Dirty Hippies WHY WHY WHY?

I went to a party last night, and I saw something quite horrific, a big fat hippie kid, and he must've weighed somewhere in the 300 lb plus category. This kid was running around barefoot, and HE was wearing some type of hippie skirt as well. Now I know that's not so bad, but I couldn't stand next to the kid for more than 30 seconds before I started gagging over his smell. Clearly he hadn't bathed in many days, you could tell by the grease in his dread locks, and filth on his face.
Now as far as normal cleanly hippies go, I'm all for it. They're kewl kids, and are just looking to have a good time. But for the love of GOD, will the dirty ones, and just dirty people in general just bathe daily please? To me, I think it's just common courtesy, and to let oneself go like that shows a great lack of self respect. Quite frankly I just don't see being stinkingly dirty as a big thrill.

For the record, I bathe at least once a day.

You must be the real Wally Cox (his death notwithstanding) to be out of touch enough to call them "hippies". Sheesh.

You must be the real Wally Cox (his death notwithstanding) to be out of touch enough to call them "hippies". Sheesh.

What's wrong with "hippie"? That's practically my nickname from high school. I don't wear the thrift shop clothes like some people I know, but because of my looks, taste in music and ideas more people call me "that hippie girl" or "flower child" than "Cessandra".

Well, I assume there are members of every group who are dirty. Then there are the people who feel that there really isn't such thing as being dirty in a negative way since dirt and bacteria are "of the earth."

A while back, I was complaining to my coworkers about their intense, overwhleming garlic aroma. They eat SO much garlic that they don't even smell it on themselves anymore. I'm talking a whole head at a time. I, on the other hand, felt like one of those cartoon characters when Pepe LePew walks by (you know, when the character stops in mid-air and either falls apart piece by piece or makes a mad scramble in the opposite direction). Geez, I prompted a tirade about how Americans are so obsessed with cleanliness and stamping out "offensive" odors. When they lived in Italy, people ran around smelling of garlic and BO and noone batted an eye (these are THEIR assertions, not mine!). Anyway, they basically made me feel like a evil, obsessive-compulsive, petty American who cares more about how other people smell than anything else. So, maybe I am an evil, obsessive-compulsive, petty American but, as my coworkers ALSO say, "I'm just representing where I grew up ." They're not really hurting me so I don't say anything anymore unless that odor wafts all the way over to my desk. I just stay away from them when they've bathed in garlic juice.

BTW, eating whole heads of garlic at a time, according to them, is supposed to ward away germs. They're not any healthier than me .

I deal with a lot of filthy people at work; unfortunately, it's my job to try to get them clean. Homeless people are the grossest, though I tend to feel only pity for them. These people are so dirty their skin is gray; I had one guy who hadn't changed his clothes in so long that his feet had grown into the weave of his socks so I had to pry them off (his socks, not his feet ). Puffs of skin flakes flew out.

What's nastier, in my opinion, is people who have running water in their homes but still refuse to bathe. Huge blackheads all over their bodies. I had one guy with a blackhead that was about 2 inches across. I have a pretty high tolerance for gross stuff, but that made me gag.

Stoidela, the term hippie to me, isn't a demeaning one, simply a classification. Just like you have so called "metal heads" "punks" "gangstas" "beatniks" "swing kids" etc. I apologize for any offense taken.

Holly, I must say you are a saint. Taking time from ones own life to help those less fortunate I have the utmost respect for. And BTW, the kid I talked about in my original post or I should say his parents he lives with are quite loaded money wise so running water isn't much of a problem which really pisses me off!

Topolino, I myself am a garlic lover, but whenever I eat it I make sure I do somthing about the breath situation. Otherwise my very American friends would jump on the fact I had stinky breath and never let me live it down.

Old hippies never die, they just smell that way.

First of all, I do bathe daily. I believe in being clean. I also wear deodorant. I didn't use to when I was younger, but I found that this practice offended some people's sensitive noses.

But even though my family is ultra-sensitive to BO and other odors, I have never been very offended by most people's BO at all. To me, it always just smells natural. I don't know why. (I have occasionally come across people who smell especially bad, but those are rare.)

What about people are really big into sports? Do you notice the smell of sweat as much as others? Just curious.


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Die, foul crouton!

To me a little BO is ok, and I understand it can be a pretty big turn on for some. I'm not that obsessed w/ cleanliness, but when BO has about a week or so to build up it can be one of the most deadly forces on earth.
As for people heavily into sports I pretty much think they smell a little after the game, but after a quick shower and some deodorant all is right with humanity

I had a customer who kept asking me out and one of the main reasons I didn't was because he smelled. Badly. After I cut his hair, I don't know how many times I had to wash my hands to get the smell out. And I could smell it on my clothes all day long. I could smell him as he approached me. Ick ick ick!

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MaryAnn
Sometimes life is so great you just gotta muss up your hair and quack like a duck!

Wally, I am going to assume the person you have described is a student who is "Making A Statement!"
One day that person may have to find a steady job. Things change then.
My room mate in college was a straight-arrow 4.0 average honor student. His senior year he let his hair go shoulder length and grew a beard (still bathed, though).
I asked him why and his answer was "Last chance before conformity."
After graduation he went to work w/the IRS.

Unless he goes to work for a computer company, perhaps. <g>

Oh, and I don't see anything pejorative about the term "hippie," either.

"He's just an old hippie ... "

Wally Cox: I Know what you mean. At my school a term often applied to those sorts is "Granola". Most are hippie types and rasta types. Now i have nothing against hippies or rastas but far too often the ones at my school are just ROUGH! They often go about in clothes with holes, the hems all shredded and frayed, and dirty, and old holey tie dyed shirts that have stains all over, and unkempt dirty messy hair (long nicely kept hair is OK). Also many have Dreds. Now dreds on people with straight or hair that isn't naturally "Wooly" is bad. The only way to make the dreds on non wooly hair (as far as i know)is to keep em dirty (Yuck). Many smell like BO. And they all REFUSE to wear shoes! Ive seen a couple saunter into the Cahsiers office (and even the library) with no shoes and their rough ashy feet. I have no problem with rastas and hippies who wear clean clothes and at least wear shoes, but the others at my school who dont are just plain nasty. I know these people can affort to dress somewhat decently, because they're in college! Its different if you truly can't afford to clean your clothes or wear decent ones, but the ones who CAN afford decent clean clothes have no excuse!

The American "obsession with cleanliness" is rooted in NATIVE American custom, not the European immigrant tradition. SO if you're confronted with the "I'm just a natural guy" defense, tell 'em to get with the Navaho tradition and take a hot bath.

For the record, I'm an old hippie myself. And I get off on the sensuality of two or three showers a day, especially when it's hot and muggy out.