new thread
Hi all
I've worn my Hair long for years, and of course on the odd occasion I had received some verbal abuse from others (in 1995 one Guy even threatened me). Its rare though, until last night sadly, it came from a few kids on bikes, Yes they were kids but they kept cycling around me trying 'goad' me ,as it were, then said somethings regarding my Lady which made nearly go for them. As i said its rare, but one word they used which had been used on me before which I absolutely hate - and that word is 'Hippie'. I cannot begin to say how much I detest that word now, it was the most common word used on me years ago, and last night just brought it all back. Calling me a 'F'ing Hippie' makes my blood boil.
Does anyone else feel the same?
BTW, I repeat that any abuse I've suffered has been rare thankfully, I've always been respected in any job i've had, including my current one (where there are 2 other long-haired guys) though it seems that,few though they have been, they still stick in my mind sometimes.
Hang in there man, you made it through. I too hate being called hippie as i'm far from one...though I've only been called it in a joking sense by friends. I've never actually had any abuse at all for my hair come to think of it. Worst is my mom occasionally giving me the "Phil you'd look so hansome with a nice shrot haircut" but my parents never really even gave me a hard time.
As far as your situation goes, you handled it well. You probablu could have beat the crap out of a bunch of stupid punks but you chose not to which is much better and much harder honestly lol. You did well and I'm sure your lady is behind you on that.
Next time MAYBE jam a stick in between their spokes lol.
Take care, stay true, and thanks for sharing.
-Phil
When I was younger, every once in a while someone would call me a Hippie. Never bothered me, all I would do was laugh. When you think of it, name calling is just so unmature and childish. Something for the little ones with a binkie still in their mouths and playing in their sandboxes with their plastic axes, clubs, shovels, pails, and in the case of little girls perhaps even a handbag to swing about. ( All purchased by loving parents from "Goo-Goo's" Toy store of course.) LOL :-)
"If" you allow yourself to be bothered by something, you always will be.
Some teenagers referred to me and a friend as "hippies" just yesterday. Not directly at us, just I heard them say "some hippies are coming this way" or something like that. It doesn't bother me. I just assume that they assume that guys who look a certain way are "hippies", even though I don't consider myself a hippie at all.
How do you define Hippie anyway? From some points of view, I am; but from others I'm not:
[ ] drives a VW microbus
[ ] has a dog
[ ] does drugs
[X] voted Democrat in the last election
[ ] has always voted Democrat
[ ] is too stoned to vote
[X] likes classic rock
[ ] is poor
[ ] is rich (and using daddy's trust fund to support hippie lifestyle)
[X] tries to buy "green" things
[X] prefers organic food.
[ ] won't eat anything that's not organic
[ ] vegetarian
[ ] is part of the baby boomer generation (born '46 to '64)
[ ] has crazy sex all the time with anybody
[ ] (young hippies only) is tat'd or pierced in wierd places
[ ] has a child named "Moonbeam" someplace
[ ] has a cabin in the woods where he grows food and other things
[ ] wears tie-dye stuff.
So, you see I check off very few of the stereotypical "hippie" boxes, and yet people see me on the street and make assuptions just because of:
[X] (if a guy) has long hair.
That was great Steve; I like the check list. It doesn't bother me to be called a hippie because I consider myself a quasi hippie at least. I'll take the check test now and see how I do.
I think I get 7.4 Xs
Rob
Disqualifiers: I shave, wear Levis 511s and socks with my sandals (in winter at least).
Hey Steve, here is how that checklist applies to me. I added an additional box at the bottom, for bandanna. Lots of hippies like those. It would be great to do this checklist in a brand new thread. If you don't beat me to it, I will start it, crediting this great idea to you. Not all longhairs are hippies and not all hippies are longhairs.
Scott
[X] has long hair
[ ] drives a VW microbus
[ ] has a dog
[ ] does drugs
[X] voted Democrat in the last election
[ ] has always voted Democrat
[ ] is too stoned to vote
[X] likes classic rock
[ ] is poor
[ ] is rich (and using daddy's trust fund to support hippie lifestyle)
[X] tries to buy "green" things
[X] prefers organic food.
[ ] won't eat anything that's not organic
[ ] vegetarian
[X] is part of the baby boomer generation (born '46 to '64)
[ ] has crazy sex all the time with anybody
[ ] (young hippies only) is tat'd or pierced in wierd places
[ ] has a child named "Moonbeam" someplace
[ ] has a cabin in the woods where he grows food and other things
[X] wears tie-dye stuff.
[X] wears a bandanna
That might be fun. Feel free to add to the list. It was very off-the-cuff, thought out roughly at the speed I type so it's probably missing some essential hippie genes...
[X] wears jeans all the time
And, in the realm of politics
[ ] votes for 3rd party
[ ] is actively working to overthrow the government.
Note, some of these options are mutually exclusive, which makes the "test" difficult to score. There are probably hippie tests floating around the 'net; but it's fun to DIY... which is an abbreviation I tend to associate with the Punk movement, but I think hippies can be fairly DIY at some things, even if they don't call it that.
[ snip ]
X on Jeans All The Time. Well, there's a 2 or 3 month period in summer when they're too hot and I switch to shorts, but from Sept. to May every year it's jeans. I've tried different brands and always come back to Levis.
Yeah, when I lived in DC I'd wear shorts too sometimes. That's assuming I was going to be out for a while. I don't know if they do this in Chicago, but in DC they would blast the A/C. So it'd be 95 F outside, you'd go into a building and freeze half to death. I found it easier to wear jeans even in the summer, unless I was going to be out for a long time. Even then though, a lot of times I "just dealt with it" becasue I hate shopping for new clothing and I have only one pair of shorts.
Jeans got checked more than anything other than "long hair" in Scott's survey it seemed. That doesn't necessarily point out that hippies prefer jeans (although they surely do), but it certainly points out that those answering the survey, which is longhairs, do!
Bill
[ ] drives a VW microbus
[X] has a dog
[X] does drugs (well, I have occassionally in the past... no "hard drugs" [pot only], and never irresponsibly... no harm, no foul)
[X] voted Democrat in the last election
[ ] has always voted Democrat
[ ] is too stoned to vote
[X] likes classic rock
[ ] is poor
[ ] is rich (and using daddy's trust fund to support hippie lifestyle)
[X] tries to buy "green" things
[X] prefers organic food.
[ ] won't eat anything that's not organic
[ ] vegetarian
[ ] is part of the baby boomer generation (born '46 to '64)
[ ] has crazy sex all the time with anybody
[ ] (young hippies only) is tat'd or pierced in wierd places
[X] has a child named "Phoenix" (okay, so it's not "Moonbeam," but unusual, nonetheless)
[X] has a cabin in the woods where he grows food and other things
[ ] wears tie-dye stuff
[X] (if a guy) has long hair (still workin' on this one)
It sounds like you have negative views on Hippies for you to feel offended for being called one.
I too don't identify with being a Hippie but do share some of their belief systems but wouldn't feel offended if someone thought to call me one. Why? Well when I think of Hippies I think of a generally diverse group of intelligent thoughtful people who are different to the norm, and who aren't necessary the stereotype of what the bullshit media says that hippies are like.
I generally find this group labelled hippies are often idealistic and stand up for things that matter like conservation of resources, nature appreciation, creativity,sharing of ideas, broad-mindedness, etc. And I have met many hard working "hippie" people who liked their drugs but had never been on welfare.
There are worse things to be called like White Trash/Bogan, Hillbilly, or being mistaken for a Conservative/Republican (joke).
In a nutshell I would take being called a Hippie a compliment.
Duncan
I agree 100%. I don't mind if I'm called a hippie one bit.
I like it too.
Hey Duncan! Superbly stated...I think I'm putting you on my heroes list! Personally I have been called hippie as well and don't have any negative feelings about it...unless it's meant as a broad statement illustrating another's ignorance. Happily that has not occurred.
So, how are you? Hope all is well in your part of the world.
G'day,
Max
I agree your comment was well put and I too don't mind being called that for the reasons you stated.
The best thing we longhairs can do is grow a thick skin. There are and will always be lots of stupid people out there so the best thing is to not let them get to you.
Thanks
Kevin
Ok, 2 points here, first thanks Phil for your cool words and secondly to Duncan:
I have no problem whatsoever with people who are actually Hippies, if thats how they identify themselves then more power to them.
Unfortunately, I personally relate the Word as an abusive term against me due to my Hair length. As I said any abuse I got has been quite rare but the word Hippie, when directed at me, was always with proceeded with words like 'f**king' and succeeded with words like 'faggot' or 'c**t', like back in 1997 when I heard a Guy call me something after I walked past him and his mates, I went back to ask this Guy what he called me and he said " I called you a Paedophile, you thick Hippy c**t, Why?" Afterwards I couldn't help wishing I'd had a bottle in my hand so I could have smashed it over his head. I know that sounds violent, but I was only 22 at the time, and besides I always felt better anytime I've retaliated after things like that, and anytime I walked away I used to curse myself afterwards.
And yes, this stupid thing was 12 years ago (that guys probably moved on from that crap too) but abuse like that tends to stay in the back of the mind.
... it's probably time to get over it. Why let someone else's words, spoken in ignorance, control how you feel? I mean really, why allow them to CONTROL YOU? An unprovoked physical attack upon your person--or upon those you care for--would certainly warrant physical retaliation. Under certain circumstances, I would even agree with knocking the piss out of someone for being disrespectful to your woman. But those punks' words were just hot air, man. No harm, no foul, unless you let it get to you.
--Val
It depends on what "hippie" means. If "hippie" means a man with long hair, then that's okay with me. However, if "hippie" means
a person who is dirty or filthy, or a person who deal drugs or on drugs, then sure, I will be offended if I get called one.
On the other hand, being called a "hippie" is more pleasant than being called a "jerk", a "retard", or any cuss words.
Matthew
(n/t)
[X] has long hair
[ ] drives a VW microbus
[ ] has a dog
[ ] does drugs
[ ] voted Democrat in the last election
[ ] has always voted Democrat
[ ] is too stoned to vote
[X] likes classic rock
[ ] is poor
[ ] is rich (and using daddy's trust fund to support hippie lifestyle)
[X] tries to buy "green" things
[X] prefers organic food.
[ ] won't eat anything that's not organic
[ ] vegetarian
[ ] is part of the baby boomer generation (born '46 to '64)
[ ] has crazy sex all the time with anybody
[ ] (young hippies only) is tat'd or pierced in wierd places
[ ] has a child named "Moonbeam" someplace
[ ] has a cabin in the woods where he grows food and other things
[X] wears tie-dye stuff.
[ ] wears a bandanna
I like being a Hippie!
peter. I wouldn't be offended by the word hippie(hippy). Just a variation on the slang word Hipster that describes the cool young blacks that were into swing blues and bebop, as a playful jab at the upstart white kids in the late 50s and 60s that were inspired by that previous generation. Dirty or fucking "anything" is something else again. Don't take any threat idly.
peace, jonalbear
If "kids on bikes" are calling ANYONE a hippie, that just goes to show how well the indoctrination has worked. Shouldn't they leave that to the grandpas?
Suggestion: Anyone calls you a hippie, call 'em "Grandpa".
Disclaimer: I'm not exactly a hippie, but I certainly recognize my deep debt to them in making long hair on dudes even seriously possible again. (Though there was David "Screaming Lord" Sutch, who apparently had shoulder-length hair as early as 1961 or so. But he was in London, so he might simply have been the first hippie after all, pace San Francisco.)
Well, the trick is not the be offended.
That sound easy but takes some practice, you're only what you thick you are the opinion of other people should't matter to you.
Whatever happens to you or whatever people say to you always try to have the same happy emotion. That way you will have a very happy life.
I used to be afraid of what other people thought of me, but now that I don't care anymore I was finally able to grow out my hair.
People can say what they want, I don't care.
You could always give them the peace sign...
back of the palm outwards is even better, especially in Britain.
Nate
Hi Peter, I wouldn't let it get to you, I have been called allsorts from 'hippie' to 'oi, hairy bloke', most I think is said in a joking way and the ones that aren't, well don't lower yourself to their level.
If you do something that is slightly different or dress differently then you will always standout somewhat, having long hair for a man is one of those things.
Thats all part of the fun!!
Cheers Dave
Not even close. IMHO a hippie is someone who lives in a commune and I'm merely a 'freak', but I take being called a hippie as a compliment. I don't get where you're coming from atall.
When I get called a Hippy I just chuckle, it's usually a joke. The other day at work a guy came up with a ponytail so I said, "Man it sure is good not to be the only Hippy out here!" He laughed and all the surrounding short haired just shook their heads.
F***ing Hippy is an insult. Anything preceded by "F***ing" is an insult. If someone calls me a name or insults me, most of the time they will get the same in return and I like to think I have the "insult" down to an art. For me it's usually just a game that "those people" instigate. They're cowards and will only rarely attack you.
However, if someone calls my wife or kids a name I will go after them. It will become physical and losing is just a chance I have to take.
But dude, these were kids! Smart-assed little bike riding kids. The last time some kids messed with me I simply followed them (they were on bikes) until they went home, I went up to the door and knocked. Their dad answered and I calmly explained to him what his boy or boys had done (they were two and I didn't know if they were brothers). He looked disgusted and yelled for them. They were nearby and circling around very angry that I had got the upper hand. He thanked me and I left.
That's the proper way to deal with kids.
Paul