American Dutch comedian turned “politician” Gregory Shapiro delights us with hipster Islamophobia

Hipster racism, a term coined around 2006 in an article by Carmen Van Kerckhove, is described as the use of irony and satire to mask racism. It is the use of blatantly racist comments in an attempt to be controversial and edgy. Its irony is established in a somewhat post-racial belief that blatant expressions of genuine racism are no longer taken seriously and are an outdated way of thinking, thereby making the use of such overt expressions satiric. Despite its ironic intent and context, hipster racism still appears to perpetuate prejudicial racial ideologies. The difference between more harsh forms of prejudice is that this style of speech seems appropriate and relevant ingrained in the belief that it does no real harm. Those who exhibit hipster racist tendencies seek to escape accusations of racist behaviour on the grounds that they were “only joking”.

I know I am quoting wikipedia. I would have preferred to link to the original articles at Racialicious but, alas, they’ve been hacked this past weekend so the whole site is down for now.

Above, a tweet from American-Dutch comedian Gregory Shapiro from yesterday. Usually, I would pass through this kind of hipster racism/ Islamophobia by and not give it a second thought. However, in an unexpected turn of events, this guy is now running for Amsterdam’s City Council under the banner of the “progressive and liberal” party D66. In his announcement of this “political stunt”, Shapiro writes:

YES. Today it’s official: I’m entering Dutch politics as a candidate for D66. With no hope of actually winning.

I’ve been asked by Amsterdam D66 to be a ‘Lijst Duwer’ for the 2014 local elections, Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen. Jan Paternotte is Number 1 on the Amsterdam candidate list (aka lijst trekker). He asked me to support the party by joining the list – as Number 49. In other words, I’m the ‘List Pusher.’

So, Jan Paternotte, the number one guy on the list specifically asked this comedian to be there to “push the rest of the candidates up” through his popularity. This is not some fringe guy that is running on a two person party but a local media personality specifically invited to be part of the Amsterdam political scene. To be honest, I’ve yet to find any Person of Color ever “invited” to be part of a list because their good name alone would be a boost in popularity for the party.

And how are they going to “capitalize” on his popularity? Well, at the expense of Muslim women, no less! What can be more “edgy” and “progressive” than “joking” about harassing Muslim women who wear a burqa? Woohoo, I’m sure everyone at the Party headquarters is in stitches at this “joke”.

What interests me the most in these incidents is not that a joke at the expense of a vulnerable group is made to gather “collective complicity” (HAR HAR HAR we are laughing together at this!) but that these are discourses that pass for “progressive” or “liberal”. I’ve learned to expect nothing better from the right wing (and their cronies) but constant racist and Islamophobic proposals, endless threats of deportations, stereotyping and alienation. It’s what our local right wingers do. However, this is how even those proclaiming to be “progressive” perpetuate these ideas in the public eye. This is how they contribute to “public opinion”: through jokes and “comedy” about harassing or mocking Muslim women.

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