Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Virtuous behavior through humblebrag

Saving the world one $80,000 luxury car at a time

Mr. McGuire spake and lo, there were Yuppies
Mr. McGuire spake and lo, there were Yuppies

Dear Hipster:

I don’t agree with Corn Dog Guy (or Girl) that hipsters = yuppies. In fact, I’m not even sure there are yuppies anymore. When I think of “yuppies,” I think of a whole generation of young men and women who took Mr. McGuire’s advice in The Graduate and ran with it. They took any opportunity as a good opportunity, and never mind the consequences! Along the way, they earned the scorn of the nation for their selfishness. Nowadays, the universally reviled “get rich quick” set seems composed entirely of tech bros starting useless apps that somehow sell for millions of dollars solely on account of some giant Silicon Valley superfirm’s defensive acquisition strategy. If anyone shouldered the heavy burden of irritating ordinary people through soulless profiteering, it’s them, not hipsters.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I mean, hipsters may be annoyingly smug about their beer drinking habits and refusal to own televisions, but nobody really cares because we don’t get the sense hipsters are preying on anybody, or doing anything and everything to get rich, never mind the consequences. If anything, hipsters irritate us because they are too concerned with the consequences of their actions. They worry too much about not having a TV and too little about not having health insurance. Does that seem like a yuppie thing to do? I don’t see it.

Anyways, last I checked this was “Ask a Hipster,” not “Rant to a Hipster,” so I had to think up a question or else you wouldn’t print my letter. Electric car. Hipster, or not hipster?

— Patrick

So glad you asked, and not only so I can utilize the remainder of your totes on fleek, albeit somewhat ranty, missive. I think you’ll be pleased to find this little conundrum fits right in with the subject matter of your rant. Perhaps you intended that?

Your electric car purchaser usually has two distinct, but not mutually exclusive, goals: (1) reducing his carbon footprint; and (2) signalling his virtue for all the world to see. The former is a quintessentially hipster value. You might think of it as the grown suburbanite’s version of riding a bicycle. The second consideration raises problems from a hipster perspective. As a rule, hipsters tend to signal their virtuous behavior through some sort of humblebrag, such as, “Oh, I didn’t know there was such a thing as Teen Mom 2...I don’t have a TV,” or “Glad you like the coffee...I only buy fair trade.”

By contrast, the average Tesla owner throws a fit if he gets denied a vanity license plate reading “NO SMOG” or something, because how else will people know how much he is saving the world one $80,000 luxury car at a time?

Not hipster. Not hipster at all. That’s really more of a total yuppie bro-down move, like conspicuously calling attention to a Rolex, dropping unprompted hints about how he has a 3-percent share on a yacht moored somewhere in Newport, or ordering bottle service at a nightclub.

As far as I can tell, the only way to really live in both worlds is by purchasing an inexpensive, uncool electric car, like a Chevy Bolt or one of those little Smart cars, and never ever talking about it to anybody unless asked directly. If asked, humblebrag away. Otherwise, remain silent and avoid conspicuous consumption.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?
Mr. McGuire spake and lo, there were Yuppies
Mr. McGuire spake and lo, there were Yuppies

Dear Hipster:

I don’t agree with Corn Dog Guy (or Girl) that hipsters = yuppies. In fact, I’m not even sure there are yuppies anymore. When I think of “yuppies,” I think of a whole generation of young men and women who took Mr. McGuire’s advice in The Graduate and ran with it. They took any opportunity as a good opportunity, and never mind the consequences! Along the way, they earned the scorn of the nation for their selfishness. Nowadays, the universally reviled “get rich quick” set seems composed entirely of tech bros starting useless apps that somehow sell for millions of dollars solely on account of some giant Silicon Valley superfirm’s defensive acquisition strategy. If anyone shouldered the heavy burden of irritating ordinary people through soulless profiteering, it’s them, not hipsters.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I mean, hipsters may be annoyingly smug about their beer drinking habits and refusal to own televisions, but nobody really cares because we don’t get the sense hipsters are preying on anybody, or doing anything and everything to get rich, never mind the consequences. If anything, hipsters irritate us because they are too concerned with the consequences of their actions. They worry too much about not having a TV and too little about not having health insurance. Does that seem like a yuppie thing to do? I don’t see it.

Anyways, last I checked this was “Ask a Hipster,” not “Rant to a Hipster,” so I had to think up a question or else you wouldn’t print my letter. Electric car. Hipster, or not hipster?

— Patrick

So glad you asked, and not only so I can utilize the remainder of your totes on fleek, albeit somewhat ranty, missive. I think you’ll be pleased to find this little conundrum fits right in with the subject matter of your rant. Perhaps you intended that?

Your electric car purchaser usually has two distinct, but not mutually exclusive, goals: (1) reducing his carbon footprint; and (2) signalling his virtue for all the world to see. The former is a quintessentially hipster value. You might think of it as the grown suburbanite’s version of riding a bicycle. The second consideration raises problems from a hipster perspective. As a rule, hipsters tend to signal their virtuous behavior through some sort of humblebrag, such as, “Oh, I didn’t know there was such a thing as Teen Mom 2...I don’t have a TV,” or “Glad you like the coffee...I only buy fair trade.”

By contrast, the average Tesla owner throws a fit if he gets denied a vanity license plate reading “NO SMOG” or something, because how else will people know how much he is saving the world one $80,000 luxury car at a time?

Not hipster. Not hipster at all. That’s really more of a total yuppie bro-down move, like conspicuously calling attention to a Rolex, dropping unprompted hints about how he has a 3-percent share on a yacht moored somewhere in Newport, or ordering bottle service at a nightclub.

As far as I can tell, the only way to really live in both worlds is by purchasing an inexpensive, uncool electric car, like a Chevy Bolt or one of those little Smart cars, and never ever talking about it to anybody unless asked directly. If asked, humblebrag away. Otherwise, remain silent and avoid conspicuous consumption.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.