"Hipster Hitler" T-shirts are taken offline amid controversy
By Ben ReiningaJune 7th, 2011, 2:00 pmComments (16)
Okay, so before I announce that they are no longer available, I should ask: how many of you actually knew that "Hipster Hitler" was a thing? I'll admit that for all my perspicacity, I did not. But, it was, first as a webcomic and then a string of online merchandise. Unsurprisingly, people have been pissed.
Martin Hosking, CEO of online retailer RedBubble.com, which seems to have been the primary vendor of Hipster Hitler paraphernalia, has agreed to remove all "Hipster Hitler" merchandise from his site after the threat of legal trouble. The site has decided to "moderate a range of controversial work on the site related to portrayals of Hitler, the Holocaust and related events."
I have to admit, when I first saw the shirt this morning, I giggled at the pun. (I'm a sucker for that sort of thing.) And, considering the internet, hipster culture, and our love for mustaches, the existence of "Hipster Hitler" merchandise seems almost like an inevitability. That said, I draw a line between giggling at something on my own private computer and buying it and wearing it around on the street. If I encountered that image on an actual T-shirt in line at a coffee shop, I'd probably have reacted differently.
Commentarium (16 Comments)
Hipster Hitler has been around for a while now. I find it rather clever, and I'm jewish. Oh well...some humor fails to please, I guess. It's like Chris Rock said...great humor should be able to make half an audience laugh, and the other half uncomfortable. Hipster Hitler is a brilliant example of that, lampooning his serious, evil ideals into absurdity. :D
I don't get it
I love hipster hitler... although i would never buy one of their shirts because i don't want the whole world thinking i'm antisemitic. (althought i dont think anyone would connect the I <3 JUICE t shirt to Hitler unless they were fans of the comics.) it's a fantastic webcomic though, and i feel bad that they won't be able to make money off their merchandise like every other controversial webcomic on the internet.
I'm one of the first to make uncomfortable jokes but I dunno, something about making light of a monster who ordered mass genocide and incited WWII just isn't funny to me. This to me is on par with a tshirt making jokes about black people and hanging...yeah, I suppose it's funny if you're a sick f*ck.
Well said, couldn't agree more.
I was wondering where the tees went. I went on Red Bubble yesterday to check and the link was dead.
I've also noticed though that they were constantly the most bought tees on Red Bubble so I'm surprised it got removed.
Btw, the Catcher in the Rhine is amazing. And being Canadian, Arcade Fuhrer was pretty good as well
Anyone who even remotely thinks of buying and wearing one of these deserves to have the shit beaten out of them very hard.
...even if they're Jewish?
BTW I'm always amused by people who engage in violent fantasies about what Should Happen to Bad People, and fail to realize that they're feeling something very similar to what those Bad People did when they carried out their plans. Hitler certainly enjoyed thinking about beating the shit out of those whom he considered Bad People, and what he felt is probably a lot like what you're feeling. There's no nobility, or even honor, in ANYONE's masturbatory violent fantasies.
Hipster Hitler wasn't so bad. He was only into the genocide of obscure minorities that you've probably never heard of.
That comment made me laugh aloud and then immediately feel bad about myself...
The hilarious/terrible irony here is that Hitler thought no one would care about the Jews because no one had cared about the Armenian genocide. So he really was into non-mainstream genocide.
(I think Hitler Hipster is pretty funny.)
They stopped selling the shirts after threat of legal action? Author, please please PLEASE post a followup explaining what legal threat could be made in America that would stand up to the FIRST AMENDMENT? I don't think we're Europe, where talking about Hitler is a crime.
He's Chairman of Aconex?
This explains the branding Aconex has.
"Aconex. The Final Solution."
A wise journalist would look at the context and intent behind the t-shirts and comics and who was purchasing them. They were all the rage with the kiddies on "Stormfront" (right below the David Duke video) and before they scrambled with damage control tactics, the jokes forum on the HH website was also very telling. It wasn't just the Hitler T's that raised eyebrows, but also the disarmingly offensive baby jumpies with slogans encouraging pedophilia, pictures of Charles Manson and Ivan Milat among other reprehensible slogans and images.
Super informative witirng; keep it up.
honestly i'd be willing to get them set up at our local printshop via etsy and help them spread their humorous tee's. theres no reason that they should have to be subjected to this just because they made light of a serious situation. family guy and south park both do the same exact thing to main stream america on a weekly basis. its a shame that i only had the chance to buy a few of the "good" designs
Now you say something