This morning, Robert J. Samuelson starts his political column with this:
My younger son calls the Toyota Prius a “hippie car.” Not that Prius drivers are “hippies.” Toyota says that typical buyers are 54 and have incomes of $99,800; 81 percent are college graduates. But like hippies, they’re making a loud lifestyle statement: We’re saving the planet; what are you doing?
Isn’t it amazing that nearly 40 years later, people still use hippy as a slur? It says volumes about Samuelson’s character that his younger son uses it that way. Bigotry is hereditary. Worse, it is deliberately passed on to the young, so, it may be more like child abuse.
Samuelson and son are bigots.Moreover, what does Samuelson think became of hippies? Surely some of them finished college and got good jobs. Those that lived would be in their 50’s and older. Does that escape Samuelson?
Say what you will about hippies — though if you’ve never met one, you don’t know what you’re talking about, like a bigot — their core beliefs were that the people can change the nation and that peace and love are more important than war. No wonder conservatives still hate them. mjh
PS: I wonder what Samuelson & Son think about Humvies and the loud lifestyle statement their drivers make. “Good conservative values,” no doubt.
Mark, I’m not sure I agree with you that Samuelson is using the term pejoratively (at least not in the paragraph you quote). Why do
you interpret it negatively? It seems you jump to conclusions about Samuelson & son just as quickly as you seem to think they do
about hippies.
I guess I think it could be a slur, but I’m not so sure. Hippy does describe a certain lifestyle — including an
awareness of the planet.
It does seem to me most middle-age hippies have the core beliefs you mention and also another one. Not
to get too worked up about actually doing anything about any of it. (And some of my closest relatives are hippies.)
When the Dean of New Mexico bloggers suggests I be more temperate, I must try. (That’s not meant as
sarcastically as it may sound.)
How about “judgmental”? If you can accept that for Samuelson, I can accept that for myself.
I hope my poor choice of words doesn’t obscure Samuelson’s sweeping claim that all Prius owners are posers loudly putting down
everyone else. That seems worthy of some response. (I don’t own a Prius; I recycle cars.)
I shall seek the fine balance between
jumping quickly and not actually doing anything.
Thanks for reading and commenting. peace, mjh