Couple of misconceptions in your response:
At no point did I say anything bad about Olympic weightlifting. That would make me pretty dumb since that is basically what I do
I was just doing the usual, "these young kids today ..." old school die hard way
They STILL move some weight.
At no point have you ever seen me refer to myself as anything but a weightlifter (accepted for Olympic weightlifter). Yes, I do a few other things but the ground floor is the squat-clean and press for me. I don't do the squat snatch because it is quite frankly too painful for what it's worth and has a detrimental affect on my other lifts.
The squat-clean and press requires every muscle in your body and they ALL have to be strong enough. If you don't have a solid base from ass to neck and ass to head, you aren't putting any damned thing over your head. It is THE accepted indicator of actual power and strength. Even the NFL uses the power clean as an indicator for speed and strength.
The "competition" in weightlifting is not some other schmoe. Sure, they have contests and crap but you got the enemy all wrong. The bar is your enemy. The bar (and weights on it) is what you are trying to beat. You don't beat anybody until you beat that bar. The lifters are actually supportive of one another's lifts, win, lose or draw. In other words they're good sports.
Same pretty-much with powerlifters except they are more aggressive and always having contests and crap, BUT it is most times good natured crap.
Bodybuilders? Forget it. Narcissists in the extreme. Always trying to mind*screw* each other. Hate their competition and wish them ill (this is at the pro level
). In everyday gyms they're clique-ish. Think their clique owns the place. Rude. Heaven forbid one has name recognition.
On the other hand, most at home "boybuilders" are just doing their own thing. Building their bodies. Their goal is completely different that the other two. They want to look a certain way. It's not about the amount of weight at all. It's what each weight does for appearance.
Straight up, I started the actual Olympic-style lifting with the goal in mind of a person who woke up in the hospital and couldn't walk. I used to be a great "bench presser". Now, I'm building the core from the bottom up. You don't EVER want to not be able to walk. It'll rearrange your viewpoint, that's for sure