HIPSTERS

 

Why there isn’t any room for hipsters

Why isn’t there any room for hipsters?  You may have asked the question and this is our official response.

Levon was working on a song about disgruntled twenty somethings working less-than-imagined entry level jobs.  It needed a title, and Ashley rolled off “No Room for Hipsters” in seconds.  It stuck, and was quirky enough to name the blog when it came to that.  Ever since, we have been posed with introspection: what exactly is a hipster, do we agree with the tenants of hipsterdom, and are we ourselves hipsters?

photo by justin wright

In our encounters with hipsterdom, from the foothills of Appalachia in Tennessee to Bedford Street in Brooklyn, never is the word used without some sense of derogatory or at least sarcastic intent.  “Well, I’m not a real hipster because I have a career.”  “Me? Oh, no I earn my allowance.” “I’m a public artist and not some bumming hipster.” “Screw you man, you just don’t get it.”

We all know a hipster when we see one.  If they look like a hipster, act like a hipster, they’re probably hipster.  A conversation about film or music may be vigorous, but a good scolding on reality and useful authenticity is what they really need (if they were worth the time), right?

But hipsters are not all bad.  Hipsters make a stand on the front for art, sustainability, social change, and the revitalization of vinyl.  However as the catalyst agents of cool, the rate that hipsters consume commercial trends is toxic to our mental environment.  We must protect our mindscapes in order to keep this world of ours healthy.

Collectively, we must understand that the earth is crowded and there isn’t always enough.  Excess cushion and privilege often stimulate wasted resources and opportunities.  With this lifestyle comes a clouded sense of reality and the priority of image; the essence of who you are becomes secondary to how you are perceived.  Sad really, because our time is short and our breath is warm.  There is too much potential for appreciating and creating beauty, for learning, for pursuing justice, and flexing our imaginations to concern ourselves only with superficial trends and materialistic gains.

So maybe the definition of a hipster and who’s in or out is unimportant.  But the time for changing the way we approach every inch of everything is upon us.  We all need to commit to transforming the habits of our souls and minds or there won’t be room for any of us.