Am I A Hippie?

It is a question that pops up every now and again, and one that I am discussing in detail here.

I am not sure exactly when or how the idea wormed its way into my psyche. I am sure it has been there for quite some time, though probably not before I was incarcerated into Ye Olde Dwyer Hellhole way back in '05. I am certain that my love of '60s-'70s music is partly to blame.

The thing is, the basic core of hippie idealism is kind of hard to disagree with. I mean, who doesn't like the idea of worldwide peace and compassion? Some of the less universal aspects of it, however (i.e. free love, recreational drug use, hedonism, and, often, left-leaning politics) don't have that quality. I personally don't find anything in the list above that especially resonates with me. (If you're wondering what that says about my political views, I would be best described as a libertarian, a viewpoint that doesn't fit into the right or left of the political spectrum.) Therefore, while I'm far from being the uber-conservative Anti-Hippie, I am not a hippie ideologically.

I consider hippie-esque fashion to be cool. However, I also consider it to be hackneyed. I've never been fashionable by anyone's standards, not because I have tried and failed, but simply due to the fact that I don't give a hoot. So, the "hackneyed" part of the equation could just be the ol' "Sour Grapes" effect, as explained by my good buddy Aesop. Now, this category is slightly different from the first, as my fashion preferences aren't as set-in-stone as my ideology. I may develop an interest in hippie-esque fashion. For that matter, I have a few peace-sign shirts in my possession even now (though the number probably isn't higher than average). So, I am most likely not a hippie in terms of fashion.

The only area where I am even somewhat of a candidate for that esteemed category of Hippie-Dom is music. I consider hippie-esque music to be cool. (Note: by "hippie music" I am referring to the psychedelic genre [i.e. Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Yes, and Barrett-era Pink Floyd], along with anything peace-and-lovey that was recorded in the 1960s. Yes, I am stereotyping here. No, I am not going to do anything about it? Why? Because I'm lazy, and this post is already getting ridiculously analytical, anyway.) "Hippie music" isn't the meat-and-potatoes of the music I listen to, but I appreciate it and listen to it regularly. (If one counts Barrett-era Floyd as "hippie music", then it is safe to say that I listen to some sort of hippie music almost obsessively.)

Here it is tempting to say, "Alright, I listen to hippie-ish music; therefore I am a hippie." But that wouldn't be quite right. Many people, especially music aficionados such as myself, listen to, among other things, "hippie music." My dad likes Airplane, Hendrix, and Yes to some degree, but he isn't a hippie. If the majority of the music I cared about was "hippie music" (I am so tired of using that phrase [and these parentheses/brackets for that matter] but can't think of a suitable subsitute for either, so bear with me) then that would be a legitimate argument for the Chutney Prophet vs. The Rest Of Humanity case, but this is not so. Therefore, musically, I display some hippie-like characteristics, but not especially so.

Then there is the notion of hippie slang. I regularly use and abuse terms such as "man", "dude" and "dig." I even rip out the occasional "groovy" when the mood arises. Then again, many teens in my area regularly use "man" and "dude", and "dig", while not as common, is by no means obscure in non-hippie pop culture, either. The only thing that could really give me some Hippie Points would be "groovy", which I hardly ever use.

So...in short, the answer to this age-old question is no. I am not a hippie. If I called myself a hippie in front of a crowd of hippies, the crowd of hippies would beg to differ. If I walked up to John Lennon and asked if I was a hippie, he would most assuredly say, "No." (Granted, it is even more likely that he'd say, "Get away from me and mind your own business, stalker," but that's not the point here.) If I went back in time to Woodstock and tried to mingle with the hippie audience, they would most likely give me weird looks. I would be subjected to what is surely best described as "the social equivalent of being stoned to death." Or perhaps one of the more aggressive ones would strangle me with his/her love beads.

Man, that's how I want to die. LOVE BEAD STRANGULATION, BABY! Seriously, behind "Gilded Fiery Chariot Ascending Into The Heavens", it really doesn't get better than that.

Ramble aside, this would be my first post here at Blogspot, so I guess that deserves some sort of acknowledgement. Welcome to my blog. :)