A social phenomenon in which individuals or groups who have successfully advanced in status, wealth, or opportunity then act to block others from accessing the same path upward.
Key Features:
Motivated by fear of competition, scarcity mindset, or desire to protect hard-won status.
Can manifest in politics (e.g., immigrants opposing immigration), economics (e.g., professionals gatekeeping their fields), or class mobility (e.g., elites dismantling welfare or education programs they once benefited from).
Example (fictional): Raymond Leon in the movie "In Time" rises out of poverty to become a Timekeeper but enforces the very system that traps others where he once was.
Example (real): An immigrant who gained citizenship but campaigns to restrict immigration for others.
Key Features:
Motivated by fear of competition, scarcity mindset, or desire to protect hard-won status.
Can manifest in politics (e.g., immigrants opposing immigration), economics (e.g., professionals gatekeeping their fields), or class mobility (e.g., elites dismantling welfare or education programs they once benefited from).
Example (fictional): Raymond Leon in the movie "In Time" rises out of poverty to become a Timekeeper but enforces the very system that traps others where he once was.
Example (real): An immigrant who gained citizenship but campaigns to restrict immigration for others.
1. After becoming wealthy through public education, the politician now opposes funding for schools, effectively pulling up the ladder behind him.
2. Some immigrants, once they gain citizenship, support restrictive immigration policies — a classic case of pulling up the ladder.
2. Some immigrants, once they gain citizenship, support restrictive immigration policies — a classic case of pulling up the ladder.
by Social Climber September 16, 2025
Get the Pulling Up the Laddermug. Reference from the JRE podcast whenever Joe Rogan wants Jamie to pull up any video/website/document/etc. So when you want your friend to pull something up on the internet, you tell them "Pull it up Jamie"
Bro #1: Have you seen the video of the squirrel skydiving? Bro #2: Actually, I haven't, pull it up Jamie
by JPR16967 April 3, 2025
Get the Pull It Up Jamiemug. 
When you pull up somewhere and wreck someone by leaving them unable to respone. For exampel: to WIN an argument.
by Aitg.1.78. January 7, 2019
Get the Pull up and wreckmug. by yungcashfuckingcarti May 3, 2018
Get the pulling up with big dicksmug. by Onna pull up February 8, 2022
Get the onna pull upmug. 