[J1ceasar]

What I find really funny is that the cancel culture is oxymoronic. It is a stain on our civilization that we have the freest country in the world and yet we still have 50% of the population hating the other 50%. If you really examine what a certain person has just said, you would find her statement to be truthful but whether or not it is I would defend her right to say it and not be punished because of those who do not agree with her. Her employers were at right stupid to fire her because I did not realize again that 50% of the population does agree with her. I guess from now on I have to turn off all Disney movies as maybe I have the boycott and cancel them also. And by the way you still plenty of hippies now in their 60s and seventies smoking pot and still protesting

[DOGSAREKEEPERS]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (or What Happened to the Boomer Generation?)

Remember the 1956 American science fiction horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter? The black-and-white film was done in a film noir style and is really creepy but the idea underneath the material is a lot scarier than anything you see.

Alien plant spores had fallen from space and grown into large seed pods, each one capable of producing a visually identical replacement copy of a human. The new human copies moved and thought together as a group. Many viewed it as an allegory for the loss of personal autonomy.

This brings me to my point. Whatever happened to the Baby Boomer/Woodstock generation? Were they victims of alien spores? Are they now living among us as pod people? The Baby Boomers used to question everything and especially anything the government and media told them.

Do NOT tell me, “We grew up”. Of course we did; we matured, we became a little less confrontational and we learned to bend a little. Some degree of conformity is necessary to get along in society but have we thrown out our ability for independent thinking along with our bell bottoms and tie dyed shirts?

Now comes a brand new virus. Fear & rumor run amok. Instead of our leaders and the media calming the public and speaking as a voice of reason, we continue to be bombarded daily with stories of death and measures we all must adhere to lest we get sick and join the daily published death count.

Constitutional rights were the first casualty of the virus... or was it the truth? Individual freedom was quickly proven to be just an illusion as the government mandated lockdowns, forced businesses into bankruptcy, banned travel and public gatherings.

My recent article dealt with the reasons I was not getting vaccinated & that people should really investigate the pros and cons rather than to blindly trust the government and the pharmaceutical industry. Rather than delve behind the curtain to sort out the real truth, it seems everyone is fighting over who gets to drink the Kool-Aid first.

Cancel culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles either online on social media, in the real world, or both. As an example, I posted the exact same article about vaccinations that appeared on this forum to “The Villages Friendly Folks” Facebook page only to have it removed by their administrators. The reason given was that I somehow violated their posting policies of no hate speech/bullying, no promotions or spam, and to respect others' privacy. Their feedback also included a quote from the WHO stating “Approved COVID-19 vaccines have been tested extensively for safety and effectiveness.”
Facebook and free speech are not compatible, I should know better.

I find there are three distinct psychological terms that apply to the general public and their behavior regarding COVID prevention and vaccination.

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.

Compliance Theory is when you act the way you are “supposed” to act; either because you were directly asked, or pressured more indirectly

Complicity Theorist is a person who accepts the political narrative of the day unquestionably; consumes mainstream media; and is prone to submissiveness, outbursts of irrational fear, and public shaming of free-thinkers.

So either these terms apply to the masses (and not just to the Baby Boomers) or “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” has become a reality. I don’t know about you but I am checking the house for seed pods every night before bed!

David H. Dallas, RN-ASN, EMT-P, retired

“In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”
― Galileo Galilei

Body Snatchers! Why didn't I think of that? It actually explains everything. I just can't imagine any other reason why so many people have lost their ability to think. I like to say I am not skeptical, I'm just experienced. Somewhere in school they taught us how to evaluate the marketing verbiage and colors and positions used to get us to purchase things. I turn most things over in my mind using the same type of thoughts. The Body Snatchers theory saves me a lot of strain trying to figure out what the heck happened. Thank YOU

[PJackpot]

The "cancel culture" is just a reintroduction of McCarthyism from the 50's. Apparently we've learned nothing.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

I don't know if he got it from his headmaster or not, but one of them got it from Khalil Gibran, who lived from 1883 to 1931.

Here's the exact quote:

That sort of proves that History tends to repeat. And failure to understand History dooms future generations to making those same mistakes over and over. Take a look at Texas DEREGULATING all its energy grid. The state disregarded the fact that over-de-regulation has led to problems in the past, like the subprime problem. And Texas disregarded the 30-year-old warning from climate scientists that BOTH warming and UNUSUAL weather phenomenons would occur. And, basically, global warming increases the chances of Pandemics.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by J1ceasar

What I find really funny is that the cancel culture is oxymoronic. It is a stain on our civilization that we have the freest country in the world and yet we still have 50% of the population hating the other 50%. If you really examine what a certain person has just said, you would find her statement to be truthful but whether or not it is I would defend her right to say it and not be punished because of those who do not agree with her. Her employers were at right stupid to fire her because I did not realize again that 50% of the population does agree with her. I guess from now on I have to turn off all Disney movies as maybe I have the boycott and cancel them also. And by the way you still plenty of hippies now in their 60s and seventies smoking pot and still protesting

Can you be TRULY certain that the US is the "freest country in the whole world" ? The thing to do is look at the world list of various countries rank on various issues such as "quality of life" and "upward mobility. You will be surprised - for example, on upward mobility the UK at # 10 is way above the US. the US has been slipping since the 1950s. We are NOT in the top 10 on any quality, like freedom. The Scandinavian countries dominate the top 5!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by PJackpot

The "cancel culture" is just a reintroduction of McCarthyism from the 50's. Apparently we've learned nothing.

Again - History repeats itself!

[sail33or]

Originally Posted by Carla B

Regarding Point No. 3: Did you mean to say "Generations after Baby Boomers are Social Media Zombies...." because there was no social media prior to Baby Boomers except the telephone and U.S. mail.

Yes, thanks. I have corrected this.

[terrild53]

Originally Posted by Choro&Swing

I’m a baby boomer who still questions everything. I still wear jeans. I still believe in personal freedom and the so-called sexual revolution. (Which failed, alas.) I still remember my relief when Roe v. Wade was decided. I longed to go to Woodstock, but I was only fifteen and 1500 miles away.

But I cut off my long hair when I was 19 and got a sensible haircut that looked good on me, and I’ve kept it that way ever since. I got rid of the tie-died shirts I used to make and bought Oxford cloth buttondowns and even a suit I wore on dates. When I looked carefully at what the radicals and revolutionaries of my time were saying, I repudiated them. I questioned them and then I realized they were wrong and shunned them. I stopped calling police officers pigs. Wanting a clear head, I said no to smoking things. I studied science and medicine and learned to tell the difference between sound research and junk science. I studied mind control and propaganda and how the media work so I wouldn’t get fooled by those who want to fool me in order to have power over me. I learned how legislators work and why I need to not trust them at face value, while recognizing that they have been elected by us. I learned to recognize conspiracy theories as almost certainly false. I learned to avoid quack medicine while allowing certain alternatives. I learned that vaccinations are important and that they work. I learned a lot more about history and the Constitution than I knew in my more radical youth. I studied philosophy. I learned what the Founders meant by freedom of speech and its limits. Thus, when people claimed that their constitutional freedoms meant they didn’t have to follow a rule and wear a mask for their own good and the good of others, I realized that wasn’t a sound position. I realized that freedom of speech should not mean the freedom to spout lies and hatred in order to harm others.

In short, I’ve kept aspects of my early ideas and idealism that I got from others but gained in wisdom and insight. I grew up. I matured. I cringe when I think of some of the wild-eyed things I believed at 16. I like to think there are millions who would agree with me.

I agree that keeping aspects of earlier ideas & idealism yet gaining wisdom & insight is a sign of maturing. I also agree that people still have freedom of speech, just not so much on social media. We all seem to be our own TV/Social Media Network and we all have our favorite news shows, don’t we? If commenting on Facebook or Twitter or any number of community social media sites becomes downright nasty/abusive /hateful then the person should be censored from further comments on that thread. Many FB sites have administrators who manage the sites to prevent literal free-for-alls online. People react without thinking many times & it can really get ugly. Hard to get people to control that when its the norm to post online.
My thoughts when I was 18 were mostly peaceful, hoping for love & family, and trying to figure out what to do for a job career, and learning what growing older was going to be like, all the while seeking answers from my parents & grandparents.
Oh yeah, I didn’t get to Woodstock either-it was only 4 hours away, but I was a week away from turning 16, and my dad was a New York State Trooper and he said to me “ there’s no food or water there, the Thruway is closed and you’re not going...period.” ☮️

[carhirsch]

Originally Posted by LiverpoolWalrus

Most hippies are/were baby boomers.

Not so. Boomers are older than hippies.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by carhirsch

Not so. Boomers are older than hippies.

Baby Boomers: People born between 1946 and 1964

The Hippie Generation: teenagers during the period between 1962 and the mid-1970's.

Most Hippies were Baby Boomers.
Many Baby Boomers were Hippies.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Baby Boomers: People born between 1946 and 1964

The Hippie Generation: teenagers during the period between 1962 and the mid-1970's.

Most Hippies were Baby Boomers.
Many Baby Boomers were Hippies.

Thanks OBB, you took the words right out of my mouth. Small tweak. I would say the hippie era was 1967 (1966 at the earliest) to the mid-1970s.

As for birth year for most hippies, I'm going to posit 1940, perhaps a bit earlier for when the leading edge of hippies were born. John Lennon and Ringo Starr were both born in 1940 and they were undoubtedly hippies.

Other stand outs representing hippiedom and their birth year include Jimi Hendrix (1942), Janis Joplin (1943) and Neil Young (1945). That places all of the above squarely outside the birth years of the baby boomer era. And it means that many hippies were older than boomers, not the other way around as one poster said.

That said, we agree that the vast majority of hippies doing their thing from 1967 to the mid-1970s were in their late teens and 20s, putting them comfortably in the baby boomer range.

So yes, most hippies are/were baby boomers.

Empirically, I see it all the time in the Villages and elsewhere. Many boomers still seem to be carrying hippie ideals, in their appearance and their values. And I thank God for that.

It's encouraging to see a new generation of hippies, and you'll see tons of them at jam band and Dead offshoot concerts. They're typically in their 20s and 30s. And I tip my hat to them for keeping the flame alive.