I walked out of shul in Lakewood to use the bathroom towards the end of mussaf today and there were a bunch of upper 20s- lower 30’s age working guys in the hall talking about teslas- range, battery performance etc. I can tell you that if someone would have brought up a Camry in that conversation it would not have gone well....
If having a Tesla is not a status symbal, being conversant in all things Tesla definitely is....
Probably deserves its own topic. I’ve come across many status symbols in different communities and types. For some people it’s how many chats they are on. For others it may be where they shop, what stroller they push etc. I remember talking with a group of guys and I mentioned a conversation I had at the TU Conference one year and I got this look and a couple of comments from the crowd like “your one of those guys”.
My sister is part of a group where the vast majority go to pesach hotels. There was a conversation about the various options and my sister mentioned that she had decided to stay home this year. Dead silence.
For some the status symbol is what they won’t do. “You won’t catch me walking into THAT store. I don’t eat any shechita other than pelleh. When I go to a chasunah I ask for fish.”
What status symbols have you come across?
