Pinch
Well-Known Member
Eugene, OR - Eugene's hippie reputation is international; but is it deserved?
On a dusty jungle path near Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, I struck up a friendly conversation with a local.
"Where are you from?" he asked me in broken English.
"Eugene, Oregon. Have you heard of it?" I asked.
"Oh, yes. I've been to Eugene. There are many, how do you say it ... hippies there, yes?"
As he struggled with the pronunciation, I burst out laughing.
It struck me then, thousands of miles from home, that Eugene has gained a worldwide reputation for being home to the legendary "hippie." But do we really deserve that reputation? What constitutes a hippie? Is the label derogatory or simply descriptive?
After 15 years as a citizen of this great city, I'm still trying to find out the answers to those questions.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a hippie is ``a person who opposes and rejects many of the conventional standards and customs of society, especially one who advocates extreme liberalism in sociopolitical attitudes and lifestyles.''
That seems simple enough.
The term hippie is in that case associated with a person's political and social views. But in the real world, it's used to describe much more than that.
It evokes images of certain clothes, lifestyles, music, food, etc. In addition, there are many negative connotations associated with the word.
In the 1960s, the term was used by some to describe undesirable qualities, such as being lazy, unclean and unmotivated.
Imposing a label on someone may be shallow and ignorant, but many people describe themselves as hippies, so the term seems to be defined by the context and by the user.
For the purposes of my search, I use the phrase "hippie" purely in neutral context - no intention to be judgmental here.
I began my exploration at the perfect hippie hangout: Saturday Market. I remember hearing one first-timer's reaction to the market.
"It was a bunch of dirty people selling soap," she said.
I didn't share the sentiment. I love Saturday Market. And along with the handicrafts and great pad Thai, I was bound to find some self-proclaimed hippies there.
I began by polling booth owners about their experiences. Not surprisingly, there was a huge range in answers.
"Would you describe yourself as a hippie?" I asked.
"No, I'm not a hippie, though I probably look more like one now than I ever have," responded Chuck Hunt at the Clear Hills Honey booth. Hunt had a gray beard and shoulder length hair.
"In that time (the 1960s), I tried not to look too much like a hippie because it was so easy for people to dismiss you. I wanted to be taken seriously."
Sue Hunnell, of Flame Wrangler Glass, didn't necessarily strike me as a hippie from outward appearance.
``Am I a hippie? That's a good question. My daughter thinks I am,'' she said with a laugh. ``Most people think of a hippie as someone who's lazy, who doesn't work ... and, I guess, wears tie dye! I'm of the generation that grew up in the time of hippies, but I don't know if I still am one today.''
The owner of Rainbow Tie Dye, dotti Smith (who spells her name with a lower case ``d''), smiled and gleefully replied, ``Oh yes, I'm an old hippie.'' Smith, sporting curly auburn hair and glitter, described hippies as ``gentle-spirited folks, alternative, who live life by their ethics.''
Hunt, like many, seemed quick to use the term hippie to describe that particular group of politically active people in the 1960s. But Smith used the word more in terms of lifestyle, proudly describing herself as one.
That being said, I wouldn't necessarily describe myself as a hippie, but I have been called one on occasion.
When I request soy milk instead of skim, or wear a tie-dyed shirt, members of my family have responded, ``Oh, Ariel, you're such a hippie.''
I've come to realize from living in Eugene that almost everyone has some quality that could be described as hippie-esque. My mom's bookshelf is filled with feminist books, and my dad owns a box set of Grateful Dead CDs.
Is that enough to warrant the label?
But organic food and hemp clothing alone do not a hippie make. Anti-war bumper stickers and dreadlocks are only a part of the puzzle.
Eugene may be home to many so-called "hippies," but if so, that's only a sign of how accepting our community is. If hippies can live alongside loggers and lawyers without much friction, it is unadulterated proof of a healthy town.
Who knows, maybe some loggers and lawyers are hippies, too?
"Yes, yes," I replied to my new Mexican acquaintance. "We have many hippies in Eugene."
And as I stood there, amused at our global reputation, I couldn't wait to get back home to my tofu.
Source: The Register-Guard
Copyright: 2005 The Register-Guard
Contact: Ariel Stavitsky at 20Below@ guardnet.com.
Website: www.registerguard.com/news/2005/05/16/tw.arielcolumn.0516.html
On a dusty jungle path near Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, I struck up a friendly conversation with a local.
"Where are you from?" he asked me in broken English.
"Eugene, Oregon. Have you heard of it?" I asked.
"Oh, yes. I've been to Eugene. There are many, how do you say it ... hippies there, yes?"
As he struggled with the pronunciation, I burst out laughing.
It struck me then, thousands of miles from home, that Eugene has gained a worldwide reputation for being home to the legendary "hippie." But do we really deserve that reputation? What constitutes a hippie? Is the label derogatory or simply descriptive?
After 15 years as a citizen of this great city, I'm still trying to find out the answers to those questions.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a hippie is ``a person who opposes and rejects many of the conventional standards and customs of society, especially one who advocates extreme liberalism in sociopolitical attitudes and lifestyles.''
That seems simple enough.
The term hippie is in that case associated with a person's political and social views. But in the real world, it's used to describe much more than that.
It evokes images of certain clothes, lifestyles, music, food, etc. In addition, there are many negative connotations associated with the word.
In the 1960s, the term was used by some to describe undesirable qualities, such as being lazy, unclean and unmotivated.
Imposing a label on someone may be shallow and ignorant, but many people describe themselves as hippies, so the term seems to be defined by the context and by the user.
For the purposes of my search, I use the phrase "hippie" purely in neutral context - no intention to be judgmental here.
I began my exploration at the perfect hippie hangout: Saturday Market. I remember hearing one first-timer's reaction to the market.
"It was a bunch of dirty people selling soap," she said.
I didn't share the sentiment. I love Saturday Market. And along with the handicrafts and great pad Thai, I was bound to find some self-proclaimed hippies there.
I began by polling booth owners about their experiences. Not surprisingly, there was a huge range in answers.
"Would you describe yourself as a hippie?" I asked.
"No, I'm not a hippie, though I probably look more like one now than I ever have," responded Chuck Hunt at the Clear Hills Honey booth. Hunt had a gray beard and shoulder length hair.
"In that time (the 1960s), I tried not to look too much like a hippie because it was so easy for people to dismiss you. I wanted to be taken seriously."
Sue Hunnell, of Flame Wrangler Glass, didn't necessarily strike me as a hippie from outward appearance.
``Am I a hippie? That's a good question. My daughter thinks I am,'' she said with a laugh. ``Most people think of a hippie as someone who's lazy, who doesn't work ... and, I guess, wears tie dye! I'm of the generation that grew up in the time of hippies, but I don't know if I still am one today.''
The owner of Rainbow Tie Dye, dotti Smith (who spells her name with a lower case ``d''), smiled and gleefully replied, ``Oh yes, I'm an old hippie.'' Smith, sporting curly auburn hair and glitter, described hippies as ``gentle-spirited folks, alternative, who live life by their ethics.''
Hunt, like many, seemed quick to use the term hippie to describe that particular group of politically active people in the 1960s. But Smith used the word more in terms of lifestyle, proudly describing herself as one.
That being said, I wouldn't necessarily describe myself as a hippie, but I have been called one on occasion.
When I request soy milk instead of skim, or wear a tie-dyed shirt, members of my family have responded, ``Oh, Ariel, you're such a hippie.''
I've come to realize from living in Eugene that almost everyone has some quality that could be described as hippie-esque. My mom's bookshelf is filled with feminist books, and my dad owns a box set of Grateful Dead CDs.
Is that enough to warrant the label?
But organic food and hemp clothing alone do not a hippie make. Anti-war bumper stickers and dreadlocks are only a part of the puzzle.
Eugene may be home to many so-called "hippies," but if so, that's only a sign of how accepting our community is. If hippies can live alongside loggers and lawyers without much friction, it is unadulterated proof of a healthy town.
Who knows, maybe some loggers and lawyers are hippies, too?
"Yes, yes," I replied to my new Mexican acquaintance. "We have many hippies in Eugene."
And as I stood there, amused at our global reputation, I couldn't wait to get back home to my tofu.
Source: The Register-Guard
Copyright: 2005 The Register-Guard
Contact: Ariel Stavitsky at 20Below@ guardnet.com.
Website: www.registerguard.com/news/2005/05/16/tw.arielcolumn.0516.html
