Sunday, September 19, 2010

Contemptuous Beauty

I just read the phrase “contemptuous beauty” in an old book. I gather it is where the lucky recipient (and temporary borrower) of God’s or Nature’s bounty feels superior to humanity on that fortuitous account alone.

They demand more volumes of breathing air, colder cokes, sleeker cars for cheaper, exclusive rights to wear the sexiest clothes and the only remaining promotion or pay rise for the next 5 years. That’s contemptuous beauty.

I think I just wrote up a benighted beast and not a bedazzling beauty. I see a lot of Contemptuous Beauties in the City of Accra. Oh, until something devastating inevitably happens to burst their beauty bubble.

(Do you remember the drop-dead gorgeous criminal whose lawyer begged against her imprisonment because she was too beautiful to go to jail?)

6 comments:

  1. Too beautiful to go to jail? LOL...

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  2. I remember reading an article on why beautiful people feel entitled to favours. It concluded that society accommodates the whims of people who are beautiful.
    This article talks about a recent study http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3817/is_200912/ai_n49421021/
    It is a long read but it does confirm a lot of things about narcissism in the age of entitlement.

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  3. hmm... I watched a documentary which talked about the goodlooking female sexual predator who often receives shorter sentences! That counts as contemptible doesn't it? I think that sometimes too the confidence with which a person's demeanor emanates may give that impression no? Sometimes certain ppl just enter a place and it seems like they own that sapce!

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  4. I don't think that the 'beautiful ones' are the only ones to blame for their superiority complexes (or whatever you may call it). I think that a lot of people generally allow them to get away with murder. People generally don't like to see a work of art sullied. Who knows, i would probably try to get away with as much as i could if i was in their shoes...scrath that, i would definitely try to get away with a s mich as i could. We all use what we have been given to get ahead; brains, beauty, talent.......

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  5. Yes, too beautiful to go to jail. And the lawyer seriously took it up with the judge. The woman/girl was apparently not remorseful at all until prison became a reality for her. Then instead of showing genuine remorse, she thought she was too beautiful a bird to cage ... @ Myne.

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  6. I have to agree that the human race as a whole likes to make things easier for who we consider beautiful - beautiful of face, of character, of talent or whatever. I do not know whether it is fair or not, for, as Anon put it, we all use what we have been given to get ahead ... @ Tetekai, Maxine & Anon.

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