They're the ultimate embodiment of gentrification. In some sense, it wouldn't be so bad were it not so insincere, which serves to cheapen everything else.

On the most basic level, they steal from and make distinctive things about other groups cheap and ironic. Wearing an old computer game or an Iron Maiden t-shirt used to express something specifically about yourself - but since both have been appropriated by hipsters they mean nothing, which tends to alienate and undermine cultural identification that people tend to naturally cling to. This is something that blacks, specifically, have become used to - but probably never really come to like - but now it's white people feeling the same sting at the hands of hipsters.

Another part is the institutional nostalgia. A lot of the hipsters I've dealt with of late were born in the 90s, and yet say things like, "I remember Journey!" No, actually, you don't. Pretending that you do is a lie, and one that pointlessly challenges my own authentic perception of reality.

I used to not care until I could barely stand to wear my Maiden shirts for fear of looking like a Hipster ruining, instead of celebrating, a defining characteristic I adhere to.

First they came for the nerd glasses, shirts, and hobbies, but I was not a nerd so I did not speak out. Then they came for glam and cowboys, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the punk, but I was not punk so I did not speak out. And when they came for metal, there was no one left to speak out for me.

I have absolutely nothing to add to what The Immortal Goon just posted, and cannot think of anything that could possibly make the above post any better or clearer.

Spot on, this, +1, WIN, FTW, [insert your positive Internet meme feedback here].

Thank you Dan...

I grew up in Eastern Washington and although I didn't care for the rednecks...they at least didn't spend all their energy over-analyzing petty things to the nth^10 degree, like the fact that the guys at the bar are all wearing Garth Brooks t-shirts or worrying that their new KC light bar on their truck might make them look too redneck.*

Give me odd fashion, a lot of great music, good coffee and goofy events over having to go back to the land of gay-bashing, Rush Limbaugh, Boyds, and the same 12 classic rock songs 24/7.

* This would be a great spoof video, I claim all rights, ha ha.

Definitely worth reading:

http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/the-h-…

In honor of Stumptown Guest of Honor Kate Beaton: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=2…

I can't add anything more either. Goon nailed it.

So essentially, you people are pissed because your "unique culture" has been commoditized and sold to people. Fucking whiney little cry-babies, all of you.

You don't like it? Have fun fighting both Capitalism and post-modern hucksterism. That'll be a lot of fun.

@Graham

It's not "pissed" as much as "dissappointed". I'm struggling to find exactly what hipsters are adding to the great timeline of culture. I suppose time will tell. Until then, I may still be annoyed.

So, Goon is upset because people might think different things about him than before when he wears his Iron Maiden t-shirt. If you care that much about your appearance and what it makes people think of you, it's you that's got the problem, not the hipsters.

So what if they don't contribute a single useful thing to society / culture? Who cares? If it makes them happy, without causing any actual harm to anyone else (except apparently those with far-too-precious egos who take themselves far too seriously and hence deserve to be harmed), do it. And if you don't like them, don't talk to them, it's really not that hard.

@Erik: Agreed, thanks.

I'm with Graham-who gives a shit? Is your cultural identity really at risk from what some skinny nerd has printed on a t-shirt?

@SPK: Who or what exactly are you dissappointed with? Hot Topic was selling ironic bad t-shirts by at least 1994 (this was in Iowa, mind you; so most likely even eariler on the coasts).

This phenomenom is nothing new. It's reading novels and the Lost Generation and the Argonauts all over again. We as society are always decrying the newest generation and they're lazy and uninformed and etc. They have always been like that. EVERY SINGLE FUCKING GENERATION! There's example of Plato making the same type of arguments as everyone else does when becoming incensed at the "kids these days". It's a trope and it's boring.

http://www.zoilus.com/documents/in-depth/2…

it's really all relative but back in the day people also asked what artists like jackson pollack and countless others contributed to the "great timeline of culture."

also, things hipsters have contributed:
helping to elect obama
an increasing liberal attitude and acceptance of gay marriage and gay rights
the phasing-out of baggy jeans worn around the thigh
music that doesn't consist of top 40 and actually gives people options that wont be heard on mtv generally
increased revenue for pbr which im sure it appreciated

Goon hit the bullseye. Now let's all go hipster-bashing. Meetup at Hungry Tiger Too on Wednesday at 9pm?

@seh61 - So there you go. Good points.

@Graham - Just opinions. I'm surprised you care so much actually. But I agree with your point about the criticizms.

I don't like hipsters because they don't like me. Also, things. They don't like things.

Goon makes many points. The most imporant for me is their insincerity. Self-involved and cynical to the point of not really giving a shit about anything.

But I live right off of Alberta. If I didn't have to deal with hipsters and fake "punks" and just flat-out losers 24/7, I might feel more charitable towards them.

AHHHHH! AHHHHHHHH!

PLEASE NO MORE HIPSTERS VS ANTI-HIPSTERS VS COUNTER ANTI-HIPSTERS VS POST-MODERN COUNTER ANTI-HIPSTER HIPSTERS DEBATES ANYMORE! THERE'S LITTLE DISTINCTION IN PORTLAND. THERE'S ONLY PRICK/LIKEABLE. INTERESTING/BLAND. AMBITIOUS/DETACHED. SELFISH/LESS SELFISH. THOUGHTFUL/DUMB.


LIKE WHAT YOU LIKE, DO WHAT YOU DO, DRESS HOW YOU DRESS, HATE WHO YOU HATE, LIKE WHO YOU LIKE.
IF A SUNKEN-CHESTED, FLAT-ASSED 22 YEAR OLD WEARING A MAIDEN T FORCES YOU TO ALTER YOUR WARDROBE, WHO'S BEING THE IRONIC ONE, YOU PUSSY?

This topic is so odious. I puke on it, because of it.

Graham, PC and Chas Bowie are all correct.
Branch O' Humphrey-LOLZ.

Now COORS LIGHT me(irony!) before I go scour The Bins for vinyl.

http://catandgirl.com/?p=2061

http://catandgirl.com/?p=2061

Perfect.

So if hipsters slip into a style of dress that identifies others, how can you identify them anyway? Do you make a blanket assumption that anyone that isn't you (or a close approximation) and wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt is a hipster?

Perhaps... the hipster is YOU?

See, that's the problem with hipster-hate, it's always self-referential. "They took something I think is cool and that's wrong" seems to mean that people are tired of being mistaken for hipsters or tired of people accusing them of trying to be hipsters. Being hip is, like, totally a burden.

Full-disclosure: half my wardrobe consists of thrift store items and Threadless tees, but I'm just a nerd, so it's okay.

TSW, I'll see you at that one worker-owned record store we both love. I won't say the name here, because then people will find out about it and it will be un-cool.

I shop exclusively at Forever21 just to provoke the hipsters.

Also I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

PLUS, PLUS...I have fun at things.

No YOU shut up!!

@ Stu/two squatting women/Alexjon/whoever - I still wear my Maiden shirts. I just appreciate sincerity, which Hipsters - and all forms of gentrification - tend to drain from symbols, turning them in to a cynical irony. I'm not really that up in arms against it, and I do know that it's happened before - the question was why do people care. Turning around and calling me a Hipster is a little baffling - I assume you think I'd be insulted by that. I don't mean to call anyone out, but just explain what the thing is and why people feel the way they do about it.

find the head hipster and drive a (sustainably harvested) stake through the image of Eddie on the t-shirt. voila! end of hipsters.

eezy-cheezy.

Cultural change always seems to have such agressive condemnation as though it is an afront to the core of some peoples souls. Sit back for a moment and realize that we all wear clothes and act in certain ways to portray an image that we feel best represents who we are. There is no psychological difference when it comes to the decision making process of the 10 gallon hat spur wearing cowboy and the plaid shirted tight jeaned hipster that is so detested. When it comes down to it the cowboy and the hipster both act and dress to relate to a certain subculture so as to present themselves in a way that they feel best expresses there personality. We develop these personas to present a description of ourselves without having to fully explain ourselves.

In our judgement of other individuals we develop both cultural and individual stereotypes. The cowboy and the hipster come to recognize that they relate most closely with that indivdual style and therefore begin to assimilate to that particular subcultures norms.

We all know that when we personally meet these individuals, wether they be cowboys or hipsters, they never fit every stereotype though some fit more then others we can not truly draw full blown conclusions about the person. We can of course draw a comparrison between them and ourselves but then we must understand that we are personally just as un-individualistic and uniquely challenged as they can be.

So either become a hipster and join in their party or join some other party either way we are all just that shallow.

@The Immortal Goon

Why are you hanging out with people born in the 90's (barely 20 year olds or younger) when YOU can remember Journey when you were young? That seems like quite an age gap.

Austin, there is no way to avoid being around hipsters in this city. It doesn't matter who you are.

Goon, you like Iron Maiden.

Let's rewind that.

Goon, you like Iron Maiden.

Saying hipsters are gentrification is like saying Iron Maiden is a great band worthy of admiration. A hilarious and suitably hipster-like comment full of irony.

@Cook - I teach.

@Alexjon - Iron Maiden was an example. I used others too. I don't even know what you're trying to say beyond that.

Let's not use the term gentrification loosely, eh? Its roots are grounded in harmful economic and social discrimination. It goes back a long way. It's not about appropriating your favorite band's imagery.

Kiala,
You like things? AND have fun at things?
That's so gay. I bet you smile, too. And own a television. Probably once played a (gasp) sport.

Kiala=THE PROBLEM.

Kids these days.

GET OFF MY LAWN.

@tsw: You are correct. Kiala is the problem with Portland.

Well, Goon, taking that all as one piece, the old computer game fetishism and your second-wave new-metal t-shirts, it would seem...

Oh, nah. I'll be nice.

@ Two Squatting Women - I put the term "gentrification" in to context in my original post when I mentioned that this had been happening for ages, specifically with black culture.

And, again, the Iron Maiden shirt thing was an example. It has the advantages of having been a known symbol tied to a specific group of people that became ironic; and a generally white subculture that underlines the comparison to gentrification used in my thesis statement.

@Alexjon - I personally hate old computer games. The fetishism of them was an example. I'm not sure why the use of examples is so difficult to grasp.

You don't have to like them to exalt them unreasonably or make them inaccessible to those younger than a certain age. Examples, feh.

@Alexjon

Iron Maiden IS a great band worthy of admiration!! Fool. What other band has their own lead singer pilot the band jet on a world tour!

Guys, what if Kiala is actually the SOLOUTION to the problem?

What if I am the problem AND the solution?

I'm like the ouroboros of hipsterismness.

Bagging on Maiden as a means to show one's hip and elightened 'refinement' seems to be a favorite pastime of the dipshit.
Maiden rocks, always has, always will.

METAL!!

Hipsteres!

Hipsteres!=WIN.

Best Maiden moment anyone?

One of mine was driving through Mexia, Texas looking for Anna Nicole Smith references (it being her home town) on the way to a conference in a City of Houston truck with my boss who was blasting Run To the Hills because he was a huge Maiden fan. GOOD TIMES!

The problem with hipsters is that they're modern version of shallow wastoids - they might actually have the talent and creativeness to do something with their lives, but they'd rather ride stupid fixed-gear bicycles and play at being poor.

Fine....play at being poor. Maybe when you're 30 and unemployable outside the same service-industry job you had when you were 20 you'll learn something - and you'll be shopping at the thrift store and drinking PBR unironically. (Sorry, but the American Spirits are the most expensive cigs around - there's no irony in those.)

Maiden has great tunes and great albums. True Maiden fans wouldn't besmirch the great name of Eddie by letting H's get in the way of honoring his name. COWARDS! He would say.

Moreover, true Maiden fans also know the best Maiden album is the pre-Dickinson first Iron Maiden album.

Iron Maiden moment: Jamming Powerslave with my friend in his basement in 8th grade.

It's not the hipster-ism(?) that is provoking the hate ( At least not for me ) , it's a bandwagon reaction. Just whory attention seekers jump into trend for profit , not to express their "individuality". That is just plain sad.. Freakin clones walk this earth nowadays...Well, in the end , everyones a fake.

I don't hate hipsters, I just hate everyone, 'cept for my friends, we're cooler than everyone.