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So I was thinking it would be hilarious to put on blackface and…what’s that? It’s racist? No, you don’t understand! I was being ironic. Fine, I guess next you’ll tell me that my white friends can’t put on sombreros and call each other “wetback” to be, you know, funny and stuff.
Clearly, you don’t understand that young, hip, artistic people are just being naughty when they dance on the edge of racist behavior. Yes, everyone from writers for hit TV shows to Ashton Kutcher has recently drawn fire for indulging in racial stereotypes and/or offensive statements.
What they have in common, besides denying that they’re bigots, is that they’re showcasing behavior that has been around for a while, but is only now becoming a full-fledged trend: hipster racism.
This is “the idea that anything wrapped with enough irony can be transformed into something else” and that it’s okay, even admirable and edgy, to make comments that appear ignorant or prejudicial. The point is to upset convention and push the envelope.
Of course, the people making these comments or laughing at them are usually white, which is apparently mere coincidence. A further defense for such behavior is that, in our supposedly post-racial society, people need to be shocked into seeing that racism still exists. They are “speaking difficult truths that others dare not speak.” Oddly enough, I doubt many ethnic minorities require such reminders.
Hipster racism is, of course, modern-day prejudice that has gone undercover. It is an escape hatch for those who realize, “Sure, you can’t say racist things anymore, but you can pretend to say them. Which, it turns out, is pretty much the exact same thing.”
Now, I’ve written before about how the word racism is sometimes thrown around just a little too freely, thereby diminishing its impact. And it’s fair to say that many hipsters (however one defines them) are guilty of little more than misguided attempts to be down with ethnic minorities. But, the fact remains that there is a line between subverting racial stereotypes and reinforcing them. We may disagree at what point that line is crossed.
However, it’s clear that fairly early in this process, people go from mocking bigotry to embracing it. The Freudian implications are especially glaring when coming from individuals in positions of cultural power, who are obviously reasserting their power and expressing how they truly feel under the guise of outrageous behavior. But “you cannot unlock some secret double-not-racist achievement by just being regular racist.”
This is most disturbing when it comes to the younger white generation, which is supposedly more accepting of Latinos and other ethnicities. One has to wonder if the bigots in their midst have just gotten smarter about hiding it.
As for those hipsters who insist that they abhor racism, it would be something if they could avoid constantly reminding everybody else how privileged and secure they are, via stupid jokes or juvenile behavior.
Now that would be a hot trend.
About Daniel Cubias
This is nothing new, its just now hitting mass media. After going to one of most liberal colleges in America and surrounded by hipsters and progressives you learn quickly they are just as racist as the conservative they claim are the true racist.
If anything the hipsters and their liberal counter parts are reminiscent of white Americans during the 1950s who claimed to not be racist because they owned Harry Belafonte records.
Great post. There’s definitely something to be said for emerging trends in comedy that teeter between satire & bigotry. I think it’s up to the observer to critique aloud from their heart of hearts what’s acceptable and what crosses the line of offensive. In essence, it makes us all watchdogs, I think, and for the betterment of society.
If I hear one more person from middle america who wears skinny jeans and lives in DUMBO call something ghetto, I’m gonna have a looong conversation with them. . .
I hate hipsters equally
Strange.. I’ve had the most racist experiences with black people…
It doesn’t matter what race you are or how you cover it up. It’s still racist!!! God, it’s amazing how this country has been here nearly 300 years, and the racism is still no different than what it’s been before. Are they that ignorant, bigots, and uneducated? What are we doing wrong that’s still causing racism to exist?
hipsters are shit
Just download the hipster app that let’s you punch it in the face successively. That should solve the problem.
Ever wonder why white hipsters (white people in general) say things in Spanish? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mock_Spanish
http://language-culture.binghamton.edu/symposia/2/part1/index.html
I think that we’ll never get over racism if we keep talking about the “new racisms” that were just born into existance. Every race can be racist. EVERY.
Also, what about the Madea movies, etc that have extremely racist remarks and jokes in them?? I guess that’s not considered racist because it’s not said by a white person??
Also, what about the Madea movies, etc that have extremely racist remarks and jokes in them?? I guess that’s not considered racist because it’s not said by a white person??
um guys, hipster isn’t a race. lol
um guys, hipster isn’t a race. lol
@Dillz yes but the article mentions white people quite a few times as being the main culprits. What does “hipster” mean anyways??
um guys, white isn’t a race, it’s a color. lol
I especially HATE when white girls say to me, “what’s up, Chica?”
I Liked this article before it was cool.
@Sharon they say it to each other too. “chica” is a Spanish word but people who don’t speak Spanish know that is means “girl”. Kind of like them saying “no problemo”. I really doubt they mean offence by it!
Lol…I say that to all the time to my non-latina friends.
Lol…I say that to all the time to my non-latina friends.
it’s annoying all around..i think the best remedy is to see whoever you are dealing with as more than just their race or ethnicity..that is when people get into trouble.. deal with another human being as someone who has the same desires, worries, fears, hopes and dreams like you do..
Why do we need a new term to describe the same old foolishness in a different disguise? Ugh! Not even wasting time on elaboration of this topic…
Everyone is prejudice in some form or another.
Everyone is prejudice in some form or another.
If white isn’t a race, why do they list it in surveys??? In surveys they ask; RACE- white/caucasion, black, asian, ect.
I think he was jk @ alex martinez
I think he was jk @ alex martinez
and this explains why i’m prejudice against stupid people. lol
and this explains why i’m prejudice against stupid people. lol
There are three original races. Caucasian, negroid & mongoloid. Figure out your heritage and love yourself. lol
There are three original races. Caucasian, negroid & mongoloid. Figure out your heritage and love yourself. lol
Some people see racism in everything/everywhere, even when it’s not there.
Some people see racism in everything/everywhere, even when it’s not there.
Like Forrest said STUPID is as STUPID does……
Like Forrest said STUPID is as STUPID does……
Alex Martinez, Asian is not a race lol Asia is a continent that also includes the middle east and India ect. those people from that continent are called Asian, so that means Asians are not a race since Asia is the most diverse continent in the world.
Thanks Tony….. Jejeje….
We are all different. We are all equal. Once we realize that and become comfortable in our own skin, whatever it’s color, we can celebrate each other without fear or ignorance. An apple is different from an orange, but equally delicious. When put together, they add to each other flavor and color and make fruit punch. Mmmmmm que rico! I hate to be so kindergarten-teacher about it. But it’s clear to me that some people need to be schooled. Be cool. Love. Grow. Love more….
COUNTERATTACK. Speak back to them in beautiful eloquent spanish. Their preplex face will be hilarious besides there’s nothing funnier then making them feel dumb and clueless. *smirk*.
I don’t hate anyone on racial basis, I hate hipsters for what they are doing to my community and some like it. Hipsters moving into low income communities with daddy’s trust fund to fund their artistic creativity. Pretty soon they open a herbal tea shop and it’s a domino effect from their, never really struggling because daddy will bail them out as soon as times get tough. Then I see my friends parents, almost hitting retirement age, getting thrown to the street. Why? Because they have gentrified the “hood” and not rent is no longer affordable. They don’t care, no need to Care, they still receive their paycheck for not doing anything. They might keep the communities name for “cred” when talking to their friends in the mid-west. They have hurt people, the people who were originally in those communities and the people who will return to pick up the pieces once they go in search of the new hip place.
It’s funny how this article is about white hipsters being racist(true at times). It is written by a sexy Latino(fact). Yet many posters IRONICALLY found a way to throw black people under the bus out of the blue. How ironic! Idiots.
well with hurricane sandy dancing her lovely ass across all of the northeast i’m gonna say this if there are any mid western hipster’s left in all the borroughs of new york city they are now just moving out i think the best part’s of new york were when they didn’t show up so all in all i’m a brit bitch and i love everyone just don’t like hipster’s never will and probably never will give these smelly loser’s the time of day bye
This is a great article. We don’t have to let racism control our lives but it is good to have honest dicussions about it. Don’t pretend to be color blind.
they just annoy me so much i dis like them as of recent on a supposed cool liberal owned geek sight i was called the n word on a near constant repeat basis so yeah hipster based racism is alive and well on the internet
I get this every time I’m at a party with mostly white people and I’m the only who gets the “black guy” greeting I know it’s not the end of the world, but I’d like to be seen as more than just a race
I hope you all know there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between being Prejudice and being RACIST. Only WHITES can be RACIST. History shows this. Being prejudice is like judging cultures based on stereotypes. RACISM is a institutionalized system designed to keep races of people down and limited becuz they are considered “savages” and inferior. “Hippy’s” suppose to be like “liberals” peace and love and all this B——. But the “hippys” I have met been like “wiggers” wanna be black but dont like blacks. And in GA, the so called “liberals” drive around with confederate stickers, so go figure?! lol