hippy party! and everyone's invited cause all you need is love!

I have always been hypersensitive to being called a hippy. There is nothing wrong with being a hippy, but being involved in the environmental movement, I was wary that I would lose all credibility if I came off as a nose-piered, scraggly haired, Birkenstock wearing white girl (only because i look white, not because I am white) who talks slow and has deep-set eyes, making her look like a pot-head. All these things never worked in my favour.

That all being said, I believe that the following scenarios exemplify the way i come off...even though I avoid it.

1. My friend Anthony grabbed my Birkenstocks and threw them out the door, saying “Get your dirty hippy shoes out of my room.”

2. The same person i previously called my friend (which I am rethinking now that I wrote scenario 1) told me that i had to watch the hippy episode of South Park with him. As we watched the episode he not only laughed histerically, but found it ever so necessary to point at me at every joke as if I emulated every anti-hippy comment.

3. I dressed up like a hippy for Halloween. No one knew I had dressed up.

4. I was talking about jobs I wanted to apply for after my contract ended with a friend. When I explained to him the job that was my top choice, he threw his hands up and said, “YAY! That is perfect for you! You can be queen hippy.” I then noticed that if I was looking to pursue a career in which i would be dubbed “Queen hippy” that I was clearly on my way towards hippy-dom.

This weekend I went to an environmental conference (PowerShift2009) to which about 12,000 youth from all over the continent gathered. It was a great way to learn about the green movement, get connected to the green movement, and be surrounded by fellow hippies...even though I may not identify as one.

This post is not about what I learned. It is also not about the environment or environmentalism (well...it is a little bit, but not a lot a bit). But rather, it is about the top indicators that you are attending a hippy conference. Thus I am prompted to move onto the meat of this post:

The top indicators that you are attending a hippy conference.

1. Hair! Hair is a hippy’s identifying feature. You will never find straight hair among new-age hippies. Long straight hair belonged to the hippy of the 60’s. The hippy of the new century will not have long straight hair. Straight hair in the new-age hippy movement will be found in messy pony-tails or dread-locks. Most hair, however, is either curly or wavy. Often it is frizzy. And there will be a high density of dread-locks.
2. Hair accessories. Bobby pins and head bands for the ladies. Trucker hats and toques which sit on top of their heads for the gents.
3. Lots of green. Colour of the environment. We love the earth...la la la laa....
4. High density of large thick-framed glasses. They are thick! And they are large. I brought a pair of fake large thick-framed glasses that I put on whenever someone starts taking photos. I was afraid to take them out of my bag.

There are also several factors that differentiate hippy conferences of the 60’s to new age hippy conferences. Those were also visible at this event.

1. Text messaging and the use of flickr. Who owns a lighter these days? A vast majority of the keynote speakers and musical guests were greeted with cell phones raised up in the air. As they gained the attention of the crowd they spewed out directions. Text message power to this number. Text message solidarity to that number. Now text message love, peace, and daisies to someone you don’t know.
2. Starbucks. This is also an indication of how many posers there were. Not that all hippies who drink Starbucks are posers...but once you reach the astronomical number of “hippies” that had Starbucks you know you are seeping into the hippy scene more than hippy dom. I was surprised at how many hippies forgot their travel mugs. Maybe this was an American thing. Because there is no Canadian hippy that dares leave the house without a travel mug. Even those who do not drink coffee find some sort of warm drink with which they can fall in love (often some herbal tisane...i don’t even know what a tisane is and the word made it into the blog, which goes to show how prevalent tisanes actually are).

While the hippy fest never really bothered me, I was caught off guard once a middle-eastern girl grabbed my hand as I was walking down a hallway trying to get to a workshop. Next thing i know I was running around in a circle, holding hands with the hippy middle-eastern girl (who had long, wavy, un-brushed hair) and some other chick who i didn’t even notice. I was too baffled that i was actually running around in a hippy circle. The middle-eastern ring leader then started chanting “When I say ‘all you need’ you say ‘love.’ ALL YOU NEED!” Everyone chanted back “LOVE”
ALL YOU NEED
LOVE
ALL YOU NEED
LOVE
ALL YOU NEED
LOVE
ALL YOU NEED
......aaaaaaaaaaaa......is A REALITY CHECK!! I ran out of the circle. I broke the chain. I didn’t know what to do. I found a girl I knew amidst the crowd of 12,000. I grabbed her and frantically asked, “I can´t do this. Give me a hair brush!”