Why Mont Blanc pens are such an arument magnet ?

[Cloud]

Zwelig,

 

I am certainly not saying you said something wrong. What I said is more like look at every other montblanc thread and look at the degeneration of the topic. I am in agreement with most of what you said.

 

Montblanc is like a ''king of the hill'' in pendom. Many just take peeshots to try to make it fall.

[blak000]

a pair of white gloves.

white gloves ??? - for gods sake they are just fountain pens

 

*gasp* BLASPHEMER!!! :roflmho:

[coolpenz]

Ah, but Pilgrim, they are NOT "just fountain pens"....

 

They are .... a lifestyle.

 

:ltcapd: :roflmho: :ltcapd: :roflmho:

 

[coolpenz]

Ah, but Pilgrim, they are NOT "just fountain pens"....

 

They are .... a lifestyle.

 

:ltcapd: :roflmho: :ltcapd: :roflmho:

 

[captnemo]

Well, I don't know squat about MB pens, but with 125 replies it seems that you have proven the assertion stated in the subject of this thread beyond any doubt.

 

:roflmho:

[Iridium]

a pair of white gloves.

white gloves ??? - for gods sake they are just fountain pens

 

Only to the uninitiated. You see, Jesus Christ himself used a Montblanc, and the white gloves are meant to showcase the various stigmata that manifest themselves in the presence of a worthy consumer--a person of quality. They do not "leak"--contrary to the beliefs of the unwashed, plebeian masses--they bleed the finest, most distinguished wine in remembrance of our Savior.

[jameswatts]

I own four MBs, and regularly use and enjoy them all. I coveted a 149 for years, simply because it was a icon -- and this was years before the MB marketing gurus kicked in with that "the art of writing" jazz.

 

Tom Wolfe often says that the principal theme in American life is status -- since we have no hereditary royalty, no ancient system of delineating caste, America has no easy-to-point-to standard to determine where we are in society. Other than money, and the things that it can buy.

 

MB has been taken over as one of those symbols of status -- a thing one must possess in order to prove to everyone else that one has "arrived."

 

I know that is how some people I meet think on those occasions when I have one of my MB pens -- or perhaps they think I am simply putting on airs, because here I am, a lowly ink-stain wretch, daring to assert himself by brandishing this object. Actually, all I am doing with said object is taking notes.....

 

Perhaps the argument -- and the antipathy -- divides people into those who use and those who simply need to possess.

 

my two cents.....

 

jdw

[Titivillus]

Perhaps the argument -- and the antipathy -- divides people into those who use and those who simply need to possess.

 

my two cents.....

 

jdw

 

 

More like the people who have to discuss and those who don't :roflmho:

[wspohn]

None of these indicia necessarily condemn a person, but they are warning signs.

 

1 sign - might be a decent guy that went wrong buying the item, or perhaps simply enjoys it for what it is rather than what it makes other people think about them

 

 

2 signs - getting into a pretty sure twit situation. Still conceivable that he could be innocent

 

3 signs - 99% confidence that person is a certifiable idiot - highly unlikely to have this combination from luck alone

 

 

The indicia of twitness:

 

1 - wears a Rolex

 

2 - writes with a Montblanc

 

2 - Drives a red Viper

 

:roflmho:

[LDF]

Cloud,

 

I don't know if you may have got me wrong, or if I may have got you wrong, but, before some people feel offended or misinterpret things, I would like to put a few things clear.

 

I'm not saying that anyone who buys a Mont Blanc is stupid or snobbish. I am not saying who someone who loves Mont Blanc is stupid, or anything like it. If you see, I am actually breaking that kind of concept, and questioning lovers of other brands as well.

 

Just to emphasize and clear things: the part below (copied from my post) is merely illustrative. I am not laughing at Mont Blanc fans (I like myself a lot of their products), calling them stupid or snob, or even bad. I am just illustrating a typical situation that occurs with any luxury brand that has a strong image.

 

Snob people are trying to look great and cool, to look that they belong to a certain sophisticated social group, of sophisticated taste, because they have this or that pen, or watch, or whatever. We laugh at them. We point out how stupid they are, how they believe in anything. We show how of a moron that snob guy is, thinking that he is the proud owner of something sophisticated while it is not. By asserting that we are clever, that we know a lot about FPs, that we are actually more sophisticated, aren't we being snobs as well? Aren't we being, in answer, snobbish, by pointing out that we are so sophisticated that we don't need these symbols, that we care for quality, that we are much above other people who, mistakenly, believe they own great things because of the fame of their brand?

 

Well said!

MB hreads like this give people their opportunity to express self righteous indignation against

snobbery, a faultless stance so they think, but often in doing so, they exhibit their own kind of

snobbery as you have described.

Snobbery in any form is ugly.

[PAKMAN]

Is this a good deal?

 

 

Meisterstuck Hommage A Frederic Chopin Fountain Pen & CD Set

$1 SHIPPING!

Compare at: $357.50

Our Price: $277.00

 

Not bad. Got mine for $140 from a stationary store closing out their MB stock.

[Bisquitlips]

None of these indicia necessarily condemn a person, but they are warning signs.

 

1 sign - might be a decent guy that went wrong buying the item, or perhaps simply enjoys it for what it is rather than what it makes other people think about them

 

 

2 signs - getting into a pretty sure twit situation. Still conceivable that he could be innocent

 

3 signs - 99% confidence that person is a certifiable idiot - highly unlikely to have this combination from luck alone

 

 

The indicia of twitness:

 

1 - wears a Rolex

 

2 - writes with a Montblanc

 

2 - Drives a red Viper

 

:roflmho:

 

How about all of the above and drives a Blue BMW Z4?

 

If so.., cet sois moi! Twit extraordinaire !!!!

Edited October 13, 2007 by Bisquitlips

[wspohn]

How about all of the above and drives a Blue BMW Z4?

 

If so.., cet sois moi! Twit extraordinaire !!!!

 

 

No, the BMW is a nice sports car and no one owns them to try and impress people.

 

You can have various shadings of my criteria, though. Extra points if the MB the own is an especially flashy model, extra points if they have a diamond studded Rolex President, and the red colour on a viper should really rate a little higher than black or blue.

[Bisquitlips]

How about all of the above and drives a Blue BMW Z4?

 

If so.., cet sois moi! Twit extraordinaire !!!!

 

 

No, the BMW is a nice sports car and no one owns them to try and impress people.

 

You can have various shadings of my criteria, though. Extra points if the MB the own is an especially flashy model, extra points if they have a diamond studded Rolex President, and the red colour on a viper should really rate a little higher than black or blue.

 

 

Well, that lets me out!

[koppee1]

hmm. good topic. nice read...all those 9 pages hehe.

I've actually never owned a mont blanc and probably will never buy one. I'm quite happy with the cheaper fountain pens. I don't mind the MB pens and their advertisements...after all, everything is just business. Marketing is all about image and perception. What I don't like about mont blanc is the way it looks. Except for that white blot on top which says it's "expensive", the pen actually looks quite cheap. If you're going to be that expensive, you might as well look the part hehe.

[Iridium]

MB hreads like this give people their opportunity to express self righteous indignation against

snobbery, a faultless stance so they think, but often in doing so, they exhibit their own kind of

snobbery as you have described.

Snobbery in any form is ugly.

 

In a similar vein, intolerance in any form is ugly. Therefore we should strive to tolerate everything...including intolerance, for to not tolerate intolerance is in itself an ugly expression of intolerance. Quod erat demonstrandum.

[Stylo]

I guess while it was fun doing it, I think this horse has been sufficiently beaten to death this time around

 

http://symbianguru.typepad.com/welcome/images/beating_a_dead_horse.jpg