What's in a name? Hippie-freak?
We have to find a name for ourselves…us, tree hugging-leftist of left,-earth mama- radical- salad eating- granolas- whole wheat- rainbow people-bears and burning man- festie- fairies-counterculture- hipster- hippie- freak?
Baba Jamal
Story Teller and Educator
“We use the word counter culture to describe a movement, but it’s use means against, or to have an impact on our culture at large. This only gives it greater strength by continuing to call it what it is. So if we say counterculture, that is still the defining and demanding on it, the culture that already exist. Counter takes up a weaker position. So we have a weak position that is looking to the stronger position to change the stronger position. Can’t Happen. Can’t Happen.”
“If we say alternative culture, it’s still replacing this for that. If the culture is rotten, we don’t want to tag onto something that’s rotten because we can’t stop the rotten. You see what we are looking at is some other kind of name, free from reference. We must name the culture that we want. It’s going to be similar to what we have but there is a major difference and that major difference has to be named.”
Freaks, those who protect or express the strange and odd in humanity
Wisdom from our elders:
Profile: Micheal Fles; Musician of post ethnic music. Collector of instruments.
“First it was bohemian, then beatnik, then a hippie, now finally a freak. This is my thing. In the late 30’s there was a film called Freaks by Todd Browning. It was a circus film and they had the side show, you know, all the freaks. They had the 480 lb. man and the woman with flippers instead of arms and all of that stuff.”
“So, the circus was caught in a little town because of rain and a storm. A lot of the people in the town got freaked out because o these people. Ya know, they weren’t like them. They were getting ready to lynch them or something like that. “
“But there was this one lady. Her job in the circus was to take care of these (freak) people because they had various things they needed just to eat or something. The most famous scene was all of the people in this community didn’t want these folks there, ya know. And she just opened her coat up and she protected them like this. That’s the famous scene, like they may be a little strange, but these are human beings. That is why I like the name freaks. If anything, it appeals to my sense of humor.”