Comments on: Second Gen

By: cory

cory — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 23:51:55 +0000

You actually have to write a completely different piece on immigrating from Iowa… being 2nd generation myself… my parents were rebelling from the small town, farming, uneducated, xenophobic way of life… they skipped the hippie and went straight to the yuppy… weird conservative mix….

By: db

db — Fri, 19 Sep 2003 05:57:22 +0000

I’ve found so many cases where the 2nd gen hippie child was more mainstream than the children of most “conservative” parents. I’m still not really sure where I came from, actually. My parents (mother, stepfather, and father) were all relatively “normal” as far as social standards go. There was never any “hippie role model” for me. My musical tastes naturally leaned towards the hippie soundtrack (though, in general, I’m all over the map) and through th vibes conveyed, a lifestyle more or less ensued. All living donr since leaving the nest has been communal type living. I think I actually prefer it to having my own place. I’m a social type of person, and perhaps this ties in with it. Of course, it’s hard to really identify anyone as a “hippie” anymore. The term has been so sterotyped that it’s really almost not even valid anymore. I wonder what moniker they’ll come up with next…

By: Ariel

Ariel — Thu, 18 Sep 2003 17:19:45 +0000

Yeah, I realized when chatting via AIM with Amy Leblanc that the “hippier than thou” quality that she was speaking of was that acknowledged thankless tone of priviledge. I’m embodying the very thing I write about.

Then again: just assuming that a hippy perspective is “priviledged” is remarkably arrogant.

Regardless, it’s been a while since I’ve written something that people wanted to argue over. And I missed it!

As Ernie said yesterday, it’s almost like I’m writing about raves again!

By: Vera

Vera — Thu, 18 Sep 2003 17:10:41 +0000

Thanks for clearing up the meaning of first generation, by the way. For some reason, I always thought that I was the “zeroth generation” since I was the one doing the immigrating.

By: Vera

Vera — Thu, 18 Sep 2003 17:08:42 +0000

I think the analogy would work better the other way around: Since hippies make up a relatively small subculture, THEY are really the foreigners immigrating into mainstream America. In your essay, suburbans are the ones immigrating to hippieland, which might not be that realistic. But I understand that if you had reversed things, your second vs. first generation points wouldn’t work anymore.

P.S.: I do see the “hippier than thou” tone quite a bit here. Look closer.