You may be on to something regarding cynicism. I am not cynical and while I can laugh easily I’m not adept at telling jokes. I think that’s a small price to pay not to live your life under the constant cloud of disgust and hatred for your own species.

Just sheer jealousy? Is that the best you could come up with?
‘Lack of desire to go into extreme credit card debt’
My integrity, or that which I aspire to, is such that I’ve never gone into
extreme debt. And on the few times I have used my overdraft (no more than £200), I recovered promptly.

I didn’t meant to imply that all people with prudent spending habits are jealous of the wealth status seekers, simply that it was a third possible cause. I believe my own amusement at the behavior of the aforementioned individuals is due to a combination of the first two listed causes (perceived duplicity and perceived shallowness). These could probably both be categorized as laughing at behavior that we believe to be different from our own.

If you, too, occasionally find yourself laughing at wealth status seekers, what do you find your own reasons to be?

I’ve written about this at http://litnow.litnow.com/?p=328. I’d love to know your thoughts on my analysis.

Perhaps openly seeking a wealthy status (regardless of one’s actual wealth) is also mocked because it indicates the seeker believes his/her own value is increased by the mere ownership of a new/expensive item. I think people would like to believe that they only truly consider the physical and mental characteristics of a person, so these status seekers might come off as completely shallow.

Unfortunately, far from mocking it (yes it does happen in comedy, and that’s on topic) people go along with it… they don’t seem to equate themselves with the targets of comedy… or just don’t care.

I would imagine that those with reduced financial means (or a lack of desire to go into extreme credit card debt) might mock wealth status seekers (obvious or not) due to sheer jealousy.

Just sheer jealousy? Is that the best you could come up with?
‘Lack of desire to go into extreme credit card debt’
My integrity, or that which I aspire to, is such that I’ve never gone into

extreme

debt. And on the few times I have used my overdraft (no more than £200), I recovered promptly.

I think this particular type of status seeking is often criticized due to the duplicity which is frequently associated with it. Take as an example the guy who makes $10-$20/hr and is sinking deeper and deeper into debt to provide the illusion of wealth through his purchases of a new bmw, luxury home furnishings, 0% down McMansion, 3g ipod, netbook, etc.

Perhaps openly seeking a wealthy status (regardless of one’s actual wealth) is also mocked because it indicates the seeker believes his/her own value is increased by the mere ownership of a new/expensive item. I think people would like to believe that they only truly consider the physical and mental characteristics of a person, so these status seekers might come off as completely shallow.

Alternately, I would imagine that those with reduced financial means (or a lack of desire to go into extreme credit card debt) might mock wealth status seekers (obvious or not) due to sheer jealousy.

As for cynicism in comedy in general, we tend to have very high opinions of ourselves and aren’t always very tolerant of groups or individuals who we see as different. Comedians do a great job of focusing on and exaggerating our differences and provide us an outlet for dealing with these feelings through laughter rather than violence.