# Starving Artist Has Issues With Long Hair **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 12, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775 "2009-07-12T18:49:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/381 "2009-07-14T22:43:48Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > No, it started in the forties. And baby-boomers born in the forties and early fifties were the hippie dipshits of the late sixties…just like I said. (Although not all were dipshits. Some of my best friends were hippies, including some here. ( **Zoe** , I’m looking at you. 🙂 People around here like to claim I hate hippies or I hate liberals, but the truth is I hate hippiedom and I hate liberalism, but I don’t hate their individual members. Far from it.) I stand corrected on the 40s. I’m from the 50s, so I tend to get “tunnel vision”. Why hate “liberalism” at all? There’s conservatism. It has good points. There’s liberalism. It has good points. Neither has a monopoly on “truth and rightness”. Having both makes for a balance. It makes for flexibility (for each situation one is better than the other). It makes for choices. As long as there is a balance, it’s all good. It’s when one or the other gets too much of a lead, that they get extreme and cause trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/382 "2009-07-14T22:44:16Z")
Dammit, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/383 "2009-07-14T22:53:02Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I stand corrected on the 40s. I’m from the 50s, so I tend to get “tunnel vision”. > Why hate “liberalism” at all? There’s conservatism. It has good points. There’s liberalism. It has good points. Neither has a monopoly on “truth and rightness”. Having both makes for a balance. It makes for flexibility (for each situation one is better than the other). It makes for choices. As long as there is a balance, it’s all good. It’s when one or the other gets too much of a lead, that they get extreme and cause trouble. Thanks. I appreciate the reasoned tone of your post. I’ll try to answer later. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/384 "2009-07-14T23:08:31Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Thanks. I appreciate the reasoned tone of your post. I’ll try to answer later. But I doubt you will. Since you, know… you’re a liar. ---
**Author:** ![SmashTheState](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@SmashTheState](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmashTheState)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/385 "2009-07-14T23:28:14Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > That’s okay, I’m a male lesbian, myself. “Male lesbianism” is a form of genderqueerness in which a person who identifies as female and has apparently male genitalia, has a sexual preference for females. But then, Queer Theory is another thing they didn’t have in the 50s. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/386 "2009-07-14T23:39:15Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Ha! > > To the degree that my parents and I discussed politics, it usually flowed from me to them. 😃 To be fair, they had decades-long headstart over us to learn what a jerk you are. ---
**Author:** ![SmashTheState](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@SmashTheState](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmashTheState)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/387 "2009-07-14T23:39:19Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Why hate “liberalism” at all? Because they embrace a false individualism in which “devil take the hindmost” replaces any kind of social conscience, and because they stand, to quote Phil Ochs, “ten degrees to the left of centre in the best of times, ten degrees to the right of centre when it affects them personally.” And, like you, they hold to the myth that the truth must always fall in the middle of any two extreme points, as follows: > [@SteveG1](#): > > There’s conservatism. It has good points. There’s liberalism. It has good points. Neither has a monopoly on “truth and rightness”. Having both makes for a balance. It makes for flexibility (for each situation one is better than the other). It makes for choices. As long as there is a balance, it’s all good. It’s when one or the other gets too much of a lead, that they get extreme and cause trouble. First, your bland bourgeois assurance that extremism should always be avoided and that the middle course is always the best policy is noxious, cowardly, and – more to the point – totally wrong. Confronted with two sides, “kill all niggers” and “don’t kill ANY black folks,” the safe, liberal, middle class view is, “kill just a _few_ African-Americans, just the _bad_ ones who listen to that awful rap music.” And second, you perpetuate the nonsense that liberalism and conservatism are diametric opposites which comprise the entire political spectrum. In fact, Amerikan-style liberalism and conservatism occupy the same narrow political band of antisocial individualism, with very slight variations in the degree of authoritarianism regarding social mores and economic oppression by business and State. The largest difference I can see between liberals and conservatives is that liberals want to oppress me for my own good, while conservatives want to oppress me for theirs. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/388 "2009-07-14T23:47:40Z")
> [@SmashTheState](#): > > … the safe, liberal, middle class view is, “kill just a _few_ African-Americans…” Excuse me, I think you meant to say “African-Amerikans.” ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/389 "2009-07-14T23:55:00Z")
> [@SmashTheState](#): > > Because they embrace a false individualism in which “devil take the hindmost” replaces any kind of social conscience, and because they stand, to quote Phil Ochs, “ten degrees to the left of centre in the best of times, ten degrees to the right of centre when it affects them personally.” And, like you, they hold to the myth that the truth must always fall in the middle of any two extreme points, as follows: > > First, your bland bourgeois assurance that extremism should always be avoided and that the middle course is always the best policy is noxious, cowardly, and – more to the point – totally wrong. Confronted with two sides, “kill all niggers” and “don’t kill ANY black folks,” the safe, liberal, middle class view is, “kill just a _few_ African-Americans, just the _bad_ ones who listen to that awful rap music.” > > And second, you perpetuate the nonsense that liberalism and conservatism are diametric opposites which comprise the entire political spectrum. In fact, Amerikan-style liberalism and conservatism occupy the same narrow political band of antisocial individualism, with very slight variations in the degree of authoritarianism regarding social mores and economic oppression by business and State. The largest difference I can see between liberals and conservatives is that liberals want to oppress me for my own good, while conservatives want to oppress me for theirs. Aw, look! **Der Trihs’** younger (and even more wacked-out) sibling has been allowed to join the board. Maybe now he won’t feel so alone. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/390 "2009-07-14T23:58:44Z")
If we put **Starving Artist** and **SmashtheState** in a box together alone, will they explode? Like matter and antimatter? Or is it more of a don’t feed the gremlins after midnight type thing? ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/391 "2009-07-15T00:00:41Z")
> [@SmashTheState](#): > > First, your bland bourgeois assurance that extremism should always be avoided and that the middle course is always the best policy is noxious, cowardly, and – more to the point – totally wrong. Confronted with two sides, “kill all niggers” and “don’t kill ANY black folks,” the safe, liberal, middle class view is, “kill just a _few_ African-Americans, just the _bad_ ones who listen to that awful rap music.” Good to see you practice what you preach. You could’ve put forth a rational argument or compromised for a halfway rational point. Instead you just charged right on into the dumbest argument you could think of. God bless you, God bless Amerika, and God bless spell czech. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/392 "2009-07-15T00:01:07Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s not too difficult for me to imagine how promiscuity could lead to pregnancy, which then led to marriage in the '50s. > > It’s hard to find a hard cite that states how many teen marriages in the 50’s were due to an unplanned pregnancy. Perhaps I should be looking at how many “premature - wink wink” babies were born to teen married mothers to glean this figure. Whether they were or not, the idea of girls getting married right out of high school isn’t exactly a positive thing. We’re seeing more kids going to college nowadays, for one. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/393 "2009-07-15T00:26:32Z")
Aww, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/394 "2009-07-15T00:42:10Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > Please, \*please \*stop calling \*\*Starving Artist \*\*an old man! It’s beginning to creep me out, because he is apparently only 2 years older than I am!! > > I had long hair, I marched in the protests, and was tear gased, fire hosed, billy clubbed and jailed for my trouble. Hell, I can probably find a hat or something around here now with peace signs on it. > > I \*\*\*am \*\*\*the people his parents warned him about. Groovy. Don’t worry about it, his being an old man has almost nothing to do with the years, it has to do with the death of curiosity. He has the most amazing instrument for education right at his fingertips, he could check the facts instantly, but doesn’t. He tends his garden of misinformation with great care, the bullshit here, the lies there, all hedged round with half-truths, lovingly tended. There’s only two really important things to remember: die young as old as you can get, and stay away from the brown acid. There are still people who can use words like “peace” and “love” without smirking, without a hint of irony. Stay close to them, they are a blessing. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/395 "2009-07-15T00:43:17Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > You’ll have to mark the spot, chum. You look like all ass to me. Just keep licking until you taste something familiar. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/396 "2009-07-15T01:08:08Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Groovy. Don’t worry about it, his being an old man has almost nothing to do with the years, it has to do with the death of curiosity. He has the most amazing instrument for education right at his fingertips, he could check the facts instantly, but doesn’t. He tends his garden of misinformation with great care, the bullshit here, the lies there, all hedged round with half-truths, lovingly tended. What a laughable load of shit this is! One would think that with this wonderful instrument for information at his fingertips, he would be able to correctly read what his opponents have said and wouldn’t have to spend part of two days harrassing someone over something they never said. And one would think that someone capable of posting such flowery glurge as that above would be adult enough and honest enough to admit when he’s wrong and apologize for his numerous wrongful harrassments, but one would be wrong. No, he will instead ignore yet another of his many wrongs while hypocritically and dishonestly criticizing the words of others, and steadfastly refuse to do the right thing [even when scolded and prompted by posters who agree with him in the main](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11336448&postcount=235), while hypocritically advising others on how to most honestly and rewardingly live their lives. > [@elucidator](#): > > Just keep licking until you taste something familiar. There’s no way I’ll believe your ass tastes like scotch…or that one part of your body is more affected by the shit you’re full of than any other. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/397 "2009-07-15T01:33:03Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Be careful what you seek, lest you find it and your rule be employed to hurl you from this august body. > 😃 You silly goose, it’s only july. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/398 "2009-07-15T02:29:04Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > You’ll have to mark the spot, chum. You look like all ass to me. You insult the man for no other reason then where he lives, then insult him when he takes offense. Pretty crass of you. Guess by your own definitions you’re a liberal then?😕 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/399 "2009-07-15T02:50:07Z")
To be ruthlessly fair, he’s got plenty of reasons. I think he’s a blazing asshole, have said so publicly. I’m fair game for his incisive wit. I’ll get over it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775/400 "2009-07-15T02:51:22Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > incisive wit. Blunt force trauma, you mean… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starving-artist-has-issues-with-long-hair/502775.md?page=21)