Are Hippie Republicans Oxymorons?

Al Franken should run for something else!

 

Couldn’t tell ya.


I’m not a republican

 

But are you hip?

 

There are too many generalizations going on in this thread.

 

it would be incongruous not to. so many people mindlessly agree with everything the democrats do just because they're democrats, somebody has to actually think critically and play devil's advocate when the democrats are clearly wrong. this can come in the form of defending republicans, or more often just pointing out that everything isn't always black and white.

 

There are hippies and there are republicans. Never the twain shall meet!

 

Could you imagine how some people in this thread would react if, oh, say, a minority female Republican were to propose a bill aimed at protecting the LGBT community?

 

Being in a red state, I inevitably end up being friends with a lot of people who identify as Republicans...or identify as politically right leaning, anyways. I actually run into less and less people who identify with either party, myself included.

I'm not even sure the term hippie is applicable in today's society but do some of my friends who identify as to the right or as Republican also possess traits that embody the hippie spirit in the broad sense of the word? Absolutely.

I remember sharing a joint with one friend around a campfire after getting lost in nature for a couple of days a few years ago. While we smoked and enjoyed nature and sat like a couple of dirty hippies around a fire we ended up having a spirited but good natured political debate and thats how I found out he was a Republican. It doesnt really matter to me. If I ever decide to start a hippie commune he'll be one of the first people I call.

I was on a pool team during the months leading up to the 2016 election. Since the bar always had election coverage on tv we ended up talking politics a lot. There were a couple of guys who were staunch republicans. But one also shared stories about Grateful Dead shows and tripping acid. And the other was just very kind and friendly and open minded, the kind of person who would be your best friend within 5 minutes of meeting you at a musical festival.
They can come to my commune too

Also just to mention- I read a book about the 60s a few years ago and I remember the author pointed out that hippies were mostly apolitical. They protested the war but they didnt get caught up in the intricacies of the political process. They were more concerned with dropping out of the system rather than being a part of it. The Democrat party is very much a part of the system so it could really be argued that neither party particularly embody the hippie spirit.

 

It blows my mind that anyone who identifies as a hippie would even consider polarizing with either party 100%. And yet, we see a LOT of that here. In this thread I saw someone defending the FBI. Really? To me that's no better than defending Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. I begin to wonder how many folks actually realize how much of this thread clearly illustrates how they have been programmed by the media.

But then, how can they avoid it when programming is foisted upon us every time we turn a dial or click a link? For me the programming become obvious when I reject the commonalities of the two US parties and try to attach some of them to one side or the other, as if exclusively. Another example would be the association of the republicans as warmongers which is really rich after 8 years of the most intensive drone warfare on the planet, brought to you by Barack Obama's administration.

I vote either side of the aisle based on issues primarily. I actually believed Obama would end the drug war, especially after claiming so fervently that it was a racist endeavor. And yet, he did nearly nothing (except handing pardons to dealers). Medical marijuana made the greatest strides under GW than any democrat president, nobody was more shocked than me about that. I was just as shocked when Bill Clinton acted like a "buddy" to the American youth vote, only to escalate marijuana enforcement once in the white house.

Another aspect of this polarized bullshit is the nitpicking. I own a gun, so I must be a republican. I'm white, so I must be a racist republican. I believe in public safety nets, so I must be a democrat. I don't care how people choose to have their orgasms (as long as it's not at someone else's expense), so I must be a democrat. I smoke pot (regularly and in great quantity), so I must be a democrat. I drive a gigantic Detroit rolling metal mountain, so I must be a republican. I watch Fox News, so I must be a republican. I watch MSNBC, so I must be a democrat. I've had sex with women of various races, so I must be a democrat (and a sailor). I don't think the US is an evil empire hell-bent on world domination and the conquest of all non-Americans, so I MUST be a republican. I happen to think America is a great nation, a composite of all of the worlds' people, so I must be insane!

Trying to cram everyone into essentially 2 silos of thought, is moronic at best. And yet, so many keep trying to do just that. It's actually a very judgemental position to assume. What gives such a right?

 

But I'm trying to be hipper!

Ok, I'll chime in, but don't expect me to sound wise beyond my years here.

I think that anyone who wants to be a hippy can be. Sometimes we don't have it all sorted out by the time somebody makes a thread about it though. It's so polarizing to say that no republicans can be hip. I want to give people a chance. I'm sure there are some well meaning republicans in the world too! I used to have some pretty strong leanings toward not caring about anybody but myself. It's easy to think like that when you're in your twenties I guess. But I also think that a more liberal agenda is what I would consider to be something hippies can be proud of.

 

And how many Liberals say the exact same things?

 

The two are so different, I don't see how they could get along. A lot of people in the western states are Republican, NRA members, own guns, and smoke weed. I don't think that is a good mix.

 

I just love this post so much.

 

Those guys are all assholes
But I wouldnt say they're really representative of the average conservative American.

Unfortunately I do think they've done a number on the thought process of a lot of conservatives in this country. They're essentially propagandists.

But people of any political persuasion are susceptible to propoganda. George mentioned programming in his post. That's exactly it.

Everyone has their bias and when you find someone on tv or on the radio shouting something that fits your bias it can be too easy to fall for it instead of trying to see outside of it. I've seen that happening on both sides.
The fact that we even believe there are sides is a good example actually

 

i actually have several friends who are not exactly like me.

 

Ding ding ding!!!!!! It's as weird as seeing "anarchists" pulling for the democrats.

Aw shucks Ma'am!

 

I don't think they are representations of the average conservative. They are leaders in this new Freedom Caucus movement. They like the Alt Right and have Alt Right members on their shows.

 

Hippie Republicans, no. Hippie Libertarians? Yes, for sure.

 

For the sake of completeness, or fleshing out the "subculture" part,we might add:to the stereotype (stereotypes typically have some basis in reality): 13. hair length (long for males, as in the musical Hair); 14. bathing habits (infrequent); 15. attitude toward sex (liberal); 16. emphasis on co-operation over competition, 17. rejection of materialism.; and 18 embrace of "peace, love and understanding" as core values. I assume "consciousness expansion" includes the use of psychedelic drugs, or is a euphemism for it. We'd have to get weed into the picture somehow.

Some of you pointed out the difficulty of pigeonholing somebody using all of these criteria, and I agree. It's like defining "religion". Most of the available definitions are inadequate, because a particular case generally accepted as religion may lack one criterion or another; e.g., how can Buddhism be a religion without a god? What most folks in religious studies do is take a "cluster" approach, defining religion as something that meets most of several criteria. In a given case, a person may fall short of one or another criterion, but we can say pretty confidently that Steve Mnuchin, the rest of Trump's cabinet, and Trump himself are not hippies. Certainly, Hillary wasn't either. Trump might meet the criterion of liberal sexual attitudes, if that includes philandering, but he and the rest of the candidates for the two major parties in 2016 were for the most part definitely un-hip. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate probably comes closest, mainly on the pot issue. As has been pointed out, the hippies of the sixties tended to be apolitical, and those that weren't were to the Left of the Democrats and used the term "liberal" as a cuss word. I think though that the Republicans tend to be farther away in terms of conventionalism, embrace of traditional values, and particularly, materialism.

I'm not saying that being a hippie is necessarily all good, or that being Republican is all bad. I'm just wondering what would attract a typical Trump-defending Republican to this site. Playing Devil's Advocate has been mentioned, which is fine as long as you can hold the line between the roles of Advocate and Devil.

 

Depends on what "hippie" means. If it's I was alive in the 70's and I smoke weed sure we got a few here.But if you are talking cultural values of the time no you can not call yourself a Republican and be anything close to a hippie.