Yesterday's hippie is todays bank manager

[Swede]

How the fuck did we go so bad so quick. We sold our souls so quickly.

[kentuck]

1. I'm not a bank manager.....

I'm a peacenik... ??????

[Terwilliger]

2. Who's we?

Real hippies would never leave.

In all fairness, however, some hippies are quite apt to live with society. They do it as socially conscious as they can.

[Swede]

6. Where did all the republicans come from?

[laruemtt]

8. too many really bad trips?

[Terwilliger]

24. They've been here all along

what do you think the sixties was about? It was an open revolt against the status quo

nothing says "status quo" like conservatism

[zeemike]

36. I want to answer the above questions

Where did the Repugs come from? They have always been with us. Even in the sixties there were young people that opposed the hippies and there supporters. Many of them were racist and were raised in a racist environment. Many of them were children of the rich and powerful and did not change because they were satisfied with the status quo.
The rich and powerful were afraid of the Hippies mostly because they were converting their children from the status quo, and they felt that they had to be stopped. And the method was to break them up into factions, which worked well enough stop the growth of the movement.
But there are some that did not sell out. And some have remained in culture they created. One of these groups is called The Rainbow Family, which still holds yearly gatherings in various places.

[HardWiredDemocrat]

3. What you mean "WE" there pardner? nm

[newyawker99]

27. Hi HardWiredDemocrat!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Hey, I was there...

And I still have the ponytail to prove it. How did we get to this? Well, that is because most of the guys who were into it couldn't have given a crusty fsck about anything but dipping their wick. A lot of them treated the women like crap and were into the trappings, but not the ethos.

Hell, that whole hippie thing lasted about 9 seconds, in truth.

[laruemtt]

5. oh goodie a big chill moment

hey, we did't ALL "go bad"! some of us are still dirt poor with no discernable career ambitions :shrug: but believe in the same ideals and try to live them as best we can. and i'm sure there one or two bank presidents with hearts of gold out there somewhere :hippie:

peace. and don't be too hard on yourself. it's a tough world to get along in, mon!

[karlschneider]

7. I was a hippie and a professional pilot for years in the 70s. Then

I became an entrepreneur and retained the hippie "philosophy", pretty much. It -is- possible to work within and be in the system and still oppose it. I know that sounds like a dichotomy but give the concept a bit of consideration.

Remember the story of the Trojan horse.
;-)

[JanMichael]

10. From now I see you as a Trojan!

Or condom...

Both are VITALLY IMPORTANT warriors though:-)

[karlschneider]

14. Giggle.........

;-)

[JanMichael]

23. Right back at ya'!

Keep up the Resistance!!!!!!

I know I'm but a pup in this struggle, I'm only 35, but I'm one committed agitator (No not a sexual toy!!!). I gain much strength from my parent's contemporaries.

[JanMichael]

9. Even though it's a generalized comment, I know what you mean.

I'm disappointed in many of (There are plenty that have held up quite well, my parents as an example) the Booooooomers too. Talking the talk and walking the walk seems to be have been too much for the Progressives of that bunch. That said they'll have several chances to redeem themselves over the next twenty years.


I believe that they'll get re-energized soon, economics will force it. Sad, but true, most radicals get fat and happy over time and only the threat of losing the Brie wakes them up.

Go team!

[Swede]

16. I know people that did acid that now deny smoking pot

It's like this didn't happen. And don't even mention free love.

[Flubadubya]

35. I don't deny any of it...

and I actually think I'm a better person for it now. Shoot, I haven't smoked pot in about 25 years but have been thinking only recently how it might be nice to fire up a good doobie again. Everybody needs a refresher course now and then. O8)

Just an additional thought... on a more serious note. After reading all the posts, I can say this about "change". My core philosophies and value base have changed little since the '60s/'70s. If nothing else, they have just been refined. I certainly don't feel that I have "sold out to the establishment".

I still hate the things that conservatives stand for, even more so now because they have become so aggressive and belligerent with them. I did not become a "banker" and certainly NOT a rethug. I use my talents to the best of my abilities and hold a modest job that provides a liveable income. I still have a "vision" for brotherhood and peaceable co-existence on this planet, but I'm afraid that dream is going to take a great deal more time and refinement than is available in most our lifetimes.

Nevertheless, if it hadn't been for the 'peace, love, and understanding' generation of the sixties, we would probably be even more regresssed than we are today. PEACE - NAMASTE :hippie:

Talkin' 'bout my generation, yeah, yeah, yeah!!

[sujan]

39. hear ye

[Dirk39]

11. Same in Europe somehow...

I would really like to fully understand this. In a way, the "'68 generation" - that's how we call them in Germany - is much worse than anything you could ever imagine coming out of this "68-rebellion". They are far worse than our former established elites. In a way, we have one more chapter in the book, 'cause the greens were very successfull in Europe, esp. in Germany. We have a social democrat/green coalition as our government for years, now. These former vulgar-marxists are much more opportunistic, conformistic and cynical than the people, they opposed so long ago. It's as if they'd still have the same vulgar theory of capitalism as decades ago, but now they are on the other side of the road. Our minister of foreign affairs, Joschka Fischer, might be the worst example. I know, that a lot of these people are not like this, and I know, that a lot of these people might still be there, but unheard and unrecognized. But what was it about this "rebellion" in the 60ies, that has led to the mess, we face today. What's the reason, that these people are worse today, than their enemies of yesterday. I still don't get it.
Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[David Zephyr]

12. I'm Not a Bank Manager, Either.

And most of my counter culture friends have raised beautiful children who are all now young adults and are vegans and activists and make me feel good about the future.

Don't despair.

There is a truly great new generation coming up now who are all between 16-28 and have great values. It is inspiring.

They have all the right stuff.

I like this younger generation a lot. I'm a huge fan of theirs.

[Dirk39]

13. One peculiar thing about those succesfull hippies...

in Germany is, that nearly all of them weren't "hippies" in the past. A majority of the greens in Germany, who are now part of the government, were stalinists, maoists or, like our minister of foreign affairs Joseph Fischer, violent terrorists.
Dirk

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

15. Fuck hippies

Fuck hippies and the 1960's rich kid radicals like Kathy Boudin who didn't mind killing working class people for their political fetishes. Screw the bobos - bohemian bourgoise bullshit artists who bitch about war as they fill up their SUV - they need it to haul around their skiing equipment, how environmental! Fuck the dumb-ass college stoners who have nothing better to do than drive around in polluting vehicles following their favorite circus act and "working" to legalize pot. This is serious business. Just shut up and vote Democratic! :)

/end rant

[Mikimouse]

17. Speak for yourself, kimo sabi

n/t:hippie:

[starroute]

18. It's more that all the honest people opted out of the system

And were never allowed and/or willing to get back in.

In other words, the problem isn't that the hippies became bank managers -- it's more that they *didn't* become bank managers, or politicians for that matter.

The politicians of the same age as the hippie generation range from spoiled frat-boys like Bush on the right to Kennedy-wannabe idealists like Clinton on the left. In other words, all the people who still believed in the system c. 1968.

The people who lost faith in the system are still out there fighting the good fight, but they've never had access to political power. Their absence may be part of the reason things have turned so sour, but they haven't sold their souls.

[dflprincess]

19. I don't get it

The moon WAS in the seventh house
And Jupiter DID align with Mars

So what went wrong?

[RobinA]

20. I Wonder About This Myself

I suppose for a lot of people it was just fashion (there's the Big Chill paraphrase). I was a hippie and am now working as a social worker and am in grad school for psychology. I had my (long) stint in corporate America and hated it with a purple passion. It took 'til age 40 to get things right again (I was right the first time when I was 20), but I did finally do it. I know some people who never drank the Kool Aid, but far too many who did. It's a shame. I'm frquently not proud of my fellow Boomers.

[jiacinto]

21. They grew up

Many of these radicals simply were more interested in making noise and getting attention than the causes for they were supposedly protesting. They were also young and idealistic. They didn't have to support themselves or anyone else.

But when these people finally left college, when they actually had to settle down and pay bills, things changed. They also grew up and matured. When one has to pay bills and taxes issues become quite different. And then they became conservative.

[mrbill]

28. Rebutal to above statement.

"Many of these radicals simply were more interested in making noise and getting attention than the causes for they were supposedly protesting. They were also young and idealistic. They didn't have to support themselves or anyone else."

How many "radicals" were making noise and showboating during the Viet Nam protests? Maybe less than 1%. They gave the movement a bad name. Lots of them were agent provacatours. Over 99% of those involved were in it for the ending the stupid war, not themselves.

Viet Nam is only one "cause". Say the word "hippie" and the environment also comes to mind. More of a public education program than a protest?

Young and idealistic and young and stupid, it takes all kinds.

So junior radical got a monthly check from mommy and daddy to pay the monthly nut? Once again, maybe one out of a hundred. Real "hippies" could live cheap, that was one of the rules. In the 60's-70's supporting yourself was no problem, rent was $65.00.

The day job at the department store would cover everything with cash left over for French resturants.

"But when these people finally left college, when they actually had to settle down and pay bills, things changed. They also grew up and matured. When one has to pay bills and taxes issues become quite different. And then they became conservative."

That's a good question. How many hippies/radicals/protesters went to college during this era? 30% maybe?

How does paying bills change the way you feel about life and what is fair and logical? Do property taxes change you into a republican?

What's so silly about peace, love and understanding?

[G_j]

29. you weren't there

so I'll take what you say with a smile and a grain of salt.

:-)

[mrbill]

30. who wasn't there?

[G_j]

33. not you

but Carlos, who is, relatively speaking, a youngster. :-)

[G_j]

31. ok, laugh at me but..

hippies were a not the same as 'flower children'. Being a 'hippie' never meant having any particular ideal beyond having fun. "Flower children'(for lack of a better description), had ideals and visions of a better world. We are still here, still trying.

[rman]

43. strange to hear that from a democrat

Are you saying you never grew up?
Or maybe you think the only mature democrat is a RW democrat?

[OrdinaryTa]

22. Myths About Young People

I've been reading "Dispatches from the Culture Wars" by Danny Goldberg, which disputes the claim that the sensibility of the hippies - actually, young people in the 1960's - has disappeared from American life. Democrats have simply abandoned young people, says Goldberg.

Woodruff: What do you say to those Democrats, though, who just somehow seem to feel uncomfortable with young people and some of this culture or much of the culture that young people embrace?

Goldberg: Well, they have to get over it. Look what Tip O'Neill did as speaker of the House. At the peak of Reagan's popularity, he was an inside politician who had no media savvy. He was older than any of these candidates. And yet he studied pop culture because he was determined to win.

He went on the TV show "Cheers." He used emotional language, saying how Reagan was surrounded by rich people, had ice water in his veins.

He stopped cuts in Social Security; he stopped the war in Nicaragua because he had the discipline and the commitment to victory to learn how to communicate with ordinary Americans. If Democrats want to win they have to get over their snobbishness and reach out to the real America and not just inside Washington America.



http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/06/17/judy.page.goldberg/

[Swede]

25. Joe Scarborough still listens to Kiss and the Who

And if he didn't smoke dope I'll eat my bong. where have all the flower people gone?

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. Maybe they all turned into football fans (n/t)

[gate of the sun]

26. some of yesterday's hippie are

today's bank managers.Not all and not all have "sold out" as the argument goes. Yes some succumbed to pressures to "earn a living" so to speak. It's tough to change everything. Plenty of ole"hippies" out there protesting this last year. Say what you will they had their part in making a change. WE could learn from them. Where are the major protests against the Iraq war now???????Especially know when it's begun to be know how bogus the whole situation is..We should all get out again and protest protest protest. From now until the election.

[Ress1]

34. It's no surprise so many hippies are now GOPers.

The Viet Nam war was brought on and sustained by government lies and was the source for countless protests, they've not trusted government since.

[jiacinto]

37. Also they grew up

nt

[Terwilliger]

40. heh

The only way that hippies are GOP is that they were never hippies in the first place.

Anybody who employed the love that is at the center of that feeling could never be a Republican.

[Ress1]

47. This may surprise you and very seldom talked about,

but not all hippies were Dems. and all Dems were not hippies.

[maxanne]

38. horse hockey

It's not as if the hippies were the majority - even back then. Sure some sold out. A lot of people are still quietly doing the right thing.

What some my friends are doing:
One runs an agency for profoundly disabled folks. Her husband is a nurse practitioner who works out of a hospital, and does a methadone clinic, a clinic for homeless folks, and a clinic for people with AIDs.
One owns a restaurant, and uses as much local produce and forage as possible.
One runs a non-profit coalition working against homelessness
One is a librarian/genealogist
A bunch are teachers
Some are writers
Some are still activists - the kind that get arrested and go to jail.

I am a community organizer, and work p/t as a DUI program instructor, and write a weekly editorial column for the local paper.

Spare me the "they grew up and had to pay the bills" rap. That's a right wing line, and it's not true. Some sold out, but many remain true - there just wasn't a single mobilizing cause till the war came along. There are no leaders, either - which hurts us, imo.

[donsu]

41. maybe some are bankers but most are still themselves

hippy wasn't a way of dressing

hippy is a state of mind

mindful things like peace

[bigtree]

42. we need more hippie bankers

and more hippie pols , too!

[Character Assassin]

44. Quite frankly, so what? What's wrong with being a bank manager?

Would you prefer someone a bit more starry-eyed to manage your money or administer your loan?

[rman]

45. since you asked for it

- we know there's big time corruption
- we know to "follow the money" in order to unravel the corruption
- we know money doesn't disappear, it changes hands

Wrt to following the money: there is another layer on top of corporations and government. That's not a secret, it's a matter of seeing the significance of it.


1787 - President Thomas Jefferson
"All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America rise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation."

1818 - President Thomas Jefferson
"I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."

1829 - President Andrew Jackson
"You (the Bankers) are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the grace of the eternal God, I will rout you out."
"If Congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given to be used by themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations."

~1880? - Chancelor Otto Von Bismarck
"The death of Lincoln was a disaster. I fear that foreign bankers with their craftiness and tortuous tricks will entirely control the exuberant riches of America and use it to systematically corrupt modern civilization. They will not hesitate to plunge the whole of (humanity) into war and chaos in order that the earth shall become their inheritance."

1881 - President James Abram Garfield (assasinated)
"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce."

1920 - Sir Josiah Stamp, President of The Bank of England
"Banking was conceived in iniquity, and was born in sin. The Bankers own the Earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create deposits and with the flick of the pen, they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it (the power to create deposits) away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear, and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But if you wish to remain the slaves of Bankers, and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create deposits."

1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt
The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson. History depicts Andrew Jackson as the last truly honorable and incorruptible American president."

1966 - Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve
"Deficit spending is simply a scheme for confiscation of wealth."

[Character Assassin]

46. Oh, please. So all bank managers are now corrupt?

Despite each and every one of those quotes, banking is absolutely essential to the functioning of not just ours, but the world economy.

Try not to extrapolate the venality expressed in those quotes to the manager of your community bank or corner savings and loan.

[rman]

50. banking as private enterprise is unconstitutional

as Jackson explained.

Sure, banking managers as such aren't all corrupt. The problem is more with the CEO types and the fact that Banking is the prime manifestation of the Biggest Scam Of All Time.

[Swede]

51. Sorry if I stepped on toes, I was only using an icon of conservatism

as the opposite of a hippie. Dude.

[Bandit]

48. Don't trust anyone over thirty

I guess when I broke that barrier I can no longer be called a hippie. However my beliefs have not changed except for the "Tune In~ Turn On ~ Drop Out" I dropped back in. I be bad :spank:

[ElkHunter]

49. Those bank managers...

...were never hippies. They were in fact the straights and jocks we all knew in high school who couldn't be bothered with world affairs or politics in one of the most politicaly earth-shaking decades in American history. As strange as it seems now I was a yippie organizer in the early 70's. So for me to have become a Democrat means that I've moved a big step to the right. But my politics still put me on the left wing of the Democratic party. Moreover, I still hang out with my friends of thirty years ago. While our political views have certainly changed (or evolved) over the years, not one of us has become a conservative. More remarkable to me is the fact that we come from a city and region (Spokane, Washington) that is politically conservative and yet our political views still remain liberal. I seriously doubt that many activists from 30 years ago are conservatives today.

[Swede]

52. PJ O'Rourke is now a card carrying nazi

Swastika with little ss slashes on the side. He used to write for National Lampoon.

[mitchum]

53. But Tony Hendra said that he still came off like a narc at NatLamp