Just as a big chunk of a population has blue eyes, a big chunk likes to watch Geraldo and knows the names of only those countries America has invaded in the last few dozen years. For brevity, these are called the masses. Again, this is only arbitrary lumping. There is no gene for elitism. If you spot someone who may be considered elite, don't label them thus.
Egalitarianism is the antithesis of elitism.
Therefore perceived differences must be circumstantial. The buzzwords of egalitarianism are political correctness, victimization, multi-culturalism, and affirmative action, words so common that it is difficult to remember how new they are. Political correctness shuns the use of that handy tool, the generalization. Popular culture is, as a whole, worthless excrement. Asian Americans tend to fare better than African Americans.