[Note: this is a political diatribe not aimed at my readers and so I will understand if you wish to skip this post]
Not all people over sixty were hippies. I know many older people who are actively protesting against the current attempt at tyranny who’ve never been on a commune in their lives. Who’ve never gone to Haight Ashbury and worn flowers in the hair; who’ve never rocked out to a Grateful Dead concert and dropped acid. The young whippersnappers who are dissing older protesters by calling them “Elderly White Hippies” are in for a big surprise. Don’t tell them though. They won’t believe you.
Nor were all hippies white although I will concede that the majority of the self-described hippies I met way back when were the children of white or whitish upper middle class professionals. For some of them, being a hippie was just a phase (I fall into that category). And after a few vagabond years, they settled into what could be described as normal lives. But many “hippies” turned their experiences on communes into lives devoted to socially and environmentally aware living. Many did great things. For sure, we changed the world although not as much as we’d naively hoped.
And so, if you’re over a certain age, sing along with me. Even if you’re not, someday, if you’re lucky, you will be. Might as well get prepared for the dissing of the young and clueless whippersnappers.
THEY SAY WE’RE OLD AND WE DON’T VOTE
They say we’re old and we don’t vote
All we do is sleep and watch TV
They don’t know the risk they take
For dissing one’s elders never turns out great.
Although it’s true, we may smoke pot,
At least I’m sure of all the things we got
We’ve got the time, to organize.
We’ve got the patience, to see it through.
And if they think we’re scared, then they don’t know,
about the Four Dead in Ohio.
Let them say our hair’s too gray
We don’t care. What we’ve got, they cannot take away
So, put your wrinkled hand in mine
There ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb.
Apologies to Sonny and Cher
Saying nothing in particular 
Ha!
My husband was definitely not a hippie. The man went to Woodstock, turned around and left. 😱
But he’s an active protester now. No commune required.
We’ve got some real ding-dongs running the country.The people I know who are organizing are much more action oriented than the typical non-violent flower power people of the sixties.
Another Boomer protester here who was never a hippie. (or even aspired to be)
It’s the same thing as saying immigrants are eating cats and dogs – another distraction.
This is just Magical…I am marching and singing all the way 💜💜💜
Thanks Willow!
Trump eats it. As does every person that supports Trump. I can hardly get my head around the fact that my country contains an abundance of big-time jerks.
Damn right!
I was a bit young to be an actual hippie but I did plenty of protesting with my mother. I have a t-shirt that says, “The Hippies Were Right” and I get a lot of smiles when I wear it (along with a few snide remarks, but who cares?). I hate that we have so much to protest nowadays, but I’m happy to be a part of the resistance.
I was also on the tail end of the movement. It sadly devolved into drugs for many but not all. I think the word hippie is just a convenient bugaboo for MAGA like so many other words.
HI Jan, you did a good job with the song parody. Do the young people support the current political regime then? Is it the older people who are against much of what’s happening? It will impact young people a great deal if the economy goes into a complete decline due to poor policy making so I’m surprised. Young people are usually more liberal than the older generations.
Thanks – that’s a good question. The young people are split – many see things like Gaza and have distain for all politicians. Others see liberal philosophies as a threat to their manhood and become basically Nazis. Down the middle – well we shall see.
Your response is very interesting. My sons are both liberal and are vocal about their views. Sometimes we all argue 😉
I’ll second the “diatribe”. I was a tad too young to be a hippie. Not to memtion that living in Africa wasn’t close to Haights Ashbury…
It seems to me that the world we live (lived?) in was shaped not really by Baby Boomers, but by by war babies. Lennon, McCartney et al were born in the early 40’s. Us 50ers surfed along. The world they (and us) invented is very clear to me: A World of Freedom and Tolerance.
My personal fight then -and still now, as much as I can- is for Freedom. Freedom from Colonialism (indirectly). I lived in Africa in the immediate years after Independence. I was little. I watched. Then later on, it was my freedom. Freedom to make my own decisions, not what parents or Society told me to do. Freedom to choose one’s own path. Freedom for women. In my Freshman years, at my business school in France, there wasn’t more than 15% women. Now? I read a Pew Center report a few years back, 60% of women of a generation now go to College. Sthg like 40% of men. (Guess who votes MAGA?)
Tolerance? I remember in my generation there was one openly gay guy. So? Good for you. Can you play tarot? (A French card game.) Tolerance. Forget about Diversity. I suspect it’s not the “right” concept. I like Tolerance better.
So FREEDOM was the name of the game. And we more or less made it. What do the fascists in power want now? To kill FREEDOM. Freedom of thought, of creed, anything you like. Next thing on the agenda? Women will be herded back to reproduction camps. “Where they belong.” (Os so they don’t say yet).
Americans will march on Labor Day. Great. They should march every day. Otherwise? We’re all doomed for many years…
Sorry for the rant. (I’ve also lived in a few countries ruled by dictators. I know what it means. Every day.)
And thanks for the space. (Lord have mercy on America.) (And the rest of the world.)
You bring an important perspective. You are right – Americans have no idea what life under a dictatorship is like and seem to think it’s some kind of reality show they can turn on or off. Young men in America follow a nincompoop like Trump because they have been told repeatedly that their manhood is in danger. Fortunately Trump is a sick old man whose enablers can only prop him up for so long.It’s just a matter of how much damage they will do and if we’ll ever recover.
Thank you Jan. Yes, perspective. Having said that, there are other countries where sexual assault seems to be growing. France is one, judging by the number of trials…
Sick old man? I keep telling myself that. Though evil tends to live long.
And yes, spot on, how much damage will he and his sycophants do?
America will recover. I’m sure of that. The next question is: how long will it take?
🤞🏻🤚🏻🤚🏻🤞🏻🤚🏻🤞🏻
I like this post.
I like Brian’s comment. It is realistic, and yet, hoeful.
Thank you, Jan!
He’s lived under dictatorships. They don’t last forever but they can cause so much damage. So unnecessary.
I found you via the Priorhouse Interview awhile back…neatly nestled after a blogger I followed for years (Tierney) and before today’s blogger I’ve also followed for years, Janis. Just subscribed and thought this would be the best post to say hi. Love the post!
peace
Hi! And welcome! Thanks for subscribing. I will check you out as well. Jan
Loved this, Jan!