Fashionable Bigotry 101- A Crash Course on Hipster Racism-2

8/12/2019 Fashionable Bigotry 101- A Crash Course on Hipster Racism-2

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Fashionable Bigotry 101: A Crash Course on Hipster Racism

"Wong Brothers Laundry Service—Two Wongs Can Make It White" and

"Wok-N-Bowl—Let the Good Times Roll—Chinese Food & Bowling." were a couple

of T-shirts that were released and dramatically recalled by Abercrombie & Fitch a

decade ago. Years later, Urban Outfitters had a similar scandal when they carried an

“ironic” form of monopoly called Ghettopoly “which rewards players for building

crack houses and pimpin' hoes” on the premise that because of the numerous ethnic

groups depicted in the game, it isn't racist. “Ironically” mispronouncing l’s as r’s to

your Asian friends or introducing your black friends as “your black friends” for

jokes, as Lindy West notes, to show everybody how totally not preoccupied you are

with your “colored” friend’s “coloredness”, is becoming part and parcel of the

lifestyle of the young, privileged and progressive. Hipster racism, ironic “racism” or

as I like to call it, plain old racism, is quickly emerging as the newest manifestation

of palatable racism among educated elites in the US.

As an Afro-Jamaican male, the first thing that my parents warned me about

before coming to Amherst College wasn’t illegal drugs, the rigorous academic

environment or even the often immobilizing winters that plague the North-East, but

the perils of simply being a black man in the United States. Although both of my

parents currently live in Jamaica, their colorful experiences in the US with overt

racism rightfully scared the living shit out of them. My mother recounts the story of

me as toddler somehow getting lost in a South Florida grocery store and her

subsequently overhearing the store employee who ultimately found me, describe

me as a “little monkey”. Or my father, who like myself was also fortunate enough to



study in the United States, but at Yale, was subject to frequent disrespect by

students and professors alike despite the progressive reputation of the school in the

1970’s. My eldest sister (Class of ’92) paints a similar portrait during her time at

Amherst College during the late 80’s and early 90’s as a woman of color. However,

despite their cautionary tales about this country and its people, in my nearly two

years here, I have not experienced an instance of overt racism. On the other hand,

my experience with racism at Amherst is masked by “irony”, “sarcasm” and

“comedy”. When I think back on the times I’ve been most offended on this campus I

reflect on the saddening frequency of off-color jokes that have come my way. From

fried chicken to watermelon, I’ve gotten them all—of course, only in the context of

“irony”. My national identity is also subject to similar fashionable bigotry. Dance and

track stereotypes, and the movie “Cool Runnings”, generally comprise the subject

matter for these non-jokes.

In my opinion, racism at Amherst College is manifested in two main ways:

institutionalized racism and ironic racism. Institutionalized Racism is the process of

purposeful or in many cases, inadvertent discrimination against certain minority

groups through biased attitudes, rules or practices. In my experience this type of

discrimination is so subtle that both its existence and impact often go unnoticed. A

prominent example of this at Amherst is the student body and administrative

ambivalence that left the Multicultural Resource Center in the basement for years.

Ironic racism on the other hand is manifested in more overt ways, in many cases so

overtly, that its effects are hidden in plain sight. Ironic racism at Amherst is

frequently displayed by making a joke using a racist archetype that is supposed to



be witty and modern, but actually supports racism by dehumanizing a particular

race for a laugh.

Remember the “satirical” Autoclave Poster sponsored by the Biology

department until last academic year. The poster, entitled “A gift f rom Lord Jeffrey

Amherst,” depicts Lord Jeffery offering a pile of blankets to an American Indian man

donned in leather and fringe, with feathers attached to a headpiece. An American

Indian woman and child are in the background and a baby is strapped to a

cradleboard. The caption reads, “Thank you. Have these been autoclaved?” Jeffery

Amherst is known by numerous historical accounts as a pioneer in biological

warfare. He is accredited with requesting that smallpox-infected blankets be sent to

the American Indians, starting the epidemic among them. Apparently the Biology

department was unaware of how insulting their lighthearted reference to genocide

was until Danielle Trevino ‘14, Choctaw, sent a biting letter to the biology

department, calling the poster “truly hurtful and alienating.”

In March that year, Amherst student publication, “The Indicator,” published

another such “satirical” cartoon depicting the campus housing shortage. The cartoon

showed three tipis in a clearing, along with the caption, “Housing Crisis Solution:

Lord Jeff Approved.” This is an excerpt from a letter written by two students at the

University of Massachusetts expressing outrage at the image.

Recently, your school news journal, The Indicator (Volume XXXIII, Issue 2, page 19),ran a cartoon depicting the “Lord Jeff approved” housing solution in the form oftipis. We find this incredibly insensitive, and ultimately, racist. Let us be clear, the

person who drew the cartoon (Tricia Lipton), the editors who approved it (Nadirah

Porter-Kasbati and Laurence Pevsner), and the student body, faculty, and staff of

Amherst College who subsequently read it and perhaps even laughed are not

necessarily racists. They have, however, participated in racist behavior,

unintentionally or not.

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/liberal-uneducation%3A-amherst-college-publication-taken-to-task-for-housing-cartoon-depicting-tipis-109069






The letter went on to state that the image was racist because it promotes

stereotypes by inaccurately depicting American Indian housing as substandard to

European housing; appropriates a cultural object of many Native American tribes

and makes it the butt of a joke, cheerily referencing Lord Jeffery’s smallpox

genocide.

This type of “comedy” is becoming increasingly socially acceptable because of

the prominence of the “hipster” culture. Rachel Fudge suggests that “hipster

misidentified irony” is the cause, where many liberals have a “nothing should be

taken seriously” attitude while demanding protection from condemnation because

“they’re being, you know, ironic”. The Amherst College hipster attempts to mediate a

lack of meaningful individuality by continuously searching for the anti-mainstream.

Whether it be appropriating Aztec and Native American patterns and clothing or

posting the newest “racist ” memes on Reddit or 4chan ironically on Facebook, the

Amherst College hipster is a “walking citation” that uses irony as the main way to

cope with daily life. Wampole notes that almost every manifestation of

contemporary existence (advertising, politics, fashion, television, social media)

reveals this “will to irony”.

These individuals are self-professed post-racial, with supposedly enough

education to simply be above racism. They are so post-racial in fact, that they have

complete license to say extraordinarily offensive things in a normalized way.

Commenting on the fact that Hispanic heritage month starts on September 15th, a

sombrero clad Stephen Colbert “joked” that “Yes, even their heritage month jumps a

border”. There was no controversy over that statement because he was making fun



of the “real” racist s at FOX News. But whether the racist or the “racist” is using them,

these “jokes” only become funny because of the normalization of racial stereotypes.

Joking about racism in this way does nothing to improve the condition of the

marginalized subject of the joke. Often, it further alienates and dehumanizes.

Ironic living is seemingly unassailable. It makes fun of itself, recognizing its

inability to produce anything useful, while enticing others to laugh at it. No attack

can be successfully launched against it because surmounts itself. It allows the

perpetrator to avoid personal responsibility while hiding in public. "I have plenty of

black friends who are cool with me saying the N-Word—so when I use the N-Word

to say a joke, you know I don't mean it in a bad way". Through fear and pre-emptive

shame, ironic bigotry reflects a culture of ambivalence and submission that often

surrounds the overt bigotry on our campus (see the racial and homophobic epithets

of this year).

For every protest against hipster bigotry comes a defensive yet beleaguered

response of, “It’s just a joke, stop being so sensitive”. These comments come from

white and minority bigots alike. Another generic response is, “Why do they take

everything so seriously?” A thin line separates comedy and tragedy in these

contexts. “Ironic” bigots need to ask themselves the following questions moving

forward. What exactly is being laughed at through these jokes? Why are they being

said in the first place? Is it an attempt to claim a contemporary political discourse? If

that’s the case, then why has it emerged in this form? In the context of race, just

because overt racism has decreased in comparison to our parents’ generation

doesn’t mean that racism has ended. It survives in more benign forms , like ironic



racism and institutional racism. Whether or not the hipster racist wholeheartedly

believes in his comedy is beside the point. What makes the hipster “racist” a racist is

the awareness that they know better but choose not to care.

Undoubtedly satire pre-Generation Y often provided meaningful political

outlets for unsaid societal tensions. But what makes fashionable bigotry different is

the fact that t he “satire” of our generation has left the political domain and spread

into life itself. For most of us who indulge in that mode of existence, life has become

“an endless series of sarcastic jokes and pop references, a competition to see who

can care the least (or, at minimum, a performance of such a competition)”

(Wampole, 2012). Millennial satirical racism and bigotry often dehumanizes its

subjects just as much as the commentary from the intentional racist or bigot.

Another question that should be raised as we appraise ourselves for such

unintentional bigotry is “What’s the aim?” How much usefulness is derived from

unintentional racism and bigotry? In my opinion that’s the factor that separates

“Chappelle Show” and “The Boondocks” from the racist jokes about people of color

that pervades our campus and larger society. For the unintentional racist what does

pointing out a racist trope accomplish? Pointing out stereotypes like Black men

committing crime, Asians getting good grades or Jewish people being stingy

provides no other commentary besides “LOOK HERE, RACISM” and does nothing for

the racial group besides further propagating misinformation. To the ironic racist, I

leave a quote from blogger Lindy West, “You cannot unlock some secret double-not-

racist achievement just by being a regular racist. Otherwise Bill O'Reilly would be

president of the NAACP.”



Works Cited

Fudge, R. (2004). Kiss Me, I'm a Fashionanble Bigot . Retrieved 1 3, 2014, from

Bitchmedia: http://bitchmagazine.org/article/fashionable-bigot

ICTMN Staff. (2012, 4 19). Liberal Uneducation: Amherst College Publication Taken to

Task for Housing Cartoon Depicting Tipis. Retrieved 1 9, 2014, from Indian CountryToday Media Network:

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/04/19/liberal-uneducation-

amherst-college-publication-taken-task-housing-cartoon-depicting

Landry, A. (12, 12 14). More Racism at Amherst College, Native Student Speaks Out .

Retrieved 1 9, 14, from Indian Country Today Media Network:

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/12/14/more-racism-amherst-

college-native-student-speaks-out-146329

marxistqueen. (12, 3 7). Cultural Appropriation Continued . Retrieved from Marxist

Queen Wordpress: http://marxistqueen.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/cultural-

appropriation-continued/

Read, M. (2012, 4 20). A Girls Writer's Ironic Racism And Other 'White People

Problems' . Retrieved 1 3, 2014, from Gawker: http://gawker.com/5903468/a-girls-

writers-ironic-racism-and-other-white-people-problems

Urban Dictionary. (n.d.). Urban Dictionary . Retrieved 1 9, 2014, from Ironic Racism |

Urban Dictionary:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ironic%20Racism

Wampole, C. (2012, 11 17). How To Live Without Irony . Retrieved 01 9, 2014, from

The New York Times Opinionator Blog:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/how-to-live-without-

irony/?_r=0

West, L. (2012, 4 26). A Complete Guide to 'Hipster Racism' . Retrieved 1 3, 2014, from

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

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Fashionable Bigotry 101- A Crash Course on Hipster Racism-2