the problem with hippies

Tonight Kasey and I went to see Bill Ayres speak at the University about the state of activism today. He had some pretty cool things to say. Two of those things:

You don't have to do everything; you only have to do anything.

The rhythm of activism should be something like
Open your eyes.
See the injustices in the world.
Act.
Doubt yourself so you don't become self-righteously dogmatic in your actions.

It would have been a really cool evening if it wasn't for all the hippies. Ayres spoke for about forty minutes, and then opened it up, since it was the last night of his stay on campus, for about an hour and a half's worth of questions. Then began the parade of hippies asking, "Why are young people in America so apathetic?" in different ways over and over and over again.

Ugggghhhhh.

Kasey leaned over and wrote on my notes, "Hippies always thinking nothing is happening/changing," and then whispered, "because they don't do anything. Besides jam." I snickered (admittedly self-righteously...) and wrote back, "But duuude, did you catch that Umphrey's show?" (...I know. Who do we think we are?)

Then Ayres said something that really helped us conceptualize what it is exactly that makes hippies (and White Liberals) so annoying. They think they're a minority. Well, actually he said that, "If you're going to act on an issue, then you have to think that most people, given education on the issue, would agree with you. You have to believe that you're in the majority."

Here's our cynical translation. Hippies (and White Liberals), newsflash: You're not the only people who care. Get over yourselves. "Persuade people with logic and evidence," Ayres said, "it's not about a showy 'activist' performance." Stop trying to perform sainthood. I can't think of anything less productive.

(It's worth noting that I do see the irony in my perpetually whining White liberal self complaining about hippies and White Liberals. I guess I should specify that it's the self-loathing, longing-for-the-sixties types that I find particularly whack. Just because people aren't organizing sit-ins every day doesn't mean people aren't, on individual and massive scales, working towards a more humane world; that's all I'm saying.)

Unfortunately there was no time for Kasey's poignant question:
"Mr. Ayres, your hippies then or these hippies now -- who's more annoying?"