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Aug 21, 2013 05:08 PM

really bored of h**ster bashing


hello folks:

maybe i'm the only one, but i've really had it with bashing restaurants and their clientele for their age and the way they dress.

isn't this just flat out bigotry?

suppose i reviewed a restaurant or a taco stand or whatever, and said something like, "hey, great, authentic tacos, but the fanny packs and obesity of the people in line really ruined it for me. i hate going to restaurants filled with fat, polyester wearing people"?

wouldn't that just make me a jerk?

but, somehow, many chowposters find it o.k. to say how their dining experience was ruined by the h**ster crowd.

if a restaurant is filled with young people, dressed in the popular fashion of the day, does it really ruin your food? why are you focused on other people instead of your food and your dining companions?
and how do you know someone is a "h**ster" just by the clothes they wear? stuff goes in and out of style. maybe they've been dressing that way for years.

perhaps it's just me, but i've grown tired of the judgement of people on their looks here on chowhound.

rant over. thanks.

    1. re: Veggo

      Cute, yeah! Is that where ham comes from?

      1. re: Veggo

        We are rolling up on twenty years since Elaine ranted about stupid hamster doofuses.....where has the time gone

        1. re: Veggo

          They've just decoded hamster DNA: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/...

          Maybe this will lead to understanding why hamsters choose what and where they eat and drink.

        2. Maybe they're just bashing ironically.
          What's with the **?

          4 Replies
          1. re: Island

            island, because i find the full word obnoxious and essentially meaningless. thus, in my own pretentious way, i refuse to type it or say it.

            and doesn't doing something ironically make them that which they are bashing?

            1. re: linus

              Yet it's worthy of you posting about it? Sounds like you're more than bored.
              Hipster style is so common I no longer notice it. Only place I see mention is in Yelp where people with too much time on their hands erronously think their rambling "reviews" are witty or creative. However can't say the H-words are singled out any more than the other favs: cougars, senior citizens and tourists.

              1. re: Island


                Agreed, especially the last two. I'd add parents with young children. (And no, I don't fall into any of those categories.)

                1. re: squid kun

                  island and squid, thanks for participating.
                  your points are thoughtful.

          2. Yes, I'm tired of this also . Thanks for your post. You are able to flag a post, but I find that a bashing topic usually just continues on.

            1. I get where you're coming from but "bigotry" is a bit much, don't you think?

              When has an older generation NOT been annoyed and pissy at a younger generation?

              27 Replies
              1. re: Violatp

                i think judging people by their appearance is a form of bigotry, yes, definition wise.

                1. re: linus

                  Then you've had a very privileged life if you want to cry bigotry because someone thinks a handlebar mustache is stupid.

                  1. re: linus

                    to the best of my knowledge, no one has been denied the right to vote, to sit where they want on the bus, to live or work where they want, marry who they want, or to walk through the front door (as opposed to a back door labeled "hipsters only") because they were wearing an earring, a tattoo, and a vintage bowling shirt.

                    Bigotry isn't the right word for this situation.

                    1. re: sunshine842

                      Well said, S.

                      I would stand to applaud, but I'm afraid of spilling taco toppings on my size 16 polyester pants. I like me some tacos.

                      Now, I must away to listen to my old Tom Jones albums. He too rocked that polyester, far better than I, far better than I.

                      1. re: sunshine842

                        while you both make excellent points, i suggest looking up the definition of the word.

                        also, you might want to take another look at the penultimate line of my original post.

                        1. re: linus

                          being bored of a phrase is not the same as bigotry.

                          You're still misusing the word -- rather significantly.

                          1. re: sunshine842

                            Judging others based upon existing prejudices is bigotry. As cresyd notes, the issue is bigotry, not systemic or institutional discrimination. The latter being a product of the widespread and entrenched acceptance of the former.

                            1. re: sunshine842

                              well, sunshine, i asked if it was a form of bigotry. you don't think it is. thank you for participating.

                              1. re: linus

                                You *choose* to be a HIPster. You're not born with it.

                                Therefore it's not bigotry -- and regardless of what Webster says about it (old white guy and all....) there isn't anyone on this board who truly believes that being made fun of because of what you're wearing (something YOU have chosen to purchase and wear) is anywhere in the same universe as being shunned from social and legal activities because of the color of your skin.

                                People get talked down for all kinds of things -- too thin/fat, too short/tall, hair too long/short, facial hair/clean shaven, tattoos/no tats, being blonde, being redheaded, having straight hair, having curly hair, wearing high heels, wearing flats, breastfeeding, bottlefeeding, drinking red wine, drinking white wine....

                                ....learn to be happy with the choices you make about yourself and about your own life...other people's opinions about minor crap like clothes and what you do with your life are just that -- opinions. Life's too short to get fussed about haters hatin'.

                                1. re: sunshine842

                                  It is bigotry. The fact that it's not in the historical realm of skin color or religion doesn't stop that.

                                  This is not bigotry that supports discrimination - it is still bigotry.

                            2. re: linus

                              You just made two mistakes on an internet discussion board.

                              1) Asking people to look up a word's definition.

                              2) Using the word "penultimate" and expecting people to know what it means (see above).

                                1. re: Josh

                                  most of us here know what bigotry and penultimate mean.

                                2. re: linus

                                  Oh, I'm well aware of the difference between bigotry and racism, sexism, et al. I still think you're grossly overstating considering the historical weight of the word.

                                  1. re: Violatp

                                    People seem to be confusing the word "bigotry" with "racism".

                                    Bigotry is nothing more than intolerance towards those who hold different opinions from oneself. Not sure how much historical weight you need to see that judging people based on their clothing/facial hair/musical preferences qualifies.

                                3. re: sunshine842

                                  I think that people are inflating the word bigtry/bigot (from Merrian-Webster: "(one) intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices") with discrimination. Discrimination is where we get to denying the vote and sitting on the back of the bus. Now bigotry contributed to invidiuals supporting discriminatory systems - but on its own, just means someone sticking with their prejudicial opinions. Be it about skin color or mustaches.

                                  1. re: cresyd

                                    Agreed, cresyd. There is a conflation of narrow-mindedness (bigotry) with policy happening here, and it's a bit misguided on either side of the 'is it fair to hipsters?' divide.

                                4. re: linus

                                  Not at all .Bigotry is to strong of a word .We all put on our own costumes just for that to be judged .We're all cool today come tomorrow ??? We'd all laugh at the photo of my uncle in his "Zoot Suit " but he was cool and hip back in his day key chain and all. No one escapes looking dopey to others, That's just the way it is .So enjoy

                                  1. re: scunge

                                    zoot suits, beatniks, yuppies, and now hipsters.

                                    Every generation has someone to laugh at.

                                    bigotry runs far deeper than your choice of shirt -- let's reserve it for the big stuff, so as to not demean actual bigotry.

                                    1. re: sunshine842

                                      sunshine, i think my point is words like "bigotry" and "prejudice" are words with definitions, and was postulating that by their definitions, the behaviour cited applies.

                                      it's important to realize bigotry is not a "contest." no one here, in my opinion, is equating bashing on chowhound with serious episodes from human history.
                                      simply, there are "levels" of bigotry, and i was wondering if this behaviour -- judging people on their appearance -- was low level bigotry.

                                      obviously, you disagree, and that's o.k. i disagree my usage of the term demeans the seriousness and impact of said term.

                                      thanks for your participation.

                                      1. re: linus

                                        This, my friends, is a hipster. The rest are just pretenders.

                                        1. re: grampart

                                          well played, grampart.

                                          honourable mention to slim gaillard.

                                      2. re: sunshine842

                                        Hey, you skipped hippies! Although I have a feeling we were both of that generation.

                                        1. re: coll

                                          Because I'm of the generation, for me, "old hippie" has a definite connotation, not a negative one at all.

                                      3. re: scunge

                                        I think the thing is that "hipster" is used a pegorative and derisive term that goes beyond "gee those bell bottoms look silly". Sometimes it's directed at young people. Sometimes it's directed at various regions (ie Brooklyn). But I think the major point is that the way that linus is complaining of its usage on CH.

                                        The usage on CH that is being addressed is in regards to "this place is full of hipsters and thus ruined". Essentially the idea being that people of this ilk make being in an establishment unappealing. And for someone who feels like they're being spoken about, to say that such a sentence feels cruel is valid.

                                        Now most of us individually choose to discriminate establishments because the clientele isn't our favorite. I am an American who lives in Israel, and I try to avoid establishments in Israel with a large number of Americans. But if I'm going to comment about a restaurant, instead of saying "this restaurant is full of Americans and thus ruined" - that's not only a nasty thing to write - but it doesn't explain the complaint. However, if I say "this restaurant is very popular with tourists who tend to come in large groups and are very loud making the atmosphere unappealing (to me)" - then I've explained my complaint and not been nasty to all Americans. Not to mention, resulting to a tactic of "rounding up" all sorts of people I dislike. Americans are hardly the only tourist group in Israel that contribute to a certain atmosphere in restaurants that I dislike. But it's an easy throw away.

                                        If people want to defend this nastiness by saying that it's not bigotry just mean-spiritedness, so be it.

                                          1. re: cresyd

                                            interesting post, cresyd, and kind of explains -- better, mind you -- what i was asking in my original post. thanks for participating.

                                    2. I've found that folks hatin' on hipsters usually qualify as a hipster themselves. Kinda funny. But yea, it's become tiresome.

                                      That said, I did get a big kick out of this piece that was in the NYT not too long ago: