Hipsterism

[Emily]

To both, I'm very glad I haven't pissed you off. I love to argue, but I hate to argue, you know?

[Emily]

KDS, you've said you have Irish and German ancestry and you cited some examples in which people have said some jokes about the Irish or Germans and it didn't bug you. But suppose you faced actual discrimination for being Irish or German? Suppose people assumed that since you're Irish, you're likely to have an alcohol problem and thus should routinely have to go get your blood alcohol level checked to keep your drivers' license? In that case, would people joking about Irish drinking bug you a bit? Because the cultural perception that the Irish have alcohol problems would be, in real practical ways, negatively affecting your life?

[KDS]

KDS, you've said you have Irish and German ancestry and you cited some examples in which people have said some jokes about the Irish or Germans and it didn't bug you. But suppose you faced actual discrimination for being Irish or German? Suppose people assumed that since you're Irish, you're likely to have an alcohol problem and thus should routinely have to go get your blood alcohol level checked to keep your drivers' license? In that case, would people joking about Irish drinking bug you a bit? Because the cultural perception that the Irish have alcohol problems would be, in real practical ways, negatively affecting your life?

Emily,

Discrimination is 100% different. 

As for the perception of the Irish drinking.  I take it was good humor.  It doesn't bug me at all. 

No safe space needed for me. 

[Emily]

KDS, you've said you have Irish and German ancestry and you cited some examples in which people have said some jokes about the Irish or Germans and it didn't bug you. But suppose you faced actual discrimination for being Irish or German? Suppose people assumed that since you're Irish, you're likely to have an alcohol problem and thus should routinely have to go get your blood alcohol level checked to keep your drivers' license? In that case, would people joking about Irish drinking bug you a bit? Because the cultural perception that the Irish have alcohol problems would be, in real practical ways, negatively affecting your life?

Emily,

Discrimination is 100% different. 

As for the perception of the Irish drinking.  I take it was good humor.  It doesn't bug me at all. 

No safe space needed for me. 

Yes, but I'm asking if you were discriminated against because it was assumed that you have a drinking problem because of your Irish ancestry, would jokes about the Irish having drinking problems be likely to bother you more than they do?

[KDS]

KDS, you've said you have Irish and German ancestry and you cited some examples in which people have said some jokes about the Irish or Germans and it didn't bug you. But suppose you faced actual discrimination for being Irish or German? Suppose people assumed that since you're Irish, you're likely to have an alcohol problem and thus should routinely have to go get your blood alcohol level checked to keep your drivers' license? In that case, would people joking about Irish drinking bug you a bit? Because the cultural perception that the Irish have alcohol problems would be, in real practical ways, negatively affecting your life?

Emily,

Discrimination is 100% different. 

As for the perception of the Irish drinking.  I take it was good humor.  It doesn't bug me at all. 

No safe space needed for me. 

Yes, but I'm asking if you were discriminated against because it was assumed that you have a drinking problem because of your Irish ancestry, would jokes about the Irish having drinking problems be likely to bother you more than they do?

Yeah, but that would never happen as we of Irish decent have this weird thing called....um....oh that's right, a sense of humor.

That's why you don't see a bunch of Irish people protesting Notre Dame Fighting Irish games. 

[Emily]

KDS, you've said you have Irish and German ancestry and you cited some examples in which people have said some jokes about the Irish or Germans and it didn't bug you. But suppose you faced actual discrimination for being Irish or German? Suppose people assumed that since you're Irish, you're likely to have an alcohol problem and thus should routinely have to go get your blood alcohol level checked to keep your drivers' license? In that case, would people joking about Irish drinking bug you a bit? Because the cultural perception that the Irish have alcohol problems would be, in real practical ways, negatively affecting your life?

Emily,

Discrimination is 100% different.  

As for the perception of the Irish drinking.  I take it was good humor.  It doesn't bug me at all.  

No safe space needed for me.  

Yes, but I'm asking if you were discriminated against because it was assumed that you have a drinking problem because of your Irish ancestry, would jokes about the Irish having drinking problems be likely to bother you more than they do?

Yeah, but that would never happen as we of Irish decent have this weird thing called....um....oh that's right, a sense of humor.

That's why you don't see a bunch of Irish people protesting Notre Dame Fighting Irish games.  

What would never happen? The Irish would never be discriminated against? Or they would never protest being discriminated against? Or what?
(and Irish Americans tend to think of Notre Dame as an Irish American institution. Having a team from an Irish American institution called the Fighting Irish is a bit different, politically speaking, than having an Anglo/white American team named after their genocide victims.)

[KDS]

If the Irish were actually discriminated against, you'd probably see some protests. 

But, I'm referring to the use of an Irish stereotype as a sports mascot.  There's also one as a cereal mascot.  How much protest has this generated?  Zero. 

[Emily]

If the Irish were actually discriminated against, you'd probably see some protests. 

But, I'm referring to the use of an Irish stereotype as a sports mascot.  There's also one as a cereal mascot.  How much protest has this generated?  Zero. 

Yeah, but Irish Americans don't face discrimination due to their leprechauny image in the United States. Irish Americans have become part of the hegemony, particularly in East Coast cities. If people were refusing to hire Irish people because they are so leprechauny, Irish people might start having problems with being depicted as leprechauny.

My point is, it's easy for a person who doesn't face serious discrimination to dismiss other people's reactions to discrimination. The Irish have gone to war over being discriminated against and you can bet that when a British-identifying Protestant in Northern Ireland makes stereotyping jokes about Irish Catholics, the Irish-identifying Catholics don't chuckle along.

[KDS]

Emily,

You're saying I'm leprechauny?  I'll have you know that I'm 6'1. 

We're four pages into this thing, and it's obvious that you and I share completely different points of view.  So, at this point, I see no point in furthering our argument. 

Quite frankly, I think it's sad that one should even have to have such a discussion.  As I really think people in the 21st Century are becoming way too sensitive.

You can agree or disagree.  Probably disagree. 

But there's really no point in hashing this out any longer. 

[Emily]

Emily,

You're saying I'm leprechauny?  I'll have you know that I'm 6'1. 

We're four pages into this thing, and it's obvious that you and I share completely different points of view.  So, at this point, I see no point in furthering our argument. 

Quite frankly, I think it's sad that one should even have to have such a discussion.  As I really think people in the 21st Century are becoming way too sensitive.

You can agree or disagree.  Probably disagree. 

But there's really no point in hashing this out any longer. 

No, I wasn't saying you're leprechauny. I was referring to what I assume was your reference to the lucky charms leprechaun.
I agree it's sad that one should have to have such a discussion, but of course for the opposite reason.
http://www.broadsheet.ie/2015/03/15/every-irish-person-in-britain-knows-the-little-nod-the-little-wink/

[undercover-m]

Reviving this thread, since some of my friends insist that I'm a hipster.

as I sit here with my loose leaf tea and indie music and eclectically decorated apartment.

[alf wiedersehen]

Eh, I feel like "hipster" is often just a buzzword used by people to dismiss other people they don't like, understand, or agree with. Usually young, scary people.

[You Kane, You Commanded, You Conquered]

Eh, I feel like "hipster" is often just a buzzword used by people to dismiss other people they don't like, understand, or agree with. Usually young, scary people.

Shuddup, ya hipster

[undercover-m]

Eh, I feel like "hipster" is often just a buzzword used by people to dismiss other people they don't like, understand, or agree with. Usually young, scary people.

Shuddup, ya hipster

i see what u did there.

[Emily]

Eh, I feel like "hipster" is often just a buzzword used by people to dismiss other people they don't like, understand, or agree with. Usually young, scary people.

Agree.

[Ron]

My opinion on the hipster thing, sometimes i see people I might identify as hipsters do things that make me roll my eyes... but at the end of the day, I always try to realize that that's their THING, I have my THING and they probably see it as just as strange.  Most people don't do annoying things because they're assholes, most of them do annoying things because they're trying to stumble through life like the rest of us.