Some Americans Actually Admit to Being Hipsters
Twenty seven percent of Americans support levying a special tax on hipsters for “for being so annoying,” according to a survey by Public Policy Polling. The research firm, which published a press release that reads like the Borowitz Report but is apparently not a joke, asked Americans many questions about hipsters, with not-so-surprising results: 42 percent have an unfavorable view of hipsters, 46 percent agreed that hipsters “soullessly appropriate cultural tropes from the past for their own ironic amusement,” and 98 percent of Republicans said they’d be less likely to vote for a hipster (dashing our dreams of electing a hipster president any time soon, ugh). You can read the full report here.
But there are a few surprises here, like the fact that half of the respondents aged 18 to 29 self-identified as hipster. I self-identify as hipster, too, because who gives a shit? But hell, I thought I was the only one: “hipster” has long been a term used to degrade other people; it came of use in the present era as an insult, not an identity. Has that changed? In the privacy of an automated telephone call, are closeted hipsters admitting that they enjoy things like art and locally brewed beer? That bicycles are ok? That beards are smart?
Most of the support for hipsters comes from Latinos: 46 percent have a favorable opinion of hipsters, compared to 8 percent of white people; one third identified as hipster, compared to about one seventeenth of white people; more than half of the Latinos said hipsters make a positive contribution to society. There was also a lot of support for hipsters in the West, where 30 percent of people said they’d be more likely to vote for a hipster, compared to 7 percent in the Midwest; where 51 percent said hipsters make a positive contribution to society.
So you know who likes hipsters? Twentysomethings. Latinos. And Westerners. I’m moving to some TBD California college town to run for mayor!
Of course, this was only a survey of 571 registered voters reached on touchtone landlines, only 91 of which were under the age of 29. So, like just about every poll, this is probably not an accurate reflection of anyone or anything. Still, one can hope that my children will see a day when their father won’t be so reviled by anonymous Internet commenters.
Follow Henry Stewart on Twitter @henrycstewart
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