Why is self-hatred trending?
So it’s a very slow news day, Pipe didn’t run and hasn’t since late 2006, the surf in front of my home is filled with Hepatitis C etc. which gives my mind too much space to wander. And today it wandered back to the Dane Reynolds vs. Inertia blood feud that captivated the nation just one week ago.
Do you remember how glorious it was? When it happened here and Dane responded here and Zach Weisberg waded in to the fray, paternalistically and unnecessarily to condescend Dane here?
Zach’s passive aggressive milquetoast was so complete that it represents the high water mark of the genre but there was one sentence that I passed over and it was this:
Like it or not, The Inertia is a pretty accurate composite of what the surf and outdoor world looks like on this planet today.
A few of our wonderful folk disagreed in the comment section but I’ve heard this refrain before. Our own Rory Parker is one who even agrees with it or did in the same comment section.
But our sweet Rory Parker and his ilk have had too many Blue Hawaiis and are all the way wrong!
People who surf, or “surfers” for lack of a better word, come from wildly diverse backgrounds yes. Some of us work in the construction arts, some are teachers, some are salt-crusted surf hounds and some are hippy-hip-hip hipsters. Some surf on the weekends some surf weekdays some surf twin fins some surf Kelly Slater Designs some wear booties and earplugs some don’t.
We are diverse but not stupidly sensitive dim-witted humorless jackasses and that is what The Inertia is and that is who they represent.
Which brings me to my real point. Why is it fashionable to shit on people who surf? Oh I get that we are selfish. That we are rude and ill-mannered and not “cool” but to liken all surfers to Inertia-stye drivel is self-hatred to an unnecessary degree.
So why are some surfers so self-hating? Why is it trending in some corners?
Anyone?
Having schlepped to the ends of the earth over the weekend to invest time in various sub-cultural activities, ( surfing on the Gold Coast and musical reunion type stuff), I’m all for suitably directed hatred.
If you are attempting to ride an sup in a crowded lineup without any reasonable amount of control, ‘coaching’ your child in said shitty waves, or your stance involves keeping your front foot the same distance from the nose as your back foot is from the tail, my internal monologue is high level mockery.
What’s worse is being dragged down to those levels. More self-hatred please.
I am an avowed self-hater. 20+ years in the water and I prefer the term, “person who surfs.” Here’s an alternate explanation for the trend: exposure. In previous decades, those of us in the bubble outside bro culture could plausibly deny the surfer stereotype. Sure, we heard the bong-addled drawls and rampant homophobia in the water, but elsewhere there was less saturation. There were even a few professionals who seemed intelligent, introspective even – Bugs, Shaun Tomson, Barton, maybe 1-2 others. But it’s plainly obvious this was less a function of that generation being somehow less stereotypically “surfer” and more about how much we heard from them. Social media & the digital age – for all the wonders they’ve afforded us – have done no favors to the notion of surfers as morons. Sure, we can stream massive Cloudbreak from the safety of our couches, but attendant to that is hearing Dave Wassell, Martin Potter, Alex Gray and countless other stammering hacks wrestle with basic language. Yes, we’re in on the occasionally nail-biting WSL heat, but for every Hail Mary no-grab, comes a sobering post-heat chat with Seabass or John John or Jordy or any of the other real life Spicolis postered on your son’s wall. Twitter gives us immediate access to the daily doings of our superheroes, which more often than not is a bland mix of Fishtales-style cackling misogyny, not-so-subtle racism (see:Wilko’s “Godzirra!” missives from recent Tokyo jaunt) and hardly-humble-bragging on every air landed (Julian’s trademark #JW100 is especially gross)…of course all of it peppered with 3rd grade level grammatical missteps (oh the agony of it’s/its/your/you’re). We circulate & celebrate as “epic” clips/IGs from new school “legends” – Mason, Burger – who suffer sad & obvious cognitive disabilities. The heralded outliers – Ozzie, Dion – were okay from a distance, but up close – for all their button downs and wacky paint jobs – they walk the same walk and talk the same, embarrassing talk. And we’re okay with this. We seem to say, “That’s who we are!” But the truth is, that’s not who we all HAVE to be.
I think we can agree that on some level – certainly at the “I do this for a living” level – surfing is suspended adolescence. The majority of these men…are boys. And maybe children really are best seen, not heard. Maybe we could stem the tide of self-hating by returning control of the narrative back to the gatekeepers rather than hand a mic to the barn animals…but that option has long since vanished. It’s no fault of The Inertia – Zach is just like the rest of ‘em – trading ANDY RULED! page space for a head nod at Foodland. And it’s no fault of BeachGrit – your reactionary embrace of “surfers being surfers!” has a certain charm. The problem is just that this pursuit, wonderful as it is, breeds dumb dumbs. And now more than ever, those dumb dumbs get to talk. Had Derek Ho or Shane Beschen had Twitter at the end of their thumbs, I’m sure this trend would have flourished ages ago.
jesus christ that’s some serious self hate there wyatt.
hey chas, i think i found your new writer^^^^^^^
Construction arts? I like that. Why am I posting here?–Believe the Inertia has ‘an agenda’. Its like the Inertia writers–(not contributors)–want to keep you kissing the so called pros okoles–and to keep you feeling inferior to them–so you keep coming back to their funky website–instead of encouraging everyone to just to go out and do their own thing, tune out the WSL, the so called pros and wannabee pros–the winners–the losers–and actually have a real surf experience of their own. Warshaw leaves the Inertia in the dust and makes them look like a bunch of gremmie “Former” writers….
Hey Chas–were prayin for you….
please leave freerider your who he’s talking about you fucking barney
I don’t think surfers are self-hating. I think I’m pretty great. It’s all those other surfers who aren’t me that tend to be dicks.
“”The Inertia is the new voice of surf, mountain, and outdoor culture … Founded in 2010, The Inertia reaches 1.5 million+ readers monthly””
?
Dude we are the shit, Can I borrow your phone I’ve got to call my mom for a ride, are you going to eat the rest of that pizza, I heard you say couch near a surf spot earlier?
OK well I bet there are no teachers who ride Kelly Slater Designs while wearing booties and earplugs. I mean there’s no way.
i know a teacher that rides a Kelly board an wears ear plugs, but no booties. almost had a full house