December 1, 2016

Today's the day I can read The Washington Post without hitting the paywall.

And what do I get? There was that puerile column about the Ohio State attacker, already blogged here.

Now, I'm poking around some more, and here's "I love your family. But I dread your joyous holiday letters."
After I finish the letter, I put it down on the coffee table, stare into space, open a bottle of wine and drink the whole thing. The next morning, the letter still splayed on the table, I realize it’s not just the image of a happy, still-together family that had unmoored me. It’s also the power of the record-keeping and the memories that such records evoke. I was never good at keeping records....
And here's "Does this haircut make me look like a Nazi?"

Over the past few weeks, though, the style — which is also referred to as an “under cut,” “high-and-tight” or “side fade” — has assumed a certain. . . sociopolitical burden. Promoters of white nationalism — or the “alt-right,” as some call it, a movement that seeks to form a whites-only state — are coming out of the woodwork now....

“I posted on Facebook yesterday that it’s probably time to think about getting rid of my haircut,” says Joseph Phelan, a community organizer and anti-racism activist who lives in Brooklyn and acquired the haircut several years ago at an old-fashioned barber shop. Phelan read a profile on Spencer, and was dismayed to learn his haircut is fondly if ironically referred to by many wearers as a “fashy.” Short for “fascist.”...

[W]hat’s ironic is that the dudes in white nationalism circles are sporting a hairstyle that’s already been repurposed in the 21st century by young people whose ethos is radical safe-space inclusiveness, not ethnophobic separatism with eugenic undertones....

“We call them ‘nipsters’ — neo-Nazi hipsters,” says Long Nguyen, the co-founder of style magazine Flaunt. “It’s really important for them to make inroads into young people’s culture, in order to expand their base. It’s a lot easier to do that when they’re stealing the look of a familiar hipster style.”...

Until a few weeks ago, you saw a man with that haircut and assumed he might be a good person to hit on, or to buy small-batch beer from, or to ask the whereabouts of the nearest bicycle shop. Now you see him and wonder if he feels deeply oppressed by the forces of multiculturalism. It is too confusing for everyone....
Soon the wall will close on my December access, and I won't know what I'm missing. Maybe some good stuff.

I did like learning those 2 new words — fashy and nipster. But maybe "learning" belongs in quotes, because "nipster" has other definitions in the Urban Dictionary. One could embarrass oneself. "Fashy," however is confirmed by Urban Dictionary:
Fashy means Fascism-like, or to be full of fascism. Similar to other slang terms like "jazzy" and "flashy." The term originated in the mid 2010's on various social media sites, specifically used by the individuals involved with the "Alternative Right" or "Alt-Right," an umbrella term for the political movement uproaring from the populist parties and politicians, consisting of tech-savy and right-leaning young people from various Western countries . Although the movement isn't always associated with Fascism, the term Fashy is still derived from that [particular] political ideology. Typically the term is not used to describe the populist parties and politicians that the alt-right follows, although one might use the term to describe them as such, but is encouraged to be used only for fascist-centered ideas for the sake of scholarship that the alt-right demographic is associated with.

A woman of the alt-right who is pro-fascism might say "look at these sexy Fashy men!" with a picture of men from Fascist Italy or Nazi Germany. Whereas an alt-right individual more in line with libertarian or republican ideals might say "censoring speech is too Fashy!"

46 comments:

Henry said...

Anyone remember skinheads? There were good skinheads and bad skinheads. Nothing changes.

Everything that goes around comes around.

Carter Wood said...

Perhaps you consider it unethical, but you can use an "incognito" or "private" setting on your browser and access the stories after the 10 article limit has been reached. Works on the WaPo, I know.

Wilbur said...

I would have assumed a nipster was a Japanese hipster.

Silly me.

Bob Ellison said...

Fascism is leftist.

This point is so old and tired that we who love liberty and conservative philosophy stop saying it.

Fascism is leftist.

Meade said...

Better also drop any use of the old phrase, "slave to fashion". Too loaded. (Oops -- and by "loaded," no, I don't mean trailer filled with mulch, drunk, or having a load in one's pants.)

MountainMan said...

One thing I like about you and your blog is you read all this stuff on WaPo, NYT, New Yorker, etc., so that I don't have to waste my time on it. Occasionally you point me to something that is worth reading in its entirety but that is rare. I usually get more out of your commenters than I do the articles. The only thing on WaPo that I read regularly is Volokh.

Bad Lieutenant said...

WTF are you talking about, Ann, re the paywall? I just surfed through some of their bushwah - believe me, it was all bushwah, bigly - and all of a sudden I have 2 articles left this month. Now, I have Amazon Prime, so someone said I can get WaPo free, but wouldn't condescend; and apparently there is the incognito trick; but what is it that you meant? That the quota reset today? Or that the first of the month is a quota free day? Your paywall does not seem to be like others' paywall.

madAsHell said...

Alt-Right

You have a tag for Alt-Right?

Does the Alt-Right have meetings? Can you recognize them on the street?

It's new speak. It's a dismissive title for those that disagree with Hillary.

What happened to the Neo-Cons?

Danno said...

I save all my WaPo and NYT allowance for links in things I read here or at realclearpolitics, so I never go just browse these sites. I still usually hit the monthly limits. (Carter Wood, thanks for the tip, I will try incognito next time I hit the limit.)

Meade said...

"He's on the rag" now means he just got his monthly WaPo period. Literally.

MacMacConnell said...

“high-and-tight” is how male US Marines and most of the male US Military wear their hair.

traditionalguy said...

It's a standard military cut. You know, the 82nd Airborne . Those are the alt-right bad guys that are ready to be dropped off on 48 hours notice to stop real fascist's Armored invasions of Allies, like they once had to do at Bastogne, Belgium in December, 1944.

Since they never have time for last minute haircuts, they like to keep it as ready as their intense training does their bodies.

Now go out and burn some more flags, kiddies. Your Fascist Nazi employer, George Soros, calls.

MayBee said...

“I posted on Facebook yesterday that it’s probably time to think about getting rid of my haircut,

This guy is truly going to save the world.

Danno said...

Meade, make that a virtual rag.

Ann Althouse said...

"WTF are you talking about, Ann, re the paywall? I just surfed through some of their bushwah - believe me, it was all bushwah, bigly - and all of a sudden I have 2 articles left this month. Now, I have Amazon Prime, so someone said I can get WaPo free, but wouldn't condescend; and apparently there is the incognito trick; but what is it that you meant? That the quota reset today? Or that the first of the month is a quota free day? Your paywall does not seem to be like others' paywall."

I mean it's the first of the month, so you get in free until you max out. Sorry if that wasn't obvious. My sense of humor might be too subtle!

Ann Althouse said...

Meade thinks maybe I'm not appreciating YOUR sense of humor...

Michael K said...

Thank you for skimming these articles so I don't have to.

I read the LA Times web site because my wife likes to read it and I subscribe for her.

I read the Tribune to keep current on the murder totals each weekend.

The WaPo and the NY Times could offer me a price of $0.01 per month and I would not sign up.

Dude1394 said...

The Washington jornolist has about 5 articles today saying how bad it is that carrier is keeping jobs in the us. I do not think I will miss the democrat outlet much.

Birches said...

That hipster worrying about his hipster haircut just gave me another reason to hate hipsters. Of all the navel gazing, self important....

Brando said...

Look, we all have our issues with Nazis, but let's not get pissed about their haircuts! Their haircuts are fine! Can we just lay off their haircuts?

/Checking reflection to see just how Nazi my own haircut is...

Danno said...

Michael K.- Do you ever check heyjackass.com to see the Chicago "shot clock" and weekly counts of killed and wounded? It doesn't have the gory details but has lots of statistics.

khesanh0802 said...

The WaPo has lost its collective mind. After 9 months of Trump bashing they have no idea what to do next. I glance at the internet front page daily to see what anti-Trump headlines there are and who's been assigned the anti-Trump screed today. I don't read anything but her headlines anymore but I have been amused to see Jennifer Rubin's head exploding equally with E. J. Dionne's. I really admire someone who can be wrong, know they are wrong and commits to continue being wrong. It takes a special type of asshole to do that well!

Birches said...

Really, can you get the WAPO for free with Prime? We just got Prime for those regressives, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. I don't feel bad about offsetting that with a free WAPO subscription.

LYNNDH said...

It's not Nazis if there is no "Hitler" moustache.

William said...

I get a haircut around the holidays. I like to look kempt for the relatives. Mein kempt.......Odinarily I go to the barber ever two to three months. Ask for my hair to be cut short. For a couple of weeks I look respectable, i.e. Fascist, and, then, towards the end of the cycle I look like a hippie peace freak. I contain multitudes........It is said that the difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is about two weeks. That's true for most people, but here in NYC there exist creatures--male creatures!--who get their hair "styled" every week or two and pay top dollar for the privilege. They waste their lives in barber chairs to prove to the world that their time is valuable.......I wonder who spends more time fussing with their hair--Hillary or Trump?

Marc in Eugene said...

Birches, Perhaps the free WaPo was available for a limited time? I did Prime months ago and am still being able to get into the Post when I like.

Fernandinande said...

"Does this haircut make me look like a Nazi?"

Some people think my swastika codpiece makes me look like a Nazi, but I think it's actually the goose-stepping.

Curious George said...

"Does this haircut make me look like a Nazi?"

A gay Nazi perhaps.

Rick said...

Birches said...
Really, can you get the WAPO for free with Prime?


Anyone can always get free WAPO. Open the link in a new window set to whatever your browser's version of "private" is:

Internet Explorer = "Private"
Chrome = "Incognito"

This prevents the host site from connecting your session with previous uses thereby granting you whatever into access they allow newcomers. So if WAPO's limit is 5 articles you start those 5 fresh with each instance of an incognito. If you go over 5 articles in one setting you have to close all the incognito windows before starting fresh.

This works on many websites.

Rick said...

Intro access. It sucks when your typos happen to be actual words.

tcrosse said...

"Does this haircut make me look like a Nazi?"
No, it makes you look gay (not that there's anything wrong with that).

BJM said...

The WaPo is quickly morphing into Buzzfeed. Nick Denton could enlighten Bezos on how that worked out.

mikee said...

Well, Althouse, at least a post about the Washington Post is unlikely to bring you comments asking why you bother with Dowd or the rest of the New York Times.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

In a break from tradition I'll ignore the main thrust of this post to say that the Great American Campaign of 2016 changed how my family approaches media now. I've always been conservative and chafed at the reflexive unthinking automatic liberalism of the media. I eagerly adopted Rush and Fox News Channel when they appeared on the scene because I agreed with the premise: news and cultural discussions without the burden of assumption of liberal points of view. Finally there were options on TV and radio that said things I believed, honored the country I love, saw the absolute folly of the monoculture for what it is.

Beginning in 2016 the media collectively decided to reveal their fangs, show the whole world that the false premise of objectivity was the smoke-and-mirrors illusion that Rush always said it was. Objectivity was always a myth. Now it was declared so by the very arbiters of the monoculture. Even FNC and Rush became tedious though. The bullshit factor was so high in the MSM that we tuned everything out. We listened to a little Rush here and there but that was it. Outside of debates we didn't watch any TV coverage of the election if we could avoid it.

And about the second month without, I think it was October, we felt so much better and could see the mood of the country clearer by not looking directly at the news. The way a star is a little brighter when you shift your eyes slightly off of it to let the light get to your rods. Interacting with other posters here was the most I engaged with anyone outside my wife. And we could feel the surge toward Trump.

Why go back? We felt so much healthier and happier without all the manufactured negativity, which is the main product peddled by media.

Qwerty Smith said...

The hair article begins, "we need to talk about a haircut. Also about identity, and politics, and maybe about the total end of American civilization — but first about a haircut."

I despise "we need to talk." It's worse than "talk to the hand," which is rude but not actively aggressive. "We need to talk" is a thinly disguised command: "stop what you are doing and listen to me complain about you."

It is only natural that this would lead to identity politics. Such politics are based on the premise that we have an obligation to listen to others dress us down.

There is no need to worry about the end of American civilization, however. The barbarian who wrote this amply evidences that it is long dead.

Leeatmg said...

If you are using a Mac and Safari, you can get around the paywall most of the time by clicking the Show Reader View icon in the address bar. It will bring up the article, and just the article, in a nice window with no clutter and no ads. Also works for the NYT website and WSJ most of the time.

Birches said...

I know about incognito, but it's annoying when I want to read an article linked to on Twitter.

ALP said...

What is so odd about all this shitty journalism is that, at least according to Gallup polling, trust in the media is at a new low. So who reads this shit and believes it? If the polling is correct, only 30% of the population does:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx?g_source=media&g_medium=search&g_campaign=tiles

It will be interesting to see if new lows are achieved next year.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

I wanted to share a WaPo article a few days ago (the one about falling cats -- did you see that, Ann?) with my husband, so cut-and-pasted it to OpenOffice, because it was my next-to-last one of the month. I told him this, and he just went to Google News, found it, opened it, and read it. Wish I had known that a bit earlier. :-(

Bill Peschel said...

I ran into the National Review's anti-ad plugin wall and discovered that hitting the back key brought me to the article, sans curtain.

For the Daily Telegraph, there's a moment when the article appears. Before the curtain descends, I hit ctrl-A, ctrl-C and paste into a word document.

I'll have to try the incognito method with the Post, if I can stand reading their articles. Salon's been long dead to me and now Slate's getting depressing.

n.n said...

It may be a Nazi. A left-wing competitor. However, it's not a baby. They can all off the babyhunt.

JaimeRoberto said...

Sometimes a haircut is just a haircut.

Paddy O said...

Did you know that the Nazi's also had newspapers? Just like the Washington Post is! Nazis had newspapers and the Washinton Post is a newspaper. Nazis used to get almost all their news from newspapers and public radio.

I don't know why the Washington Post hasn't apologized for how newspapers have been used and for being the very thing that Nazis also had.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

I get a high & tight (1 guard & 1.5); David Beckham's hairstyle is not a high & tight. I mean, I'm not an expert...but I'm pretty sure.

When I was a kid I wanted a haircut like Beckham's--very short on the sides but long, straight, and floppy on top. It was the cool guy, surfer-type dude cut back then. My hair's too thick and curly for that, though. Good thing, I guess, or the WashPo could pull old school pictures of mine and prove my crypto-Nazi sympathies.

JamesB.BKK said...

Wishing to have the fundamental human right of free association recognized again by the US government is more like the opposite of the collectivist impulses of persons such as those that wrote and edited the article, and are working their usual playbook to smear people they disagree with about total state control. There is little evidence that many of the people desiring recognition of this right are also seeking state power to be used to oppress others unlike them. Nazis are collectivists that like to interfere with others. Right of free association promoters wish to be left alone. It is clear on which side the WaPo is.

JamesB.BKK said...

"It takes a special type of asshole to do that well!" Scott Adams has predicted that these people will not recognize that they understand nothing about how the world works and that is the reason they were so wrong. They're the smart ones! He has also predicted that we will see some real doozies as they grasp at "facts" to support their view of self despite history. Interesting reading. We will see. His predictions have been pretty good in this game so far.