"Born in the USA" was co-opted for the election campaigns of Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and then Pat Buchanan, each time until Springsteen objected. It seems obvious that none ever listened to the lyrics beyond "Born in the USA..."
Reagan's team tried to replace it with John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses" (Ain't that America...) but was turned down.
I'm surprised some of the idiots haven't tried to co-opt "Allentown," thinking that "...all the union people crawled away" would be a good thing. Dolts and fools.
Were you a hippie? I was, Rainbow Family Gatherings, etc., though always more of the activist type than the woo-woo type.
I was invited to join in a gathering back several years ago when this motley bunch of smelly misfits wanted to occupy the Smoky Mountains NP. .(welcome brother, we welcome black people too). I don't recall whether they got permission or not. This little ragged stringy-haired woman who smelled as though she hadn't bathed in a week and lived in an old school bus attempted to entice me into a threesome with her old man. She had more hair on her legs and armpits than I did! Shit no! Anyway, going to your link, I found this, much of what I already knew.
Media coverage of Rainbow Gatherings has been unfavorable since the 1980s when journalists started to describe Rainbow Family members in terms such as "aging hippies", "grown-up flower children", or "middle-aged white folks". (Not entirely true. Most I met were post-teen to latter 30's.) In the 2000s, the media focus shifted to the increase in crime in the local communities closest to Gatherings, ranging from petty crimes like retail theft to violent assaults and serious traffic charges, such as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Despite the movement's environmentalist and pacifist aspirations, Gatherings, which are typically held in national forests and other ecologically sensitive areas, are known for having a deleterious (harmful) impact on the local environment and participants have developed a reputation for excessive drug and alcohol use, disruptive and criminal activity, and for their cultural appropriation (free or open sex) and misrepresentation of Native American traditions and beliefs. This has resulted in increased police presence at Gatherings and a poor reception from community members and business owners in nearby towns and reservations. In the U.S., these issues are also contributing factors to the decline in attendance at regional and national Gatherings.
Thanks for the memories.
Proudly Telling It Like It Is: In Your Face! Whether You Like It Or Not!
Were you a hippie? I was, Rainbow Family Gatherings, etc., though always more of the activist type than the woo-woo type.
That's what all the rednecks who threw stuff at me called me. 1969 Alabama with hair almost to me waist was an interesting time. Too busy picking and eating mushrooms, growing and smoking pot, and then there was school too. All excuses for my lack of political activism.
After years with a buzz cut I am currently growing hair. Not sure about waist length, but at least a pony tail.
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”
I'm my fucking hair didn't start falling out I'd still be rocking the long hair too, but I spose I'm gonna have to opt for the stone cold Steve Austin look.
You aren't doing it wrong if no one knows what you are doing.
Were you a hippie? I was, Rainbow Family Gatherings, etc., though always more of the activist type than the woo-woo type.
I was invited to join in a gathering back several years ago when this motley bunch of smelly misfits wanted to occupy the Smoky Mountains NP. .(welcome brother, we welcome black people too). I don't recall whether they got permission or not. This little ragged stringy-haired woman who smelled as though she hadn't bathed in a week and lived in an old school bus attempted to entice me into a threesome with her old man. She had more hair on her legs and armpits than I did! Shit no! Anyway, going to your link, I found this, much of what I already knew.
Media coverage of Rainbow Gatherings has been unfavorable since the 1980s when journalists started to describe Rainbow Family members in terms such as "aging hippies", "grown-up flower children", or "middle-aged white folks". (Not entirely true. Most I met were post-teen to latter 30's.) In the 2000s, the media focus shifted to the increase in crime in the local communities closest to Gatherings, ranging from petty crimes like retail theft to violent assaults and serious traffic charges, such as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Despite the movement's environmentalist and pacifist aspirations, Gatherings, which are typically held in national forests and other ecologically sensitive areas, are known for having a deleterious (harmful) impact on the local environment and participants have developed a reputation for excessive drug and alcohol use, disruptive and criminal activity, and for their cultural appropriation (free or open sex) and misrepresentation of Native American traditions and beliefs. This has resulted in increased police presence at Gatherings and a poor reception from community members and business owners in nearby towns and reservations. In the U.S., these issues are also contributing factors to the decline in attendance at regional and national Gatherings.
Thanks for the memories.
I was invited to one by some polyamorous hippy chick. She looked ok. She hoola hooped and sold trinkets at a flee market. Oddly enough she grew up less than five miles from me in the same shit hole podunk town, and we someone ended up in the same area.
You aren't doing it wrong if no one knows what you are doing.