The Best and The Whitest
July 12, 2007 4:06 PM Subscribe
Late Night Shots is an "invitation-only" social networking site for elite GOP youth of Washington, DC that the late Steve Gilliard mockingly described as "the best and whitest." The Wonkette blog has devoted an entire section to the site that documents Late Night Shots' racism, date rape, anti-Islamic prejudice, and incest with second cousins, at least until Wonkette's editor started getting invited to their parties. The founder of Late Night Shots, Reed Landry, plans to take his networking site to other cities, but even though Wonkette has lost interest, the Washington City Paper has attracted scrutiny to the site again with a juicy new exposé.
I'm a UNC-CH grad! How come I don't get invited to Late Night Shots?
posted by infinitewindow at 4:20 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by infinitewindow at 4:20 PM on July 12, 2007
Ha, the reasons we quit doing Late Night Shots posts on Wonkette are a) Just like in real life, these people get boring pretty quickly, and b) Our beloved intern Lauren Spohrer actually compiled the Best Of LNS posts, and she has since left us and gone on to grad school.
posted by kenlayne at 4:23 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by kenlayne at 4:23 PM on July 12, 2007
tag police! you forgot "douchebagocious".
posted by brain cloud at 4:24 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by brain cloud at 4:24 PM on July 12, 2007
If those people are so boring, why is the Wonkette editor going to the parties?
posted by DU at 4:25 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by DU at 4:25 PM on July 12, 2007
The comments at the end of the Valdez piece are a goldmine.
That said, as a former DC resident, there's a lot to like about the city. Twenty-something conservative assholes are not one of them. And Georgetown.
posted by bardic at 4:27 PM on July 12, 2007
That said, as a former DC resident, there's a lot to like about the city. Twenty-something conservative assholes are not one of them. And Georgetown.
posted by bardic at 4:27 PM on July 12, 2007
The comments on the "expose" link are a pretty clear indication of the kind of shitbag that posts on LNS.
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:28 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:28 PM on July 12, 2007
What's wrong with second-cousin incest?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:30 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:30 PM on July 12, 2007
This sort of flies in the face of what I thought was one of the (imagined?) purposes of online social networking - creating links between people who ordinarily might not meet or interact - if members are basically only meeting others of similar status and in similar fields.
posted by mdonley at 4:33 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by mdonley at 4:33 PM on July 12, 2007
See, I thought it was working exactly the way online social networking is supposed to (hell, any social networking). It's just exposing people to a larger number of people just like themselves.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:36 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:36 PM on July 12, 2007
Me:
Alex, I'l take 'Washington Shenanigans' for $500Alex:
"They attended the University of Virginia...UNC, and a smattering of pretty-good-but-not-Ivy schools in the South and Mid-Atlantic. Under the space for employer, they list investment and lobby firms and jobs on the Hill. Most categorize their political views as conservative. Many are Episcopalian or Presbyterian. The overwhelming majority are white."Me:
"Who is the next generation of Lee Atwaters and Karl Roves -- in other words -- world class douchebags."posted by ericb at 4:36 PM on July 12, 2007 [4 favorites]
People like this do serve a purpose. Everytime I find the company of my fellow liberals annoying, they give me a glance of the alternative and I come to my senses.
posted by jonmc at 4:38 PM on July 12, 2007 [4 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 4:38 PM on July 12, 2007 [4 favorites]
So young rich white people get drunk at parties and say stupid shit? Stop the presses!!
I wonder if young poor black people do things like that? Somebody infiltrate a party a P. Diddy's, STAT!
Observation: Reed Landry doesn't have eyebrows. Well. Lot's of brow but no hair. CREEEEPY.
posted by tkchrist at 4:38 PM on July 12, 2007
I wonder if young poor black people do things like that? Somebody infiltrate a party a P. Diddy's, STAT!
Observation: Reed Landry doesn't have eyebrows. Well. Lot's of brow but no hair. CREEEEPY.
posted by tkchrist at 4:38 PM on July 12, 2007
What am I supposed to get out of this? That young people in DC are cliquish, like to drink, and want to have sex?
I knew that.
posted by MarshallPoe at 4:40 PM on July 12, 2007
I knew that.
posted by MarshallPoe at 4:40 PM on July 12, 2007
So young rich white people get drunk at parties and say stupid shit? Stop the presses!!
As somebody who's been known to get drunk and say stupid shit, I can say that that stuff isn't really the problem.
posted by jonmc at 4:41 PM on July 12, 2007
As somebody who's been known to get drunk and say stupid shit, I can say that that stuff isn't really the problem.
posted by jonmc at 4:41 PM on July 12, 2007
mr_crash_davis, I was afraid of that...maybe I've just been lucky and have found a bunch of people radically different from myself online.
The comments in the Valdez piece are insane - one poster talks about how the author, by using peoples' real names - has "ruined lives" and will cost people jobs. Sad that these supposedly successful people in the eyes of their culture/society - right degree/job/car/whatever - can't be flexible enough to even realize that there is life beyond one alternative-newspaper article and an online community of boat-shoe owners.
posted by mdonley at 4:44 PM on July 12, 2007
The comments in the Valdez piece are insane - one poster talks about how the author, by using peoples' real names - has "ruined lives" and will cost people jobs. Sad that these supposedly successful people in the eyes of their culture/society - right degree/job/car/whatever - can't be flexible enough to even realize that there is life beyond one alternative-newspaper article and an online community of boat-shoe owners.
posted by mdonley at 4:44 PM on July 12, 2007
As somebody who's been known to get drunk and say stupid shit, I can say that that stuff isn't really the problem.
Yes. It's not a problem. But it's what 95% of the article was about.
posted by tkchrist at 4:46 PM on July 12, 2007
Yes. It's not a problem. But it's what 95% of the article was about.
posted by tkchrist at 4:46 PM on July 12, 2007
Those LNS guys are complete pussies. Adam's Morgan is the ghetto? My suburban high school was more dangerous than Adam's Morgan on a friday night.
posted by empath at 4:54 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by empath at 4:54 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
"As somebody who's been known to get drunk and say stupid shit, I can say that that stuff isn't really the problem."
Yeah, but as far as we know you're not planning on a career in politics.
You aren't, are you?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:01 PM on July 12, 2007
Yeah, but as far as we know you're not planning on a career in politics.
You aren't, are you?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:01 PM on July 12, 2007
Do I want to take it in the ass? Have I ever taken it in the ass? My silence is taken as an affirmative and he announces that this interview will go no further unless he receives a hand job. I retreat into a hole carved out during similar sessions in high school and head for the door.
I think the last sentence does not convey her intended meaning well-- or perhaps it does?
posted by Maias at 5:08 PM on July 12, 2007
I think the last sentence does not convey her intended meaning well-- or perhaps it does?
posted by Maias at 5:08 PM on July 12, 2007
Just a point of clarification. As far as I know it's legal to marry a second cousin pretty much everywhere. Further, incest, by definition, can only occur between relatives for whom marriage is illegal (or against prevailing customs but I don't think there is a taboo against second cousins marrying in many, or any, places either). So, you can't commit incest with a second cousin.
posted by oddman at 5:10 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by oddman at 5:10 PM on July 12, 2007
So young rich white people get drunk at parties and say stupid shit?
Ah, the last defense of the Republican Teleprompt Reader: the low bar.
posted by DU at 5:14 PM on July 12, 2007
Ah, the last defense of the Republican Teleprompt Reader: the low bar.
posted by DU at 5:14 PM on July 12, 2007
Yeah, but as far as we know you're not planning on a career in politics.
You aren't, are you?
I was thinking of running for Toastmaster General, on the Guilty Party ticket.
posted by jonmc at 5:17 PM on July 12, 2007
You aren't, are you?
I was thinking of running for Toastmaster General, on the Guilty Party ticket.
posted by jonmc at 5:17 PM on July 12, 2007
Shame on those smug, entitled, judgemental, and wealthy young white people! They should really consider being more like the people who read Wonkette...
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:27 PM on July 12, 2007 [5 favorites]
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:27 PM on July 12, 2007 [5 favorites]
I was thinking of running for Toastmaster General, on the Guilty Party ticket.
As the Pope of the Guilty party, we'd be happy to have you.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:29 PM on July 12, 2007
As the Pope of the Guilty party, we'd be happy to have you.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:29 PM on July 12, 2007
As the Pope of the Guilty party, we'd be happy to have you.
Thank you, Your Holiness.
*hands Pope a cash stuffed envelope*
posted by jonmc at 5:39 PM on July 12, 2007
Thank you, Your Holiness.
*hands Pope a cash stuffed envelope*
posted by jonmc at 5:39 PM on July 12, 2007
You'd think after 6 years of Bush, these people might be chastened -- but no. I hate these people; I wish they'd all die, and painfully.
I might not have believed how bad they were until I read the comments section.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 5:41 PM on July 12, 2007 [2 favorites]
I might not have believed how bad they were until I read the comments section.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 5:41 PM on July 12, 2007 [2 favorites]
Uh, as another UNC -CH grad, I'd like to point out that we're not all complete douchebags.
posted by Rangeboy at 5:52 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by Rangeboy at 5:52 PM on July 12, 2007
Since moving to DC from Cambridge, MA and before that near Berkeley, CA, I can say that first the first time I have had to interact with a significant number of young Republicans-- some of them even Bush administration appointees. A few even attended the Conservative Political Action Conference that XQUZYPHYR mentioned. In their defense, none of them were members of LNS, and most of them have no qualms about having a good time in some of the grittier, less preppy parts of Columbia Heights or H Street. But then again, I rarely socialize with the douchebag crowd, and due to the ethnic/class backgrounds of most of my friends around here, the LNS members probably want little to do with them, even if they are Republicans.
So, no not all young DC Republicans are douchebags, not counting the whole approval of torture and illegal wiretapping thing.
Ok, the universe owes me big time that episode of fairness on my part.
posted by deanc at 5:54 PM on July 12, 2007
So, no not all young DC Republicans are douchebags, not counting the whole approval of torture and illegal wiretapping thing.
Ok, the universe owes me big time that episode of fairness on my part.
posted by deanc at 5:54 PM on July 12, 2007
are led to believe at such a young age that they can do and say whatever they want ... and that the very idea they might get called on it is unfathomable.
Judging by the current political situation in America, I'd say there is a very good chance they wouldn't get called on it. Look at all the stuff the administration has pulled without so much as a peep from anyone. Heck, Bush just the other day admitted that he figured someone in his administration did in fact leak Plame's info, but "you know, so what?".
posted by nightchrome at 6:01 PM on July 12, 2007
Judging by the current political situation in America, I'd say there is a very good chance they wouldn't get called on it. Look at all the stuff the administration has pulled without so much as a peep from anyone. Heck, Bush just the other day admitted that he figured someone in his administration did in fact leak Plame's info, but "you know, so what?".
posted by nightchrome at 6:01 PM on July 12, 2007
I have never gone online looking for "people just like myself". That comes from my realization early in life that I am not like anybody else and my long journey from shame to pride over that fact. In fact, my most disturbing moments in the MetaFilter community have been when I recognized "something like myself" in other MeFites (especially others like quonsar and Ethereal Bligh who also relish their uniqueness). That said, 'social sites' like Facebook have only been of any use to me in dealing with people in my local area.
Still, there is something in me that sincerely wishes that one of MetaFilter's 'token right-wing trolls' would send me an invitation to Late Night Shots (I know somebody here has some), where I promise I will cut 25 years off my age, 25 points off my IQ and 75% off my humanity in order to fit in.
One more unrelated observation: it appears that in spite of all the Constitution Trashing, Cronyism, Profiteering, Military Adventurism (and related disregard for human life), Willful Mismanagement and Religious (and other) Bigotry that have been hallmarks of the Republican Party in the 1990s-2000s, it is turning out to be good old sex scandals that are doing the most damage to the GOP, which does not speak well for the U.S.A. in so many ways.
posted by wendell at 6:13 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
Still, there is something in me that sincerely wishes that one of MetaFilter's 'token right-wing trolls' would send me an invitation to Late Night Shots (I know somebody here has some), where I promise I will cut 25 years off my age, 25 points off my IQ and 75% off my humanity in order to fit in.
One more unrelated observation: it appears that in spite of all the Constitution Trashing, Cronyism, Profiteering, Military Adventurism (and related disregard for human life), Willful Mismanagement and Religious (and other) Bigotry that have been hallmarks of the Republican Party in the 1990s-2000s, it is turning out to be good old sex scandals that are doing the most damage to the GOP, which does not speak well for the U.S.A. in so many ways.
posted by wendell at 6:13 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
These guys come and go. Within three years they are all out in Fairfax. Yawn.
posted by Ironmouth at 6:16 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Ironmouth at 6:16 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
I went to a super liberal private school in DC. It was an international school so my classmates we're from all over the world. We used to get in fights with kids from the conservative prep schools (Landon, NCS, St. Albans), usually involving eggs. These kids had it coming, they were full on racist and proud of it. One accomplishment I'm especially proud of is when we egged Tim Russert's son's car - a big obnoxious pick up with a Confederate flag decal on it (meanwhile this kid was born and raised in Northwest DC). I like to think we accomplished something that day... what I don't know...
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 6:16 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 6:16 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
So what we're really witnessing a private school clique fight? (come to think of it that's what politics amounts to these days, much of the time, except for the life and death issues.)
posted by jonmc at 6:24 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by jonmc at 6:24 PM on July 12, 2007
Reading through the quoted forum posts I'm reminded, over and over again, of all the scenes in American Psycho where Patrick Bateman talks with his friends.
A large part of me hopes this is all just a big joke on the rest of us - and that no one actually thinks this way anymore. But, the disheartening reality is quite probably the opposite.
posted by revmitcz at 6:25 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
A large part of me hopes this is all just a big joke on the rest of us - and that no one actually thinks this way anymore. But, the disheartening reality is quite probably the opposite.
posted by revmitcz at 6:25 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
At the end of the day, they hate because they are jealous. Jealous of our priviledge, jealous of our economic success, jealous of our fun. I hate to say it but they hate us for the same reasons the terrorists do.
Presidential material, amirite?
posted by oneirodynia at 6:33 PM on July 12, 2007
Presidential material, amirite?
posted by oneirodynia at 6:33 PM on July 12, 2007
I went to school in Alexandria with these types of douches. Just the name "Reed Landry" tells me all I need to know...
posted by dopamine at 6:57 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by dopamine at 6:57 PM on July 12, 2007
Just the name "Reed Landry" tells me all I need to know...
Isn't it weird that these guys all have names like the villian in a mid-1980s John Hughes movie?
posted by jonp72 at 7:12 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
Isn't it weird that these guys all have names like the villian in a mid-1980s John Hughes movie?
posted by jonp72 at 7:12 PM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]
In high school I considered myself a young Republican because I was a) young, and b) a capitalist.
Then I went to a YR meeting and I realized that I was too much of a decent human being to hang out with such douches.
I did build their website for them though, but I got paid (see capitalist qualifier above).
Now that I think about it maybe I'll take the amount I made and donate it to the DNC. Or the ACLU, that would piss them off even more.
posted by Mick at 7:15 PM on July 12, 2007
Then I went to a YR meeting and I realized that I was too much of a decent human being to hang out with such douches.
I did build their website for them though, but I got paid (see capitalist qualifier above).
Now that I think about it maybe I'll take the amount I made and donate it to the DNC. Or the ACLU, that would piss them off even more.
posted by Mick at 7:15 PM on July 12, 2007
I'm a Denison grad! Probably same year as Mr. Tabacco, whose name I don't recognize which is surprising since the school is so small! The nutso money that these assholes and their parents donate to the school pays for scholarships for people like me! Go Big Red!
*weeps*
posted by Kwine at 7:23 PM on July 12, 2007
*weeps*
posted by Kwine at 7:23 PM on July 12, 2007
The comments on the City Paper story are better than the story itself:
The glorious irony of this comment section is that it's turned into a typical LNS forum.
So true. I want to shake Angela Valdez's hand.
posted by peeedro at 8:34 PM on July 12, 2007
The glorious irony of this comment section is that it's turned into a typical LNS forum.
So true. I want to shake Angela Valdez's hand.
posted by peeedro at 8:34 PM on July 12, 2007
Young, dumb, full of idiotic notions that haven't been challenged because they keep to a very select and like-minded clique. Can we forgive them for that? Maybe. Maybe.
But vodka and Red Bull? A line must be drawn.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:47 PM on July 12, 2007
But vodka and Red Bull? A line must be drawn.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:47 PM on July 12, 2007
PostIrony: We used to get in fights with kids from the conservative prep schools (Landon, NCS, St. Albans),
Uh you threw eggs at girls? Nice....
Empath - i saw that line also and rolled my eyes... they're probably referring to the mere presence of minorities in Adam's Morgan... these are the kids who make jokes about DuPont Circle being "gay."
posted by stratastar at 8:59 PM on July 12, 2007
Uh you threw eggs at girls? Nice....
Empath - i saw that line also and rolled my eyes... they're probably referring to the mere presence of minorities in Adam's Morgan... these are the kids who make jokes about DuPont Circle being "gay."
posted by stratastar at 8:59 PM on July 12, 2007
Code words like “turbo” and “turbette” help posters maintain the site’s exclusivity. The lingo ranges from abstruse to obvious. In addition to “takedowns” and “going to poundtown” or “PT” (getting laid), there’s “big timing” (snubbing someone, often a member of the opposite sex, at a bar), “smoke” (an attractive LNS member), and “RBV” (a Red Bull with vodka, the preferred drink of many LNSers).
OMG!!! Maintaining exclusivity through code words on a website. LOLZ PREPPIES AMIRITE???
posted by Slap Factory at 9:00 PM on July 12, 2007
OMG!!! Maintaining exclusivity through code words on a website. LOLZ PREPPIES AMIRITE???
posted by Slap Factory at 9:00 PM on July 12, 2007
To clarify, these kids are not necessarily Republicans. They are prep-school children of privilege, who are stereotypically Republican but who, in my experience, tend to break 60/40 along party lines once they grow up, get into law school or business school, and then try to take over the planet.
Al Gore (St. Alban's) was one of them. Al Gore III (ditto) was one of them, too. Karl Rove (public high school in Utah) was not.
posted by Slap Factory at 9:08 PM on July 12, 2007
Al Gore (St. Alban's) was one of them. Al Gore III (ditto) was one of them, too. Karl Rove (public high school in Utah) was not.
posted by Slap Factory at 9:08 PM on July 12, 2007
I used to work at Campus Progress, a progressive policy organization. One of the big articles we published every year was when we sent interns to report from inside the Conservative Political Action Conference, and the ensuing outrage that we dared to report on the racial slurs, confederate memorabilia, and sexual chicanery just because it was, you know, there.
Didn't Stephen Glass get into trouble for writing fake stories about CPAC?
posted by Slap Factory at 9:13 PM on July 12, 2007
Didn't Stephen Glass get into trouble for writing fake stories about CPAC?
posted by Slap Factory at 9:13 PM on July 12, 2007
Those comments are amazing.
Made the whole article worth reading.
They're not important, they're pathetic.
What's the whole anti-hipster thing they have going on there? I don't get it.
posted by empath at 9:16 PM on July 12, 2007
Made the whole article worth reading.
They're not important, they're pathetic.
What's the whole anti-hipster thing they have going on there? I don't get it.
posted by empath at 9:16 PM on July 12, 2007
What's the whole anti-hipster thing they have going on there?
It's nothing new, think of the Greasers and the Socs from The Outsiders.
posted by peeedro at 10:01 PM on July 12, 2007
It's nothing new, think of the Greasers and the Socs from The Outsiders.
posted by peeedro at 10:01 PM on July 12, 2007
All I know is that I went to UVa and a few of those names were familiar to me and a few of those people had definitely been accused of rape while I attended the school.
posted by cloeburner at 10:53 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by cloeburner at 10:53 PM on July 12, 2007
What's the whole anti-hipster thing they have going on there? I don't get it.
Have you ever met a hipster? Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
posted by kittyprecious at 10:57 PM on July 12, 2007
Have you ever met a hipster? Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
posted by kittyprecious at 10:57 PM on July 12, 2007
Hipsters are absolutely loathsome. Worse than LNSers.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 11:42 PM on July 12, 2007
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 11:42 PM on July 12, 2007
You underestimate these fuckers at your own peril.
Because now, today, one of them is the sock puppet of Cheney.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:14 AM on July 13, 2007
Because now, today, one of them is the sock puppet of Cheney.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:14 AM on July 13, 2007
No wonder I fucking hate Georgetown. It's Adams Morgan for me, almost every weekend. The only precaution I take is leaving before the 3AM last call.
See you guys at The Reef!
posted by smoothvirus at 5:11 AM on July 13, 2007
See you guys at The Reef!
posted by smoothvirus at 5:11 AM on July 13, 2007
OoooooH! They Nasty!
posted by doctorschlock at 5:25 AM on July 13, 2007
posted by doctorschlock at 5:25 AM on July 13, 2007
LNS sounds like the post-grad version of fratty.net which is now frattinghard.com. However, frattinghard.com doesn't have the message board that fratty.net had. It was full of tons of posts similiar to LNS. Many of which I think are not meant to be serious. Such as the "BMW or Mercedes" or "I hooked up with a girl who was a Tri-Delt, did I commit social suicide."
posted by bilbo baggins at 6:56 AM on July 13, 2007
posted by bilbo baggins at 6:56 AM on July 13, 2007
Naw, Omie, they wouldn't let him in. He's Jewish, I hear.
posted by jonmc at 7:52 AM on July 13, 2007
posted by jonmc at 7:52 AM on July 13, 2007
Hipsters and LNS types are two sides of the same coin: exclusivity and superiority. That being said, when will the kids learn that what happens online stays online? Vegas allusion aside, anything they say will haunt them forever.
In their case, that may be a good thing.
posted by malaprohibita at 8:56 AM on July 13, 2007
In their case, that may be a good thing.
posted by malaprohibita at 8:56 AM on July 13, 2007
I'm another UNC-CH grad, and while I may well be regarded as a total douchebag, I'm definitely not a douchebag of the LNS variety.
I don't own any polo shirts, but I do maintain that popping one's collar isn't just the hallmark of privileged assfrattery (think Spike Spiegel).
posted by solipsophistocracy at 9:10 AM on July 13, 2007
I don't own any polo shirts, but I do maintain that popping one's collar isn't just the hallmark of privileged assfrattery (think Spike Spiegel).
posted by solipsophistocracy at 9:10 AM on July 13, 2007
Hipsters and LNS types are two sides of the same coin
I think you're forgetting that being a hipster is a self-chosen lifestyle, while being an LNS douche is all about keeping other people out, even if they might choose to join.
I've never really understood hipster-hate, but that aside, I think it's a serious error to equate a group of people who think they're too cool for you (and have apparently hurt your feelings in the process) with a group of people who are interested in ruling the world through hatred and fear, even if members of both groups are wankers.
posted by OmieWise at 9:15 AM on July 13, 2007 [3 favorites]
I think you're forgetting that being a hipster is a self-chosen lifestyle, while being an LNS douche is all about keeping other people out, even if they might choose to join.
I've never really understood hipster-hate, but that aside, I think it's a serious error to equate a group of people who think they're too cool for you (and have apparently hurt your feelings in the process) with a group of people who are interested in ruling the world through hatred and fear, even if members of both groups are wankers.
posted by OmieWise at 9:15 AM on July 13, 2007 [3 favorites]
I think you're forgetting that being a hipster is a self-chosen lifestyle, while being an LNS douche is all about keeping other people out, even if they might choose to join.
Well, so's hipsterism. If everybody's cool than nobody is, right? But I agree that these LNS types are much worse.
posted by jonmc at 9:28 AM on July 13, 2007
Well, so's hipsterism. If everybody's cool than nobody is, right? But I agree that these LNS types are much worse.
posted by jonmc at 9:28 AM on July 13, 2007
OmieWise: No feelings are hurt here, just continually amazed at how people of all stripes like to form cliques, and how arrogance plays such a large part in establishing that identity. When I was younger I thought that sort of thing would be left behind in high school (oh, how wrong I was). Now it's kind of funny to see the different ways in which people feel they have to identify themselves; their 'branding' if you will.
You do bring up a good point however: hipsters don't seem to want to rule the world through hatred and fear, and I do prefer them--greatly--to the hate-mongering crowd.
And Spike Spiegel is the man.
posted by malaprohibita at 9:29 AM on July 13, 2007
You do bring up a good point however: hipsters don't seem to want to rule the world through hatred and fear, and I do prefer them--greatly--to the hate-mongering crowd.
And Spike Spiegel is the man.
posted by malaprohibita at 9:29 AM on July 13, 2007
No feelings are hurt here
Yeah, I don't know why I wrote that. I'm feeling crotchety, I guess.
posted by OmieWise at 9:42 AM on July 13, 2007
Yeah, I don't know why I wrote that. I'm feeling crotchety, I guess.
posted by OmieWise at 9:42 AM on July 13, 2007
On the other hand, I'll take the hipster sense of humour, solipsistic and ironic as it is, over the doofus in the comments who didn't seem to get that the T-shirt reading "I listen to bands that don't even exist yet" is a self-parodying joke.
Those comments in defence of LNS were really something. The hipster pile-on was started by them as they were trying very hard to slur the writer: after running through She's ugly! She was so drunk she knocked her drink over! She was trying to grope the menfolk! they settled on She's a hipster with hipster friends who are all jealous of our ruling lifestylez and dollaz, you know what I'm saying!
I'll take the hipster basement any day, thanks.
posted by jokeefe at 10:47 AM on July 13, 2007
Those comments in defence of LNS were really something. The hipster pile-on was started by them as they were trying very hard to slur the writer: after running through She's ugly! She was so drunk she knocked her drink over! She was trying to grope the menfolk! they settled on She's a hipster with hipster friends who are all jealous of our ruling lifestylez and dollaz, you know what I'm saying!
I'll take the hipster basement any day, thanks.
posted by jokeefe at 10:47 AM on July 13, 2007
I've never met a hipster. Seriously. It's a lazy, sloppy, reductive media construct. I don't know what that word even means.
OTOH, young, arrogant, clueless, insular, overprivileged, racist fuckstomas do actually exist, and do constitute themselves into a variety of structures (of many different types, and at many different scales) that facilitate the perpetuation of their privilege and the exclusion of others.
To me there's no way in which these two figures are even remotely comparable.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:49 AM on July 13, 2007
OTOH, young, arrogant, clueless, insular, overprivileged, racist fuckstomas do actually exist, and do constitute themselves into a variety of structures (of many different types, and at many different scales) that facilitate the perpetuation of their privilege and the exclusion of others.
To me there's no way in which these two figures are even remotely comparable.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:49 AM on July 13, 2007
I've never met a hipster. Seriously. It's a lazy, sloppy, reductive media construct. I don't know what that word even means.
I agree that it's an overused term, but it generally is applied to overpriviliged, elitist, trendy idlers, who I think we can agree exist and are annoying and tiresome. But I agree that these assholes are far worse, and not because they like to party or because they have money, or because of the way they dress or any other superficial crap, but because of the ignorance and meanness revealed in what they say.
To paraphrase my self: I dislike cancer more than I dislike hemmorhoids but I can do without either. But the hipsters are the hemmorhoid, these people are the cancer.
And FWIW, I also kind of bristle at the idea that 'hipster' and 'fratboy' republicans' are the only two choices on the buffett. There's all kinds of people in this world that neither group represents.
posted by jonmc at 1:02 PM on July 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
I agree that it's an overused term, but it generally is applied to overpriviliged, elitist, trendy idlers, who I think we can agree exist and are annoying and tiresome. But I agree that these assholes are far worse, and not because they like to party or because they have money, or because of the way they dress or any other superficial crap, but because of the ignorance and meanness revealed in what they say.
To paraphrase my self: I dislike cancer more than I dislike hemmorhoids but I can do without either. But the hipsters are the hemmorhoid, these people are the cancer.
And FWIW, I also kind of bristle at the idea that 'hipster' and 'fratboy' republicans' are the only two choices on the buffett. There's all kinds of people in this world that neither group represents.
posted by jonmc at 1:02 PM on July 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
every time you pass a city paper distribution location, take all of them and throw them in the trash. if everyone did this for a month or two, we would run it out of business.
Wonkette has some choice followup comments in the wake of the article.
posted by meta_eli at 2:17 PM on July 13, 2007
Wonkette has some choice followup comments in the wake of the article.
posted by meta_eli at 2:17 PM on July 13, 2007
"To quote [a] comment by an LNS member:
'Enjoy your crummy Indie music and making minimum wage. When I need your opinion or critique on privilege, I will be sure to give you a ring (and opinion) while I am renting a car and you are filling up my tank. Both of which you did a terrible job of doing. Hipsters its no wonder you cannot not find a job. Keep writing about us and we will be sure not give damn whether you live or die. That is the thing about your purported privilege. While you are busy writing about us, we are busy running the world and making money so you have something to write.'"*posted by ericb at 2:53 PM on July 13, 2007
every time you pass a city paper distribution location, take all of them and throw them in the trash. if everyone did this for a month or two, we would run it out of business.
Actually, this would just boost City Paper's distribution numbers, allowing them to charge more for ads. Great idea!
Didn't Stephen Glass get into trouble for writing fake stories about CPAC?
I thought the same thing -- Steven Glass is vindicated!
posted by IcyJuly at 4:45 PM on July 13, 2007
Actually, this would just boost City Paper's distribution numbers, allowing them to charge more for ads. Great idea!
Didn't Stephen Glass get into trouble for writing fake stories about CPAC?
I thought the same thing -- Steven Glass is vindicated!
posted by IcyJuly at 4:45 PM on July 13, 2007
Also, from that Crooked Timber link, quoting an LNSer:
At the end of the day, they hate because they are jealous. Jealous of our priviledge, jealous of our economic success, jealous of our fun. I hate to say it but they hate us for the same reasons the terrorists do.
I fear this person may be a future POTUS, based on his spelling ability and deftness in bringing everything back to "the terrorists."
posted by IcyJuly at 4:50 PM on July 13, 2007
At the end of the day, they hate because they are jealous. Jealous of our priviledge, jealous of our economic success, jealous of our fun. I hate to say it but they hate us for the same reasons the terrorists do.
I fear this person may be a future POTUS, based on his spelling ability and deftness in bringing everything back to "the terrorists."
posted by IcyJuly at 4:50 PM on July 13, 2007
we are busy running the world and making money so you have something to write.
When I read bluster like this from the LNS crowd, it's one of the few times I am tempted to "pull rank" as someone who went to an elite prep school and university and count similar people among my social circle. These guys are wannabes, not the elites. They all hold degrees from mediocre 2nd- and 3rd-tier colleges and their only claim to "running the world" is because they have a low-paid job on Capitol Hill. And no, being the Staff Assistant of Representative Smith (R-SC Hinterlands) does not mean that you are "running the world." It means that you're answering the constituent mail from Edna regarding her complaints about the state of The Youth of Today™.
In two years they'll all be back home going attending low-tier law schools before setting up shop doing contract and personal injury law at their single-person firms back home, while the actual elite of Harvard and Yale grads I count among my friends are doing corporate law, consulting, or finance in New York City or DC.
Wow. That sort of righteous elitist fury felt good. Real good.
posted by deanc at 5:02 PM on July 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
When I read bluster like this from the LNS crowd, it's one of the few times I am tempted to "pull rank" as someone who went to an elite prep school and university and count similar people among my social circle. These guys are wannabes, not the elites. They all hold degrees from mediocre 2nd- and 3rd-tier colleges and their only claim to "running the world" is because they have a low-paid job on Capitol Hill. And no, being the Staff Assistant of Representative Smith (R-SC Hinterlands) does not mean that you are "running the world." It means that you're answering the constituent mail from Edna regarding her complaints about the state of The Youth of Today™.
In two years they'll all be back home going attending low-tier law schools before setting up shop doing contract and personal injury law at their single-person firms back home, while the actual elite of Harvard and Yale grads I count among my friends are doing corporate law, consulting, or finance in New York City or DC.
Wow. That sort of righteous elitist fury felt good. Real good.
posted by deanc at 5:02 PM on July 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
Oh, snap! Touché, ericb. :)
But that's the other thing-- most people associated with the elite realize that there are a ton of people even more elite than they (in my case, the people who went to Dalton, Milton, and Andover, among others). The LNS'ers totally lack that level of self-awareness.
posted by deanc at 5:37 PM on July 13, 2007
But that's the other thing-- most people associated with the elite realize that there are a ton of people even more elite than they (in my case, the people who went to Dalton, Milton, and Andover, among others). The LNS'ers totally lack that level of self-awareness.
posted by deanc at 5:37 PM on July 13, 2007
You can always find someone who is better off than yourself. It's all relative, isn't it?
posted by ericb at 5:42 PM on July 13, 2007
posted by ericb at 5:42 PM on July 13, 2007
Okay, seriously, whoever posted this in the article comments was trolling right? Right? Being a provocateur? Because other people there are responding to it as if it's real, and if it is, then I figure that LNS got off easy in the article itself.
Nah, it has to be fake.
Nah, it has to be fake.
Comment: By: A. Schenkenberg Jul. 13, 2007, at 2:32 amposted by jokeefe at 6:15 PM on July 13, 2007
Speaking as a member of the titled upper class, you don't get it, do you. We don't have to work hard and stand in the field all day. But neither are we wine-sipping liberals just waiting for another scandal to come out of the White House (Clinton anybody....) . In fact, while we are serious at times, at other times we like to do something, it's called RELAX. Have a few drinks to take the edge off (yes some of us DO have jobs).
I know for a fact that at least one person got in trouble from this article and had to have a talk with her parents. This is just not cool. How much trouble would it of been to make up names for some of the people. Wether you put ANdrea Rogers or Jane Schmoe you could have still done it. Granted, the story would have still been lame but that's not my point.
If you want to talk about the racism thing, well, sorry that we don't all think Ethopians sucking on our world-class heath care and welfare system is what we worked hard for (or parents). That's just a fact of life, I know that and however else Angela Valdez, which may be an immigrant name for all I know, trys to spin it those of us with a vest and interest in things are smart enough not to listen.
Case in point, if Tobacco wanted a hand job, just give it, I'm sure it's not a big deal. He was there to RELAX which most people don't seem to get.
She even admit's that everyone was a perfect gentleman, and probably is just bitter that she'll never screw anyone that she didn't find at the $1 bin. Hey I hang out with a wide range of people and I know the type. I have friends of all walks. In fact I have two friends that work RETAIL so don't tell me I'm insensitive.
Bitter tears and a sad comment on Angela. Good thing some of my fellow LNS'ers heard to call and came to set the record straight. Thats called having BACKUP and FIGHTING for what's right Angela. Not wriitng in a paper I never even heard of!
In the end, whatever, just know that anyone who isn't on LNS is not going to be on either of my yachts (Wet Fantasea, one also in Mass.) and that's for a REASON
The scary thing is that under Bush, it *is* these people from third. er rather, fiftieth-tier schools etc. who *are* running the country with exactly this attitude.
Take the graduates of Regent U. over at Justice...
Under Bush I, you had the more traditional elite-- and less batshitinsane policies and screw-ups.
posted by Maias at 6:29 PM on July 13, 2007
So, where's this liberal elitism we keep hearing about...?
posted by brain cloud at 7:52 PM on July 13, 2007
posted by brain cloud at 7:52 PM on July 13, 2007
Jokeefe - I think that one's for real. You just can't make up phrases like "those of us with a vest and interest in things are smart enough not to listen."
But you know what? I kind of like "vest and interest." It's a nice image: I see a Monopoly plutocrat wearing a three-piece suit vest with his mutual fund statement in the pocket.
posted by footnote at 1:14 PM on July 14, 2007
But you know what? I kind of like "vest and interest." It's a nice image: I see a Monopoly plutocrat wearing a three-piece suit vest with his mutual fund statement in the pocket.
posted by footnote at 1:14 PM on July 14, 2007
"..we don't all think Ethopians sucking on our world-class heath care and welfare system is what we worked hard for (or parents). That's just a fact of life, I know that and however else Angela Valdez, which may be an immigrant name for all I know, trys to spin it..."
"Case in point, if Tobacco [sic] wanted a hand job, just give it, I'm sure it's not a big deal."
"I have friends of all walks. In fact I have two friends that work RETAIL so don't tell me I'm insensitive."
"In the end, whatever, just know that anyone who isn't on LNS is not going to be on either of my yachts..."
I suppose people like this do exist. I'm just grateful I've never knowingly met one.
posted by jokeefe at 1:50 PM on July 14, 2007
"Case in point, if Tobacco [sic] wanted a hand job, just give it, I'm sure it's not a big deal."
"I have friends of all walks. In fact I have two friends that work RETAIL so don't tell me I'm insensitive."
"In the end, whatever, just know that anyone who isn't on LNS is not going to be on either of my yachts..."
I suppose people like this do exist. I'm just grateful I've never knowingly met one.
posted by jokeefe at 1:50 PM on July 14, 2007
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Is this why Speaker Pelosi is insisting that Alexandra names her first-born "Prius?"
posted by peacecorn at 4:15 PM on July 12, 2007