tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post521929798982664797..comments2024-01-26T01:49:56.783-06:00Comments on Lagniappe's Lair: 23 hippies arrested in Denver--the names.Murphy's Lawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17164780742334950772noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-84320119093443746792011-10-16T11:12:38.829-05:002011-10-16T11:12:38.829-05:00I'm going to have to disagree with you about t...I'm going to have to disagree with you about the ongoing protests. Not being a filthy hippie myself, and working full time in a blue-collar job, I still do really believe the protests are for the most part legitimate.<br /><br />Why are these people in this age group camping in parks instead of going to work? Well, likely because there isn't much work to do. <br /><br />Yesterday I had a beer with a very good friend of mine, a God-fearing decent man who has been unemployed now for more than a year. He is 56 and has an extensive manufacturing background, and is now very likely never going to be decently employed ever again. He can't get a job at a gas station; and he told me if he wasn't trying to care for his elderly, blind mother, he'd be protesting, too. <br /><br />You seem to not realize or much care the situation out here is much, much worse than is generally acknowledged. When these basically middle-class people can't be employed in the positions they were trained and prepared to fill, that's the end, and no amount of schooling or work at WalMart will fix it. That's a fact, man. <br /><br />Historically speaking, revolutions and permanent societal changes are caused by restive middle classes: decent people made angry. The rabble never make changes real; it's the middle class, the merchant class, the educated class that makes regimes change. When they get angry, entire governments fall. <br /><br />These protests are ominous. These are the people that force events. <br />Whether you like it or not, the protests need to be taken very, very seriously. Politically and historically, these are the people that push things to breaking points; ignorant name calling and dismissive comments are not smart in this situation. <br /><br />I can't stand deliberate ignorance; and you are being deliberately ignorant. I hope you're better than that, man.JLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15865354946519925483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-48226075228677280292011-10-15T20:37:45.807-05:002011-10-15T20:37:45.807-05:00Great Idea! Will do!Great Idea! Will do!Keadshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09982258812373127063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-18308183578356602442011-10-15T15:44:58.219-05:002011-10-15T15:44:58.219-05:00I remember when the Grateful Dead played at Laguna...I remember when the Grateful Dead played at Laguna Seca. It was late 80's I think. I pulled over a van decorated with flowers, skulls, grafitti, etc for about 75 mechanical violations. When they pulled open the side door about a dozen deadheads spilled out in a visible cloud of funk and patchouli smoke. Fingers firmly attached to my nose, I cut out the owner, herded the rest back into the van and wrote him a reminder that vehicle safety is everyone's responsibility. No way was I going to spend a second more in their company than I could avoid. I still had to burn that uniform.<br /><br />I like your Hall of Shame idea ML. If I see any I'll enshrine them for all eternity in the internet archives of the terminally stupid.Sixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05572583408046642437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-17606726311927840252011-10-15T09:59:35.554-05:002011-10-15T09:59:35.554-05:00Good idea, and I'll do it if I see names! I ha...Good idea, and I'll do it if I see names! I had forgotten it till you mentioned it, but yeah, hippies stink... Literally! Haight Ashbury back in the early 70's might have been the place of free love, but it WASN'T the place of free baths...Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20147126.post-65462276818595371382011-10-15T06:53:26.364-05:002011-10-15T06:53:26.364-05:00I would bet the older group smoked too much dope i...I would bet the older group smoked too much dope in their teens and early twenties.Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04775363118892957212noreply@blogger.com