Packoderm wrote:C.f.M. wrote:Yes. Crack down on hippies. Kill two birds with one stone, hippies and stupid people.
Is being a hippie the wrong kind of self expression? I didn't know there was a wrong kind of self expression. Perhaps hippies could force themselves to have a different self identity and value system. That's it? They could force themselves to conform with somebody else's self identity and value system? That's the burning man way?
Hippies are the Goldsteins of this "community". And I'm quite as much responsible as anyone else.
There are several reasons for this. There is a certain strain of hippie that believes in "Miracle Tickets" and go (I may have the idiom wrong here) "Clothed in Love" and essentially expect other people to pay their way, feed them, water them, and other wise take care of their worthless asses. The people who do the heavy lifting in this community work hard all year long and naturally do not want freeloaders taking advantage of their hard work. In fact, free-loaders have never been particularly beloved in any community.
There is also a perhaps generational or other tension between hippies and members of other counter-cultures. Burningman has roots in 1980s San Francisco artist culture and in some ways closer to punk culture than hippie culture. It's a different basic view of the world and isn't necessarily comfortable co-existing.
So, being a hippie is a real form of self-expression. If it is your form, than be aware that some people find it cloying, dependent and obnoxious; and be prepared to walk on, or work hard, or be a little rough edged in your attitude, depending on what you want from the situation.