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תנו רבנן לעולם ימכור אדם כל מה שיש לו וישא בת תלמיד חכם לא מצא בת תלמיד חכם ישא בת גדולי הדור לא מצא בת גדולי הדור ישא בת ראשי כנסיות לא מצא בת ראשי כנסיות ישא בת גבאי צדקה לא מצא בת גבאי צדקה ישא בת מלמדי תינוקות ולא ישא בת עמי הארץ מפני שהן שקץ ונשותיהן שרץ ועל בנותיהן הוא אומר (דברים כז, כא) ארור שוכב עם כל בהמה
What are the characteristics of Chazal's Talmid Chakham and Am Ha-aretz?
What's the essence -- the root cause -- of Chazal's antagonism toward the Am Ha-aretz?
Does this text have a history of being used to justify the behavior of self-described Talmidei Chakhamim toward perceived Amei Ha-aretz?
Generalizing that a group of Jews are are skatzim, shratzim, and -- comically? -- zoophiles would almost certainly inspire an unflattering story in the Forward today. What are we supposed to learn from the fact this teaching -- Jews on Jew antipathy -- was included in the Talmud?
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עם הארץ is in distinction to חבר, and the separation between the two is laws of agriculture and laws of purity. The strict observance of those laws created two distinct groups - If I was careful with the tithes, I couldn't trust food from someone who was not. If I was careful with the purity of my food, I couldn't let someone who was not careful near it and still trust that it was ritually pure. Searching for עם הארץ חבר brings up a whole world of sources. I found one that seems to be a clear expression of the dividing line, but I imagine that there are others.
There's another category in that Tosefta that I'm less clear on - נאמן. How does נאמן relate to חבר?