Hipsters? In my nerdery?

[happyninja42]

Oh lighten up. It's kids dressing/acting trendy for their generation.

EVERY generation has done this, and you eventually grow out of it. Seriously this hipster hate reminds me of grandpa from the Simpsons, yelling at clouds because he's just and old bastard.

 

[Something Amyss]

That's not true. Nerds were proud of how they looked - they wanted to distinguish themselves from mainstream society and they succeeded, if their mockery by that society was any indication.

That's never particularly been true of "nerds" as a general body. Yes, you can point to selective parts of the culture as you've done, but that's not particularly reasonable.

 

[Something Amyss]

if you actually happen to be socially awkward and not very attractive, it also tells you that it's okay to be those things and that there's a group of people out there who will accept you despite that.

Except it doesn't say that. It sets up a wall around "real nerds" and nothing else. It says nothing about acceptance (and honestly, nerd comm unity can be more exclusive and cliquey than the dreaded "jocks").

The irony, though, is that it exemplifies hipster" behavour.

 

[Something Amyss]

I don't think I've ever encountered one of these "hipster nerds".

I doubt anyone has. People just tend to see someone who is attractive or socially functional or something and decide that they're not really a nerd because they don't fit some stereotype that should really be beneath them. They're literally doing the same thing as the people who portray nerds as virgin basement dwellers and such.

And when an "outsider" does that....

The funny thing, to me, is that it's not the "hipsters" who cred check me. It's the self-proclaimed "real nerds."

Also, you don't really like dragons. You clearly like cat people, since your avatar is one. >.>

But yeah, I'm with you. More people liking the stuff I like is a good thing. I don't really care about motive. Odds are, most of the people in this thread got into nerdy things by something that was pretty mainstream. Hell, most Trek (TOS) fans became so not because of the poor reception of the original run, but because of either the syndication run or the movies.

Oh lighten up. It's kids dressing/acting trendy for their generation.

EVERY generation has done this, and you eventually grow out of it. Seriously this hipster hate reminds me of grandpa from the Simpsons, yelling at clouds because he's just and old bastard.

And in every generation, it's totes different because reasons, and in every generation, it's the worst thing ever.

 

[happyninja42]

Oh lighten up. It's kids dressing/acting trendy for their generation.

EVERY generation has done this, and you eventually grow out of it. Seriously this hipster hate reminds me of grandpa from the Simpsons, yelling at clouds because he's just and old bastard.

And in every generation, it's totes different because reasons, and in every generation, it's the worst thing ever.

Exactly. I remember when I thought the Grunge look was the coolest thing ever, and now looking back I don't really get why I thought that. Why wear that much clothing if it's all frayed and tattered? Did I really need that many layers of shirts, long sleeves under short? It's a trend, they are trendy, that's kind of the point. And they eventually fade away into history and nostalgia outfits 20 years later.

As Harry Dresden put it when commenting about Molly's outfit to her father. "Let he who has never stone washed his jeans, cast the first stone."

 

[Godhead]

I show up to basketball games in a wizard outfit, does that mean I'm bringing my nerdery into sports?

Spoiler

I wish I had a lizard costume to put under it so I could demand people call me "Dizzard the Lizard Wizard"

 

[Ravenbom]

Why does anyone care about what hipsters are appropriating?

I was a nerd before I was a hipster and the only thing that bugs me about hipsters right now are the stupid big plastic glasses and mom jeans that they started wearing before EVERYBODY started wearing big plastic rim glasses and mom jeans.


Mom jeans (and big ugly glasses to a lesser extent) are the real plague that hipsters have infected upon the world! What the fuck is wrong with you OP! Get your fucking priorities straight! Mom jeans are taking over! Infecting our hot young girls! 16 is becoming the new 45! I don't even know where to aim my dick anymore!

Who cares if the average hipster can't tell the difference between Bubble Bobble and Bust-A-Move? Mom jeans are becoming a pandemic and you're worried that someone might call the Konami Code the Nintendo Code?
I couldn't care less if a girl doesn't know the difference between Daisy, Peach and Paulina as long as she's not wearing mom jeans.

 

[Something Amyss]

As Harry Dresden put it when commenting about Molly's outfit to her father. "Let he who has never stone washed his jeans, cast the first stone."

I thought it was "let he who didn't wear Hammer pants cast the first stone."

Same idea, though.

Most people probably have done exactly that, though, and I don't really care who hasn't because that's where the "hipster" thing comes in in the first place. That "here first" territorialism is exactly what the OP mocked. I used to joke about fellow Nine Inch Nails fans because being a fan since Halo 1 was such a big deal to them. The resulting jokes with my friends were about how I knew I loved NiN from Halo 0, or how I loved the first single 15 minutes before it was recorded.

And I think I have a pretty good excuse. I was 9 when "Down In It" was released.

As a parallel, I can say a lot of bad things about ICP, but I've never had a Juggalo care that I wasn't "down with the clown" since the first record, or that I only really ever cared for two of the albums in the first place. Or that I still mock "Miracles."

I can, however, safely say I never touched grunge. The less said about what I was actually into, the better. >.>

 

[EternallyBored]

I always thought the more stereotypical hipsters and nerds tended to be very similar: an obsession with faux intellectualism and knowing tidbits of useless trivia to hold over other peoples head, rampant elitism and exclusionary behavior coupled with a general air of superiority over more mainstream groups, and a sense of constantly needing to be the "first" to do or know something entirely useless outside their own clique. There are differences of course, but the stereotypes have a lot of cross over.

Of course, that's just stereotypes, hipster seems to have become such an abused term that apparently it now just means: people who like things in a way I don't like.

If the small minority of nerds with 0 social skills and a massive sense of elitism and self-entitlement couldn't ruin my hobbies for me and my friends, I don't think some people who are only into said hobbies to be quirky and different are going to do much damage either.

Really, the people that obsess over how detrimental hipsters apparently are tend to annoy me far more than actual hipsters. Hipsters should fit right in with the more annoying elements of nerdy cliques, an inflated sense of superiority and elitism is something that most nerds should be used to dealing with from their fellow hobbyists, lord knows I got enough of it on the early days of the internet.

 

[visiblenoise]

Someone tell the rest of us the point of all this classification please

 

[happyninja42]

As Harry Dresden put it when commenting about Molly's outfit to her father. "Let he who has never stone washed his jeans, cast the first stone."

I thought it was "let he who didn't wear Hammer pants cast the first stone."

Same idea, though.

Most people probably have done exactly that, though, and I don't really care who hasn't because that's where the "hipster" thing comes in in the first place. That "here first" territorialism is exactly what the OP mocked. I used to joke about fellow Nine Inch Nails fans because being a fan since Halo 1 was such a big deal to them. The resulting jokes with my friends were about how I knew I loved NiN from Halo 0, or how I loved the first single 15 minutes before it was recorded.

And I think I have a pretty good excuse. I was 9 when "Down In It" was released.

As a parallel, I can say a lot of bad things about ICP, but I've never had a Juggalo care that I wasn't "down with the clown" since the first record, or that I only really ever cared for two of the albums in the first place. Or that I still mock "Miracles."

I can, however, safely say I never touched grunge. The less said about what I was actually into, the better. >.>

Newp, it was "stone washed jeans" in the book. Continuing the "stoning" reference. xD Or well, at least that's what he said in Proven Guilty. He might have made a Hammer Pants comment in another book or short story and I just don't remember it.

Yeah, I've never understood the "OG Fan" mentality, or stating that you were a fan before something got popular some other way. I don't care, and you can be certain that the performer doesn't care. They put their song in a trailer for a video game for example, or in the game itself, and suddenly they have thousands of new fans buying their stuff. You think they give a shit how you learned of them? Hell no, they're happy for the publicity, because they want to make a living doing the stuff they love.

I dunno, I've just gotten over that stuff. I'm sure there was a time in my life where if you told me you didn't like something I did, I would be offended and upset. Though that might simply have been due to how you presented your issues. If you said simply "I think the show sucked, and here is why" I might've been fine. But if your comment was like "This show sucks, and anyone who is a fan of it, including you, is a panty sniffing retard, who should go back to kindergarten." Then yeah, I'm going to dish out a whole bunch of "fuck you" in response. But that's mostly because you made it personal I think, not because you hate what I love.

These days, I just don't care. Ok, you don't like what I do, that's fine. We can discuss the reasons why if you want, or just agree to disagree. I'm 100% certain there is something you like that I don't, but I don't hold it against you. As long as you give me the same courtesy, I'm fine with it.

I guess that's why I find this "OMG Hipsters are the cancer of society" bullshit so laughable, and absurd. News flash, young people do silly things that they think is cool for their age. We've all done it, and we will continue to do it until humans stop existing. Calm down, take a chill pill, and just let the kids have their thing.

 

[Redryhno]

Likewise, I've only very recently been introduced to the board game scene at my local comic book shop, I was not shunned for my lack of knowledge in everything board game related, they welcomed me with open arms and were more than happy to explain how to play.

To be fair, it's never been about the people that admit they know nothing and want to learn(like most people). But the people that waltz in and act like they know everything in a fandom when they actually don't. Nobody likes bandwagoners, and for good reason, there's a good chance people will drop off the moment it becomes inconvenient to them. And something being seen as previously unpopular sorta has a habit of attracting annoyances.

In any case,for the most part, beyond a funny, hipster, nerd, geek, they're all nearly the same to me.

Nerds didn't want to be shunned, they coped with being shunned the best way they could. Lets not engage in any revisionist history.

As someone that sorta did...and was a nerd(and to a point still do because it's simpler to have a handful of buddies and people that know you than have a bunch of people think you're approachable with their problems you probably have either no interest in or ability to help with)...I don't think it's so much revisionist so much as you not wanting to acknowledge other people's opinions and experiences...

Hell, a large part of nerdom was shunned for the things they like and now they're shunned because they were apprehensive over the things they love becoming popular and bringing in the EXACT same type of people that threw their action figures against the school walls and made fun of their shirts. Then of course there's the "pretty" factor in that there's actually universally attractive "nerds" now that weren't shamed for their looks. There's alot of resentment from old-schoolers, because not only were they brow-beaten as kids, they're now being brow-beaten as adults in the things they took solace in. And they're being told to accept unconditionally, something that wasn't extended to them for most of their lives in the fandoms.

And personally I find the "unconditionally" part of it more than a bit silly. Because there's far too many people that get into things and really have no idea of the history of anything in it but act as if they do.

 

[Simonism451]

if you actually happen to be socially awkward and not very attractive, it also tells you that it's okay to be those things and that there's a group of people out there who will accept you despite that.

Except it doesn't say that. It sets up a wall around "real nerds" and nothing else. It says nothing about acceptance (and honestly, nerd comm unity can be more exclusive and cliquey than the dreaded "jocks").

The irony, though, is that it exemplifies hipster" behavour.

Doesn't it, though? Yeah, it sets up a wall around "real nerds" but the people that are included in that walled area often exhibit traits that are usually seen as much more severe drawbacks in wider society than they are within that specific circle. You are probably less likely to be made the butt of a joke about being overweight and socially awkward by the members of your shitty high-school Star Trek fanclub than you are in your regular classes (as long as you're a white, straight dude, at least). I'm not saying nerd "culture" is more accepting than society at large (far from it!) I'm just saying that they're accepting of different things, which can lead to it feeling like a safe haven for a subset of people who don't fit in with the rest of the world but do fit in with the nerd crowd. Nerd subculture might not be better than other subcultures, but at least it's about you (some you out there, at least) and people generally enjoy stuff being about or for them.
Is it silly, selfish and does it make gatekeeping okay? Yes, yes and no, obviously. However, it does make a bit of subjective sense of the resistance to opening the hobby up to everybody (meaning cool people/people I disagree with)

 

[RaikuFA]

HIIIIIIPPSSSSSTTTTEEEEEERRRRRSSSSS!!! RAGE!!! SMASH!!! DESTROY!!!

*ahem* Sorry about that. I really hate hipsters. But I'll say what I said about "fake nerd girls": let them do what they want. They'll fuck up eventuality. Let the gatekeeping come naturally. Hipsters already do gatekeeping with music (part of why I made that music thread.) Don't stoop to their level.

 

[Simonism451]

if you actually happen to be socially awkward and not very attractive, it also tells you that it's okay to be those things and that there's a group of people out there who will accept you despite that.

Except it doesn't say that. It sets up a wall around "real nerds" and nothing else. It says nothing about acceptance (and honestly, nerd comm unity can be more exclusive and cliquey than the dreaded "jocks").

The irony, though, is that it exemplifies hipster" behavour.

Doesn't it, though? Yeah, it sets up a wall around "real nerds" but the people that are included in that walled area often exhibit traits that are usually seen as much more severe drawbacks in wider society than they are within that specific circle. You are probably less likely to be made the butt of a joke about being overweight and socially awkward by the members of your shitty high-school Star Trek fanclub than you are in your regular classes (as long as you're a white, straight dude, at least). I'm not saying nerd "culture" is more accepting than society at large (far from it!) I'm just saying that they're accepting of different things, which can lead to it feeling like a safe haven for a subset of people who don't fit in with the rest of the world but do fit in with the nerd crowd. Nerd subculture might not be better than other subcultures, but at least it's about you (some you out there, at least) and people generally enjoy stuff being about or for them.
Is it silly, selfish and does it make gatekeeping okay? Yes, yes and no, obviously. However, it does make a bit of subjective sense of the resistance to opening the hobby up to everybody (meaning cool people/people I disagree with)

If we can all agree that it's shitty, maybe we can just stop at that and leave the rest of the post-modernist equivocation for a topic that deserves more thought?

Nobody's forcing you to read my posts, sweetheart.

 

[sageoftruth]

Saying "nerd culture" is like saying "****** culture".

So true. Those words work in a surprisingly similar fashion. Call a friend or someone who shares your hobby a "nerd" and he'll nod and laugh, but if don't fit the nerd label, and you call someone a "nerd" expect to get into a fight, or at least an argument.

 

[Atmos Duality]

And here I though imitation was the sincerest form of flattery.
...Well, apart from identity theft.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

Holy fucking shit, I don't ccccaaaarrrreeeee

Just let me be me and not laugh at me on social media

That's all I want

Now that's not what YOU may want but who wants to argue about labels?

Not me and that's the important part c: