freedom by how many of us walk around with guns. This is a cultural change, the spreading of the gun culture from a corner of the GOP to the entire conservative moment. /1

The spread of gun worship is conservative virtue-signaling. Never liked it when I was among my old tribe, and it’s gotten worse as “conservatives” try to figure out new markers for what makes them “patriots” now that they’ve had to sell out so much actual patriotism to Trump.

As I was reading all the righteous smackdown aimed his way, something was tickling my memory cells.  Hadn't I posted about Nichols, Back In The Day?  Why yes, I had:

I could go on, but by now you've noticed the Learned Expert's habit of setting up straw men.  No, anger at the NSA's spying program isn't founded in a feeling that it's unconstitutional and damaging to America's economy and security, it's because we disrespect Mr. Schindler's advanced education.  No, we do not question Expert Foreign Policy opinions on Russia because of spectacular failures of past Russian Policy Experts (c.f. the CIA's assessment that the USSR was the world's 3rd largest economy in 1988), it's because we don't appreciate his PhD.  No, we don't question the research from the current Academic Establishment because it has produced oddball policy recommendations regarding Global Warming and Keynesian Economics - it's because we don't even understand what a PhD means.

Oooooh kaaaaaay.

My take is that Tom Nichols is a very smart guy who needs to get out more often.  In particular, he needs to hear more people voicing (legitimate) complaints about the Elite's lack of transparency, accountability, and propensity to game the system in pursuit of tenure and grant funding.

I guess we can add "paying gigs moonlighting for The Atlantic" to that list.  Oh, and the post title?  "Elitist bemoans declining popularity of elitism".  That was six years ago.

So pay no attention to this guy.  He's an elitist prick writing for other elitist pricks whose days are passing away.  He's perpetually butt hurt that people are judging the value of his credentials and expertise by the results produced by people with the same credentials and expertise, and taking a hard pass on his advice.