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Comment by sequoia | Hacker News Reader

http://meloukhia.net/2009/07/hipster_racism.html

> Hipster racism involves making derogatory comments with a racial basis in an attempt to seem witty and above it all. Specifically, the idea is to sound ironic, as in “I’m allowed to say this because of course I’m not racist, so it’s funny.” It’s an aspect of a larger part of the hipster culture, which wants to seem jaded and urbane and oh-so-witty. Using language which is viewed as inflammatory or not appropriate is supposed to push the boundaries and make someone look edgy, but it only really comes across that way to people who buy into that system. To everyone else, it’s just racist.

So no, this isn't some unheard of Swedish phenomenon, it's "hipster racism," as described above. And god help us if you are going to tell me that Swedes just aren't racist like Americans.

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The linked blog post is a bit of a rant. Sounds like the author really hates hipsters and just wishes to accuse them of being racist without actually providing any substantial evidence to back the claim. If "hipster racism" is a legitimate phenomenon, I'd like to read about it from another source.

On the main point, the Swedish troll isn't really saying anything overtly racist. She is just mentioning a number of things that make people feel uncomfortable and making some questionable remarks that are obviously designed to be incendiary. I'm not sure this fits into the "hipster racism" model, as described in the linked blog.

http://jezebel.com/5905291/a-complete-guide-to-hipster-racis...

I am tempted to believe this article is a troll. But on second thought, the author is probably just projecting imaginary racism on at least half of the so-called hipster racists.

The author suggests that the use of the hashtag #thuglife is racist. What kind of moron thinks pointing out the lack of behavior attributed to a "thug" (which, by the way, is not even racial in nature) in an ironic way is exhibiting a form of racism?

Then the author attributes the word "ghetto" with racism. News flash: ghettos are never fun to live in, much less visit. Certainly there's racial undertones because traditionally ghettos were populated by a single ethnic group, but even the explanation of the example by the author disregards race and focuses solely on the poor conditions of the area.

I won't comment on number 3 because there's no arguing with emotional instability.

On number 4, I have to say that it is definitely racist to say any ethnic or other group in general is bad or sucks, etc. That being said, I have lived with white anglo-saxon protestants for most of my life, and they can definitely be super lame. Perhaps it's an excessive amount of lameness that forces people who deal with it on a regular basis to lash out at the whole populous. Not good, but at the same time, I totally understand what the hipster is saying. And is it hurting anybody? I don't think so. The least-oppressed group can stand to take a few knocks for their flaws every so often.

> I am tempted to believe this article is a troll.

Check the domain name for confirmation.

... behavior attributed to a "thug" (which, by the way, is not even racial in nature)

The denotation of "thug" may not be racial, but it has racial connotations in many contexts.

What's the racial connotation? The fact that black people refer to themselves as thugs in music and culture in a quasi-romanticized way of expressing who they are? The term is significantly less racial than words like "goyim" which explicitly refer to race, yet are completely benign in everyday speech. The only difference I see is that if a word is tangentially related to black culture, it's racist for non-black people to use them.

The phrase in question, "thug life", is an attitude and a way of life. It originated from 2Pac who defined it as an acronym meaning "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone" as well as a code to live by (which gangs such as the Crips and Bloods signed a peace treaty based on). It never had anything to do with one's race. Of course the majority of the gangs that were attracted to this phrase were african-american, but included white, latino and asian members.

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