You are right to poke fun at PR people. After all, a sort of food chain
does exist, and PR pros may well be bottom dwellers. On the other hand,
given that I was raised in a family in which both parents -- and most of
their friends -- were academics and literary folks, I can lend the
following insight: In their eyes media folks were mere sorters of
empirical data (and that's on a good day), whereas they were the true
creators, the ones with intellectual honest and curiosity. This view may
have its own flaws, but it makes an important point: We feel better about
ourselves when we tear others down. Next time you're feeling righteous, it
might serve you well to recall that someone out there -- a teacher, a
writer, a poet, a photographer, a scientist, a laborer -- holds equal
measures of ridicule and contempt for you. That is, we PR pros might be on
the bottom of the food chain, but we're looking right up at you...and it's
not a pretty sight.

A.B.