Status anxiety

What your Christmas card says about you (and it’s not usually very nice)

15 December 2007

Toby Young frets about his Christmas card

When a person does something to remind you of their superior status, I often wonder whether he or she is fully in control of what they’re doing. Name-droppers, for instance, often seem to be acting compulsively, as if they’re suffering from a mild personality disorder. Once the impulse to drop the name has been triggered — usually by some circuitous route that only makes sense to the name-dropper — these people can’t stop themselves. The name pops out in spite of the fact that they know it’s gauche. (That’s my excuse, anyway.)

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S. S. Pratt

December 13th, 2007 1:21pm Report this comment

Good one, Toby. But what does it mean if one does not send Xmas/holiday cards at all?

somerville

December 14th, 2007 12:13pm Report this comment

Always amusing and sometimes even true (as usual with TY)

Tim

December 17th, 2007 11:12am Report this comment

I think when you name your kids 'Sasha' and 'Ludo', you've pretty much given announced your status.

margaret

December 29th, 2007 4:38am Report this comment

OMG!!! Mine ALWAYS has to have a nativity and a Christian message, almost a sermon - definately no reference to what we have been doing. What does THAT say?