Commentators like the New York Times’ Bret Stephens have called slain CEO Brian Thompson a “working-class hero.” You don’t have to condone murder to see through that ridiculous claim about a man who was at the helm of a legalized extortion racket.
It shows that the owner class cannot understand that other people might not consider getting more for yourself at the expense of others to be an admirable thing. In their circles, exploiting others for your own gain is the only way life is lived, and the only way to impress others, and they jealously admire those who got more. So they expect everyone to admire does this, and working class people to admire an originally working class person who did this. They just don’t understand that from an informed working class perspective (as opposed to one drowning in capitalist propaganda), getting rich at the expense of others just makes you an asshole.
It shows that the owner class cannot understand that other people might not consider getting more for yourself at the expense of others to be an admirable thing. In their circles, exploiting others for your own gain is the only way life is lived, and the only way to impress others, and they jealously admire those who got more. So they expect everyone to admire does this, and working class people to admire an originally working class person who did this. They just don’t understand that from an informed working class perspective (as opposed to one drowning in capitalist propaganda), getting rich at the expense of others just makes you an asshole.
I wouldn’t even necessarily begrudge the word “admirable” to describe getting wealthy through ones own efforts, but “heroic” is just too off the mark.