Proposed: Hipster millennials are GOOD for pipe smoking

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tslex

Lifer
Jun 23, 2011
1,482
13
OK, topic for discussion.
Context:

I'm old, verging on codger at 58, and I've been smoking a pipe for nearly 40 years. I learned at the knee of several certified codger uncles.
Proposition:

I'm FINE with all the hipster interest in pipe smoking. Indeed, I encourage it. They are GOOD for pipe smoking. So welcome Mr. Man-Bun, Skinny-Jeans, Big-Beard, Ironic Glasses Guy. Have a seat, pack a bowl, enjoy.
Rationale:

Yeah, I get it. A lot of the millennials' interest in pipes comes from a dubious, fashion-driven place. And most of the 28-year-olds dropping $500 on a pipe and tobacco and an engraved lighter before they've smoked their first cob will, soon enough, walk away in favor of the Next Cool Thing®.
But., . . well, two "buts."
But No. 1 is that some of them won't. Some of these kids will find the pleasures of pipe smoking just as abiding as we old farts do and they will stay with it, meaning the pastime won't die with us.
But No. 2, though, is bigger (I like big buts and I cannot lie. . .sorry): I think these kids are good for the whole undertaking. They approach all their interests with an intensity, study and passion that can, at the best, elevate the state of the art. In the same way that it is easier now that it was 10 years ago to find a bar that really knows how to make a good Manhattan, because "cocktail culture" became a thing for them, I think their sharp interest in pipe smoking is already bringing new ideas about the crafts of pipemaking and tobacco blending.
Sure, some of it gets a little silly, just like with the cocktails. But the rising tide lifts all boats.
I also think some of the interest these kids have in pipes has to do with an desire -- maybe inchoate and unspoken, but real -- to tap into a time and place where values and simple manhood were simpler, better understood and more appreciated. If that's even a little true, then that's good not just for pipes, but for the state of the nation.
What say you?

 
I do not have a problem either way. The hobby, pastime, addiction can die out with me. Screw the next generation, or... someone who dresses or wears their hair different from me carries the torch. I really don't care either way.

I also have no problems with hipsters. I have lived through seeing groovers with sideburns, spiked hair, rat tails, long hair, hippies, bikers, metal heads, I really don't see any differences between any of this stuff. Any divisions would have to be among themselves. Hipster is just another one of those people who do something different from me, and I really don't care what they do. I have nothing against them... as long as they keep out of my damn yard. :puffy:
Why would pipesmoking dying off after you leave this mortal coil worry you? I kinda hope the world loses tobacco altogether after I'm gone... or an asteroid hits... same thing... doesn't bother me. :puffy:

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
What say you?
I say that I agree with you 100%.
I've never understood the desire to look down one's nose at somebody as if they're "less than" or don't deserve to partake in the same experience because they came to it via a different road or motivation. Who cares what their motivations are? They're supporting the industry and helping to ensure stuff is still available.
Anytime I hear someone include: "They're not a REAL pipe smoker (or geek, or fan or whatever...)," I discredit the rest of what they have to say. It's no one's right to set the threshold of what qualifies as a "genuine" do-er of things.
Mind. Yo. Business. ;)
Great post.

 

Civil War

Lifer
Mar 6, 2018
1,552
396
I think it's a positive development, the more people enjoying pipes and good tobacco the better. Helps counter the militant anti smoking zelots!!

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Since many of them don't have a full time job, smoking a pipe makes them feel like a real adult.
Many of everybody these days don't have a full-time job, and not necessarily by choice. Grump. :lol:

 
Many of everybody these days don't have a full-time job, and not necessarily by choice. Grump. :lol:

Jeesh, watching friends my age and my wife look for a job with today's built in ageism and internet applications... And, hardly anyone paying over $10 an hour... I think we are living in the crap heap of employment. If it comes to me ever having to find another one, I guess I am just screwed to be a greeter at Walmart.

Getting a job is nothing like it was twenty or more years ago. I challenge anyone to try to get one over 50 these days.
And, both of my daughters are working three jobs and in college, because hardly anyone will give you 40 hours these days.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,206
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
What say you?
Not a subject I'd waste my time thinking about. They are cute though, in their wee hats and underdeveloped facial hair. So, just from a humor stand point, sure. Why not? I mean throw a pipe into that picture and ...
The obverse of the OP is what about those thinking of taking up the pipe that are turned off by the possibility of being perceived as a "hipster"? Cuts both ways so, in the final analysis, "I really could not care less."

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
@tslex, THAT was a great post! Honest, thoughtfull, well written, and full of glaring humor. Big butts, man-buns, old farts; wonderful. You made me smile.
I agree, any and all attention to pipe smoking is a good thing. Times do change and the next generation will not indulge the same. But darnit, we are now a minority and we are the bad guys. I sure as heck want a hipster millennial on our side in order to communicate to the others why our rights need to be defended.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Jeesh, watching friends my age and my wife look for a job with today's built in ageism and internet applications... And, hardly anyone paying over $10 an hour... I think we are living in the crap heap of employment.
No doubt about it, and the problem isn't just ageism. Even HAVING a full-time job isn't a guarantee of anything these days, either. Both my wife and I work full-time in "legitimate" professions. I, an insurance agent, and she the office manager of a senior living community. You'd think with such gainful employment, we'd be able to purchase a decent home, invest for retirement or even accumulate savings. No dice - certainly not where we live, which admittedly is our choice, but it is the area we've determined has the best educational opportunity for our 6 year old. So, we eek by and are constantly looking for ways to improve our station, but it just begs the question: Why should we have to? Seems like what we're doing should be good enough to be comfortable. :sigh:
Anyway, hipsters are a'ight.

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
jVpqVCu.jpg


 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,602
14,666
but it just begs the question: Why should we have to? Seems like what we're doing should be good enough to be comfortable.
The short answer is because the middle class has been slowly but surely being eliminated/dismantled over a period of decades now. The how and why is a discussion that can't be had here.

 

irishearl

Lifer
Aug 2, 2016
2,146
3,762
Kansas
I'm 64 3/4 yo, but if a hipster is someone who sports beards, wears hats, and smokes a pipe, guess I am one. 8) Though none of those stingy brimmed hats. Has to be wide-brimmed fedora.

 

bluto

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 24, 2018
737
8
I don't know the total value of the industry , but it's a relatively small economy which could sputter and die easily. part of the industry is artisan pipes and traditional pipe making , which must be relatively large compared to sales for the brown and black stuff that goes in them. .
So yes , celebrate the support from the new demographic , no business minded person is going cater to a dwindling group of ex rockers and old hippies , it's a losing bet.

 

mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,290
23,320
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I thought hipsters vaped and never touched a pipe.
Personally, it doesn't matter much to me anyway, but I do agree that more people enjoying fine tobacco well is a good thing. A rising tide, and boats and all that.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
The short answer is because the middle class has been slowly but surely being eliminated/dismantled over a period of decades now. The how and why is a discussion that can't be had here.
Yeah - it was mostly rhetorical. I wasn't trying to be political - or a bummer. It's just something that's been weighing on me for a while now. I apologize!

 
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