Don't call me a hippie

“If it feels good, do it” - Sloan

Have you ever heard that song “I’m a hippie” by some band I forget the name of and could easily look up but won’t because I can’t be bothered that basically goes through all of the things that all of these neo-hippies stand for and goes on to show that even “hippies” do non-hippie things? Well I have and if you can bother to find that song, go for it. This week’s cultural topic is:

Environmentalism

I don’t know if this thought crossed anyone’s mind just now when you read that little preamble, but you may be asking yourselves how environmentalism can be a cultural topic. Shouldn’t it be a scientific topic? Yes. Yes, it should. Businesses these days are constantly pounding on the idea that energy efficiency is good and that fossil fuels are limited resources and billions of dollars are being invested in to R&D for sustainable development, and governments are implementing bills and signing international accords that regulate the amount of this and that that has to be used or saved, or reused, etc, and that’s fine. They’re probably just looking out for themselves and future generations. But admit it. The “environmental stance” is mostly for PR. And good PR makes for good business.

As far as people go, I don’t have a fundamental problem with being eco friendly, but depending on what crowd you’re in, it seems these days, especially in England, that being environmentally friendly is either righteous or chique. I don’t know why, but whenever I pick up one of London’s free newspapers, I always end up flipping straight away to the “Green London” section, even though they’re usually always talking bogus hippie crap and how things like seal hunting, or the fox chase are immoral and endangering the eco-balance of the world and blah blah blah. I’ve definitely become more environmentally minded over the past couple of years, but I still believe that there’s nothing quite as good as sitting at home with all of the lights on because electricity is cheap and then driving down the road in my 4x4 SUV, pulling up to a gas station and pumping it full of hydrocarbon fossil fuels because image is everything and 4x4s are sweet. That’s what I’ve learned to love growing up in an oil-rich free market economy…but it’s not senseless waste.


I remember when being environmental was simply sticking to the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” Basically, these neo hippies all think they’re doing the world a favour by not having washed their hair in a month, shaven in a year, and they never use hot water or electricity in their homes, and think they’re better people for it. Newsflash: that’s mostly drugs. So cut it out. The cool crowds are the types who join in because everyone else does, kind of a lemming effect. And it’s fine because they don’t hold a strong moral stance on the issue and don’t really get in the way. Personally, while living in England, not having a lot of money has pretty much solidified “reduce” and “reuse” and the only real thing that keeps me recycling and preventing me from throwing my empties into the regular garbage bin is the fact that I’ll get hell for it from my “green” flatmate. So I guess I’m probably one of the cool guys.

Culture subtopic: Recycling. In North America, people recycle mostly because they’ll actually end up getting some of their beer money back. In fact, recycling might even be one of the reasons to host a party in the first place. Hosting a party always leaves you with tons of left over drinks; drinks you would never even dream of buying yourself, either because they’re too girly (even though you like the taste), too expensive and you’re poor (though for some reason you think it’s a great idea to have your friends over), and some that maybe you just don’t like because of certain (non)memories of good parties-gone wrong when you were younger and got sick off certain drinks (mine’s Molson Canadian). So after the clean up is done at least you can sit back and enjoy a beer from your fridge on someone else’s dime. And the next day you take all the empties to the bottle depot, pocket the $10.35, and call it a day. In England, though, they’re basically missing out on the free money part, so when it comes down to hosting a party, the potential for leftover drinks is really all you’ve got to look forward too, though you might actually have a good time and if you do then maybe your friends will thank you because after all, you’re a pretty good host and you don’t mind having them over again sometime in the future because they’re pretty good company too.

Subtopic number two: Organic food. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are apparently the devil. Or this is what hippies want you to think. But guess what. In many studies the subjects couldn’t distinguish between organic and non-organic foods. Health benefits from eating only organic foods are yet to be conclusive. And though Hippies seem to love to protest anything about consumerism, they fail to realise that they’re organic food actually costs more and that no matter what they do, GMOs will one day save their lives. I just don’t get it.

What I’m trying to say is: when I choose to recycle, it shouldn’t be because it’s cool, or because I’m getting money for it, or because I think that energy efficient tools built from my old beer cans and clothing made from old plastic coke bottles are really neat and innovative, it should be because it’s just the right thing to do. Or so that’s what THEY’ve been telling us. But what do they know? I say do what feels right to YOU.

PS. Psychedelic music is crap.