The Tyranny of Tradition

Hipsters.  Let’s face it.  They are everywhere.  They bring us our mail.  They fix our cars.  They babysit our kids.  They diagnose our viruses.  They run some of our Fortune 500 companies.  Some have even labeled Barack Obama “The First Hipster President” (or “Hipster-In-Chief).

These latte chugging, MacBook owning quislings have infiltrated the cracks of modern American life and, like Canadians, are often able to hide in plain sight, undetected by those who wish to keep us safe.  In spite of the fact that The Department of Homeland Security has invested over 100 billion dollars in advanced hipster detection systems, to date, not one actual hipster has been detained or even tortured.

The problem of hipster detection is a tricky one.  Much of our society has taken on the trappings of hipster culture, so it is now nearly impossible to locate a hipster in a place where they should obviously stand out, like a Travis Tritt concert or a meeting of your local NRA chapter.

The really difficult part is that hipster culture is based on a bizarre phenomenon known as “hipster denial”.  A critical component of being a hipster is pretending to be unaware that you are a hipster.  In some cases, hipsters can be contaminated with the hipster virus and not even know they are transmitting their hipsterness to those around them.  The minute a hipster admits to their hipsterness, the hipster spell is broken and the beast becomes human again.  But….how do you fight an enemy that is invisible even to himself???

Luckily, researchers at The Tyranny of Tradition Institute in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary have spent years perfecting a formula that can, once and for all, identify the difference between a hipster and a good American.  By simply completing this standard interest inventory, in five minutes you can know if YOU are a hipster.  The rules are simple.  Add up the point values of each of the following things that apply to you.  If your score is over 100, turn yourself in for processing immediately…you are a hipster.  If you score below 100, it is safe to continue engaging in normal human practices like the consumption of food or the procreation of the species.

Do you….

Own a pair of “Buddy Holly” glasses?  30 points

Own a pair of skinny jeans?  30 points

Wear a Hawaiian shirt more than once a month?  40 points

Wear headbands when you are not playing basketball or running? 40 points

Have an Instagram account?  20 points

Have a tumblr?  20 points

Use Spotify?  5 points

Wear tee shirts of products you do not use  (i.e. Spam)?  20 points

Spend more than 20 dollars on a haircut in an attempt to make your haircut look like it cost less than 20 dollars?  30 points

Wonder if certain things are “hipster or not hipster”?  20 points

Wear tee shirts featuring long lost forgotten cultural icons (i.e. The Smurfs, The Fonz, Balki from Perfect Strangers)?  50 points

Own at least one album by Band of Horses, TV on The Radio or My Morning Jacket?  30 points

Try to figure out what dubstep versions of 80’s TV theme songs would sound like? 35 points

Have a favorite superhero?  20 points

Talk about dinosaurs ironically? 20 points

Hate Hipsters?  100 points (all true hipsters hate hipsters, it’s the only surefire proof of hipsterism)

Wear suspenders with a tee shirt? 20 points

Compare people to Banksy or Chuch Palahniuk?  15 points

Spend more than 15 minutes a day discussing hipsters? 20 points

Spend time making up mathematical formulas about hipsters? 20 points

Have conversations about what it would be like if one cultural icon lived in the environment of another (i.e.  “Wouldn’t it be weird if the Transformers were in Citizen Kane”?)  10 points

Refer to your band as being “post-“?  15 points

Think about naming one of your children after a Moby song?  10 points

Secretly admire Bono?  20 points

Catch yourself thinking “I wish I worked in a bike shop”?  10 points

Wear one of those stupid hipster hats?  20 points

What if you suspect someone is a hipster and can’t get them to fill out the survey?

Unfortunately, due to some questionable misinterpretations of the Constitution, you cannot legally hold someone in your basement, tie them up and force him or her to answer questions because you believe they are a hipster.  You might have to determine their hipsterness in a span of seconds (this is often referred to by law enforcement officers as a “Hipster Terry Stop”). If you are only given a short window of time to identify one, you can use this simple joke in order to catch them.  If they laugh, they are guilty of being a hipster.  If they do not, you are safe and can take your hands off of the accused hipster’s throat.

You:  How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Potential Hipster:  I dunno

You:  One

This method is only about 89 percent effective, but if you are in a pinch and lives are on the line, it might just be the difference between your whole neighborhood starting to look like a Hello Kitty Store and you being able to incapacitate the hipster, shove him or her in the trunk of your car and dump them in a nearby lake.  These are the times that try men’s souls.  I know you will choose wisely.