People are the same in all walks of life, because people are people. Some people have a large amount of their self image tied to brands or objects. And I guess at some level, it isn't a binary, we are probably all guilty of it to some extent, but in some it really is excessive. The further up the chain you go, the more excessive it gets.
I mean if everyone is playing squiers, who cares if you come in with a squier. Unless of course you come in with a Kay - screw that guy