Peace on you.
Help what? End the war? I have no earthly idea what I could do to help do that, other than vote. But I can guarantee you that standing on a street corner, preaching to the choir, is not doing one whit of good.
Apparently what your problem is here is that you didn’t understand the OP. The OP’s problem is not that he disagreed with the protester. And, likewise, my problem wasn’t that I disagreed with the anti-war activist I spoke of. Maybe you should go back and re-read.
Personally, I have no idea if the protester referenced in the OP really smelled bad or not, but I’ll take lissener’s word for it.
Yes. And a brain.
What a shame…how will you ever make your opinions known? Maybe you could ring a cowbell instead.
You are funny. You don’t know a thing about me or my life, but you insist on making these judgements about me. You have no idea what I’m going to do or not do.
But seriously, now. Seriously. Is asking me to honk my car horn really the way to do it? It didn’t make me uncomfortable…it made me laugh at the futility.
What does it say about me that I won’t “Honk for Peace”, but a “Honk if yer horny” bumpersticker sets my horn a blazin’?!
Getting back to hippies, there are legions of them in my old stomping grounds of Khao San Road in Bangkok. That’s the cheap backpacker area and where I myself would crash back when I lived up North and had come down to Bangkok for whatever reason. Even today it’s possible to find a cheap bed for a few dollars. Some places are crappy, but others are very good value, and so this is where a lot of budget travelers end up, hippie or otherwise.
Ironically, though, the Thais tend to look down on hippies in general. I say ironically, because the hippies are usually here on some sort of Buddhist get-back-to-humanity kick, but I doubt you can find anyone more materialist and consumer-oriented as your average Thai. Money rules here. Plus I have to say the Khao San Road denizens do tend to reek. The wife and I find ourselves in that area occasionally, because there are a few good restaurants, the shopping is cheap, and it’s a good nostalgic kick for me, too. But the smell is noticeable, and quite a few Thais have asked me why backpackers smell so bad. I always tell them that well, they’re traveling you see and so don’t have much time to wash, but really I do wonder why some of them can’t step into the shower once they’ve secured a room. Can’t they see all the Thais moving away from them on the city transport?
I’d at least look, see who’s driving. Kinda particular that way.
Well, if that’s all you got, that’s all you got. Asked my question, you answered.
What, precisely, does honking my horn do that is more effective that writing a letter to my Congresswoman or Senator? (Which I’m not sure I have anymore. I know I can still vote for President; I’m not sure about other offices.) Is GWB standing on the opposite corner counting the honks?
What, precisely, does honking my horn do that is more effective than living my life as a non-consumerist, and explaining why when asked? Are the people with shopping bags counting the honks?
The key word in effective action is effective, not action.
In my experience, writing to my congressman/senator is no more effective than honking my car horn. Of the three or four times I have done this, I always receive a generic form letter thanking me for my interest, sometimes regarding a topic I didn’t even write about. This has occurred in several different states that I have lived in, so it is not a region specific problem.
You, sir, are a formidable opponent. Your brilliant wit and rapier repartee has reduced everyone else in this discussion to the inarticulate apes we really are. My respect, sir, and may I never again find myself in a debate with a one such as you. I bow, sir, I deeply bow.
:rolleyes:
Well, I haven’t had that experience. Both of my letters were, in fact, ineffective in that they did not cause change, but President Carter and Senator Salazar each personally answered me.
Being young and footloose at the time, I did not follow through on Carter, but I did let my friends and coworkers know about my experience with Salazar, and two of them also wrote letters to him. Not enough, but that’s how effective action happens, through incrementally growing masses.
Had the protests of the Vietnam war been only the honking of horns, we’d still be there. The protests were effective because they were mass demonstrations of people spurred to action by communication and education.
deleted, intervening post nullified.
Sarah’s out as Maximum Leader, Frank is in. Order of the day is mass demonstrations without car horns. OK. Good as any, see you there.
Honk for the environment. Honk if you’re horny. Honk if you’re horny for Jesus. Honk if you like pie. Must be getting rather noisy over there.
We live in interesting times. Alas.
I wear your contempt as a badge of honor, and am appropriately grateful. Every time I piss off an asshole, an angel gets an Uzi.
We don’t know much about you, but chances are that we know more about you than you know about the people that you label in your posts to this thread:
My note: Wow! Not even hippies?
Rubbish!
How many millions of people did you just put into those little boxes without knowing the individuals?
If honking your car horn doesn’t accomplish anything and the only other option you’ve come up with for ending the war is voting, you really haven’t given it much thought. But surely you have given thought and time to some of the other “great stuff” that you mentioned that involves needs beyond your own family. I’m not asking you, but if you’re not, then shame on you for criticizing those who peacefully do.
Some of you have some strange ideas about what a hippie is. It can be spelled hippy BTW. Hell, you can spell it any way you want to. You might want to look up the meaning in the dictionary. I didn’t see anything about drug use or lack of cleanliness. Lobstermobster’s description made me laugh though! Baja sweaters? Noggin’ fuzz? Snort! Patchouli is for retros only though.
Slithy Tove, someone else here remembers Joe? Well…almost remembers…on my side.
hah. I live in Haight-Ashbury so I’m technically on their territory. I doubt any dictionary will be able to accurately describe all the different smells that come out of a hippie’s noggin’ fuzz. I don’t want to talk too much smack though because every now and then when I feel like eating a bag of Doritos and watching cartoons I have to go hit up the park for some supplies.
Why would you have to go to the park to buy Doritos?
Hooking your horn is bloody stupid, I’m actually lmaoing at the idea it could be being defended as an effective protest method.
It’s also very dangerous because it desenitizes people to horns. I suspect that in a country as big as America a few people a year are killed directly by horn-desensitization due to these protests.
A completely irrelevant fact springs to mind, which I mention just because it’s interesting: there were about a thousand extra victims of 9/11 in your country, specifically people who were too sacred to fly, moved to driving instead, and died in extra car accidents (or were hit by the sacredy-cats).
Zoe, in half those quotes I was referring to my personal friends, so I think I do know a little something about them. In half the others, I was referring to the general attitudes in my rather small suburb, which I’m also rather familiar with. More than you would be, since you don’t know my friends and you live 1000 miles away from me.
I was referring to the fact that elucidator is the one who makes sweeping generalizations, about hippies and otherwise.
What can I say? In my day, I’ve taken part in a lot of protests, and that is the impression I’ve gotten of people who are passionate about causes.
Oh, many millions, I’m sure.
I see that your efforts at ending the war have been extremely successful…maybe you could tell us your secrets.
And I wouldn’t say that yelling at individuals who are peacefully driving by is “peaceful,” but maybe you have a different definition.
As far as social causes, I must say that I resent the fact that you have now 3 times implied in threads that I do not take the time to help people. You have NO REASON to say such things about me, and I wish you would stop. Really. Unless you have some evidence for these implications, you really should not make them.