Could someone explain to me why "hipsters" are such bad thing or whatever?

[Dr Fate]

Other than just a general problem with middle-class white kids who follow the trends of their day?

This is a re-post from another thread. Lotsa people who seem to be really down on "fucking hipsters"- with their tight jeans and facial hair, cheap beer, etc. etc. and I'm just trying to figure out the root of this dislike.

Seems like the modern version of "those damn rock and rollers with their greasey hair and leather jackets" or "those damn hippies with their long hair and funny sandals" or "those damn punks with their chains and loud music"...

Seems like every generation of youth since the 50's has had their own way of dress, their own interests, their own music, etc.

I'm 38, I live in the mission disctrict of SF, possibly the "Hipster" capital of the world...

I see guys & gals b/t the ages of 18-30 who dress up like their favorite musicians, go to bars, collect records, look for economical ways to have fun & pass time, go to thrift stores to buy recycled clothes, ride bikes, work at grocery stores etc. Gosh, sounds a lot like me and my crowd back in the early 90's- just w/ diff. clothes.

Who are they hurting and why do people get so annoyed by them?

Jealous of youth having a good time, perhaps?

I see them all over and they just seem like regular kids who basically act they way we all did at that age. Out of all the young people in the hood I've met, if they have any politics at all, they are Liberals or leaning that way.

I kinda like 'em.

So what is the general problem with these so-called "hipsters" again?

Doc

[Moondog]

1. Jealousy, probably. n/t

[Dr Fate]

2. Seems to be. I look at "hipsters" and all I see is kids having a good time. n/t

n/t

[Quantess]

3. The fuddy-duddies get jealous of people who are cooler than they are.

But...it can be geniunely annoying when the so-called "hipsters" are clinging to their "coolness" with insecurity. Or when you feel you are being dissed by them because your jeans are too wide at the ankle, or something trivial.

[Dr Fate]

4. Yup- and all that was just as annoying when skaters, deadheads & frat boys did it in the 90's...

And just as annoying as the hippies who would not let the short haired guy come to the love in or what have you.

It is annoying when people become conformists despite their self perceived nonconformity, but it is nothing exclusive to this generation's trends.

Every generation has had it's uniforms as an easy way to identify themselves...And yeah, for some, it just becomes a new way of conforming...

[Quantess]

6. Try Portland, Or. Talk about insecure people!

I lived in the SF Mission district for several years. Life was too hard to become too wrapped up in your self-perceived coolness, there.

But here in Portland, it's very clique-ish. The "hipsters" seem more insecure here. Rent is cheaper here, life is more relaxed, so there is more emphasis on having to out-hipster everyone else. I'm too old and secure within myself to care about trivial things like that. I don't have a need to reject anything that isn't cool. So yes, I understand the annoyance.

Just my .02

[Kat45]

23. I wrote a poem about the conforming noncomformists about 30 years ago.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Brickbat]

5. My complaints are with the class irony some of them try to display.

The whole PBR, trucker hat, workboot-sporting, Carhartt-toqueing affectation. No, no one has a monopoly on using any of these clothes or brands. But I do object people wearing such things in an "ironic" way.

[DBoon]

25. You mean like the "ironic" military cast-offs we wore in the 1970s

Because we knew we wouldn't have to go to Vietnam?

[KG]

7. behind the bright shiney faces, they are deeply unhappy.

http://unhappyhipsters.com/

[kentauros]

9. Indeed.

We must pity them.






I was just going to post this! I about lost it here at work on the one with the three children at some study-desk and the very tall stacks of books in front of them!

Term’s end was bittersweet as the summer reading list from mom and dad grew.


:rofl:

[digonswine]

8. Fixies--get a real bike!

N/T

[Javaman]

10. their effected brand of irony which they think is new and original

when it's pretty much stale and bland and been done in various ways many many times before.

There are 3 types of cool.

1) thinking one is cool is uncool. (trying too hard)

2) Knowing one is cool is mildly cool. (Not trying hard enough)

3) not knowing you are cool but are cool is the coolest. (doesn't care about trying)

they fall into the first category.

[digonswine]

11. Yes-as a "group", they are less annoying than some.

They fade into the woodwork and don't fuck with people. Hey--they gotta have something.

[Yavin4]

12. In 5 or 6 Years, They'll Go Back to Grad Schools, Get 6 or 7 Figure Jobs, Get Married,

have a bunch of kids, move to the burbs, and become asshat Republicans demanding that their property taxes be cut.

All of which was done by their parents.

[XemaSab]

15. You never know

The only hipsters I know IRL live across the street. They're married with a baby, and they live in a 1947 house.

She makes her own dresses from vintage patterns, and he wears Clark Kent glasses and argyle sweater-vests. They comb garage sales looking for cheesy old records, and she drinks cocktails.

They are Ozzie and Harriet, and they're sort of awesome.

[Chan790]

32. Being one and surrounded by them.

A lot of them, thanks to the Bush economy already have Masters degrees, committed l/t relationships where marriage is not on the table "like evah!!", don't want kids (I've never known so many people at one time to have had the snip-job), want to torch the suburbs and already are Republicans.

:shrug:

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. Because they're still trend-driven conformist follower douches.

Though of all the conformist follower douches out there, they tend to be decent people who aren't out to hassle others or shit on the world but actually strive, it would seem, to help the world.

People who follow fads are annoying, though. I'd rather they just be real, and not strive to look or act a "certain" way.

I like the goths, but I find it hilarious that in their attempt to totally non-conformist they have a very elaborate and stylized official goth uniform that really isn't any different than Mao's jackets or designer couture required by the mean girl cliques.

[nolabear]

34. I don't understand the rage.

"Douches" Really? What do they do that earns them that particular sobriquet? People want to identify themselves with the things that move them, and want to be recognized for that. People want to belong, to have a tribe or a family or a team or a community or a country. We need one another, and though sometimes having physical traits and habits that identify you with that group causes problems (as you demonstrate in your rant) it also gives valuable on-sight information and gives boundaries to the limitless, often overwhelming world we live in.

[Zephie]

14. Hipster checking in!

I am ironic enough to accept the hatred ironically. Seriously though, the hatred for the culture is really over blown. Some of "us" are snobby, but really hipsters in general are pretty good folk and very liberal. And PBR is highly overrated. :rofl:

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

16. hipsters aren't too bad

I think I had way more attitude as a new wave punker back in the late 70's, early 80's.

but regarding hipsters....

I sure like the music, folkwave, although I am not sure this is hipster or the label "folkwave" is accurate. I mean bands like The Decemberists, Munford and Sons, Fleetfoxes, and all the indie/punk folk type bands. I am 53, and haven't listened or liked new music in some time. So it's all good for me.

I also really, really like PBR, being a cheaper brand and having some sort of taste. I crack myself up in that I have come almost full circle with beer, beginning with the cheapest, Bud, moving on to the micro brews (Redhook, usually) during my 20's - 40's and back to the cheap beer in my 50's.

[petronius]

17. I think it's just your first line. And since we've all passed through that stage,

it's kind of fun to mock those who are still in it. Embarrassment about our own youthful goofiness might be behind it, actually... :shrug:

[Throd]

18. At least it isn't as violent as 80's punk.

I remember some shows that were one giant fight that happened to have bands playing.

Don't worry about today's hipster. Their future children will punish them with something even lamer.

[snagglepuss]

19. You must must must check out

http://unhappyhipsters.com/


It's aimed at older hipsters, the ones who read Dwell, a home decor mag focusing exclusively on a very very high-end minimalist aesthetic. I happen to love the style but it can be over the top pretentious. The people who added the hysterical, very droll captions are most likely hipsters themselves though they may not admit it.

[Quantess]

20. Dwell is one of my favorite magazines!

Uh oh...does that mean I'm an aging hipster? :hide:

[snagglepuss]

22. Have you ever checked out the unhappyhipsters website. If you love Dwell

I'd love to know your reaction.

[kentauros]

29. Unhappy Hipsters, they're so unhappy.

At least their minimalist structures will eventually take revenge and put them out of their misery.

:evilgrin:

(I love that site!)

[KurtNYC]

21. haven't been to SF lately but I lived in Williamsburg for a year

and the hipster thing is mostly fun. There are of course some who take it too seriously or they take themselves too seriously perhaps, but mostly it seemed to be retro-reverent, high bang for dollar fun.

i moved to nyc in 1993 and it was extasy and club kids in platform shoes who shaved their eyebrows off and wore spandex (kind of an echo of Glam rock). Hipster is much more sincere; dare I say wholesome.

[DBoon]

24. Gosh, sounds a lot like me and my crowd back in the early 90's

"Gosh, sounds a lot like me and my crowd back in the late '70s"

- Aging Punker

[Zorra]

26. I think they're fun. nt

[Zorra]

27. here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgPZk4SeHO8

[bluesbassman]

28. They won't stay off my lawn.

:)

[kentauros]

30. Spray your lawn with capsaicin.

That'll learn 'em :P

[DBoon]

33. bait a trap with Pabst Blue Ribbon

I hear live hipsters can fetch a good price on the black market

[kentauros]

35. !o!

:rofl: :thumbsup:

Good one! I'll have to try it (when I have a lawn.)

[quakerboy]

31. Isnt that enough?

Damn kids get offa my lawn.

Roundabout here they are thick as fly's on a messy dumpster and as annoying as mosquito's. Plus they buzz a lot, and have skinny legs just like mosquitoes. Isn't that in and of itself good enough reason to want to slap the ironic right offa them? If not, their music is generally crappy as well...


I am sure that back in 0020, Roman teens wore their togas the wrong way and annoyed the hell out of their elders as well. Each generations gotta convince themselves they are "unique" and "special" and therefore be challenged/annoyed by the next one, which inevitably has to outlandishly prove itself even more unique and more special.

[DBoon]

36. hipsters aren't so bad

Hipster culture adds excitement and variety to urban living. Silverlake is one of my favorite neighborhoods in LA.

some of their affectations beg to be mocked though

For the life of me, I don't understand the lure of PBR

And no, I don't REALLY think hipsters should be trapped and sold to collectors

[zanana1]

37. Every generation needs its own identity.

We're not a tradition-driven country, and thank God for that. I think it's great that every generation "invents" itself. Go hipsters!

[Cruzan]

38. Semi-relevant pic

[Iggo]

39. They're no better or worse than anyone else going through a phase. (n/t)

[Taverner]

40. They're not. It's more of a familiarity breeds contempt kind of thing

"Hipsters" in the 90's were kind of like Beatniks in the 50's, or Hippies in the 60's.

Just as one might roll their eyes at a hippie today, Hipsters seem to be following an alternative path 'just to be different' and thus, conforming to a different path, with the same intensity as one would conform to a 'what the cool kids do' path.

Bob Dylan put it best when he said:

Don't follow leaders! Watch your parking meters!