I question whether the described Portland approach is actually subtler. Is it actually? It's definitely more meta. It's definitely less resource-intensive. But in my experience there's nothing subtle about sour grapes.
> I question whether the described Portland approach is actually subtler. Is it actually?
I think it is, FWIW. Nothing about the game is actually spoken aloud; everything is inferred and gathered via subtle clues. In my experience, one major factor that separates the social classes is the ability to notice these subtleties and modify your behavior accordingly.
> It's definitely less resource-intensive.
I'm not sure that I agree. It requires less money. But it requires way more time. And it probably also requires a level of intelligence and mental sophistication that can't really be faked. If you have money, it's easy to just buy expensive stuff. But it's hard to fake an Instagram feed filled with vegan meals, yoga, hiking, political rallies, etc.
Actually getting money is harder than playing intellectual sophistry. By the fact that you have to deal with the reality, which is more complex than the Portland model of it.
