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> Hipsterdom has nothing to do with wanting to appear well off financially > through sophistication and coolness In order for cool to exist, there must be un-

> Hipsterdom has nothing to do with wanting to appear well off financially > through sophistication and coolness In order for cool to exist, there must be un-cool, which is everyone else. So you're completely right in that hipsters aren't trying to show that they're richer than others. Just that they're better. In that sense, hipsters and the conspicuously wealthy are united.

dogma1138 9y ago
Everyone has their own definition of cool, hipsters, punks, comic book nerds, star trek nerds, soccer hooligans.... If anything being "normal" allows you to appreciate more forms of cool, even if it's just by gawking.
Grustaf 9y ago
>So you're completely right in that hipsters aren't trying to show that they're richer than others. Just that they're better. In that sense, hipsters and the conspicuously wealthy are united. The author claimed that hipsters do what they do to mimic the wealthy, which is not true. The fact that they, as any human being, strive for some kind of status and exclusivity, is a different question altogether.
- smallnamespace 9y ago
  You're right that every person and every community values status to some extent or another. But in most communities, there is a core (often economic) activity or set of values that confers status that is not directly related to the status itself. Being a good maintainer or creating useful projects gives you status in the open source community. Rendering or arguing sound, legally difficult decisions confers status if you're a judge. These communities are fundamentally open: anyone who can do those things can join and raise their status in those communities. On other hand, the conspicuously wealthy and hipsters tend towards the extreme end of the status-seeking, with a lot of emphasis on exclusivity. The source of the status is very closely aligned with the status itself. The conspicuously rich country-club set make a little community for themselves just based on the fact that they can prove to each other how rich they are. And the defining trait of a hipster is being able to show how cool they are, which means that status itself is the key to entry in the community. Please note that I'm not trying to beat up on you -- we need status-driven people in the world, else few would ever want to become a politician or a leader. But I do think that hipsters as a community take status drive much further than most other groups, sometimes to comical effect.

dogma1138 9y ago

Everyone has their own definition of cool, hipsters, punks, comic book nerds, star trek nerds, soccer hooligans.... If anything being "normal" allows you to appreciate more forms of cool, even if it's just by gawking.

Grustaf 9y ago

>So you're completely right in that hipsters aren't trying to show that they're richer than others. Just that they're better. In that sense, hipsters and the conspicuously wealthy are united. The author claimed that hipsters do what they do to mimic the wealthy, which is not true. The fact that they, as any human being, strive for some kind of status and exclusivity, is a different question altogether.

smallnamespace 9y ago
You're right that every person and every community values status to some extent or another. But in most communities, there is a core (often economic) activity or set of values that confers status that is not directly related to the status itself. Being a good maintainer or creating useful projects gives you status in the open source community. Rendering or arguing sound, legally difficult decisions confers status if you're a judge. These communities are fundamentally open: anyone who can do those things can join and raise their status in those communities. On other hand, the conspicuously wealthy and hipsters tend towards the extreme end of the status-seeking, with a lot of emphasis on exclusivity. The source of the status is very closely aligned with the status itself. The conspicuously rich country-club set make a little community for themselves just based on the fact that they can prove to each other how rich they are. And the defining trait of a hipster is being able to show how cool they are, which means that status itself is the key to entry in the community. Please note that I'm not trying to beat up on you -- we need status-driven people in the world, else few would ever want to become a politician or a leader. But I do think that hipsters as a community take status drive much further than most other groups, sometimes to comical effect.