Slog
News & ArtsFriday, August 14, 2009
City Hempfest in a Teapot
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Earlier this year, I called Hempfest a "patchouli-stained ghetto," which was a poor choice of words, I'll admit. But my point, as I wrote later on Slog and I reiterate in this week’s paper, is that countercultural celebrations and drug-legalization advocacy are mutually undermining ambitions. Hempfest’s board of directors became enraged and one board member wrote at the time, “I will do everything I can to make sure you are never invited back to speak at Hempfest." Indeed, the board voted last month to ban me from speaking at the event this year. So I’m not speaking at Hempfest for like the first time in a decade, which is weird. It makes me sad, but not bitter. I love Hempfest—rallies are an essential ingredient for most growing political movements—and I just want to see Hempfest accentuate the positive and eliminate the archaic tie dyes hanging from the stages. For the record, hippies can be wonderful people and I think Hempfest is a phenomenal marvel. So this weekend I’ll be going to Hempfest as a spectator for the first time since 1993, and I’ll be turning a blind eye to the prayer wheels and dream flags or whatever, and looking at the best aspects of the event. Here’s what I’ll be checking out:
- POSTER BY CORY AND CATSKA ENCH
The Elected Guard: State Representative Roger Goodman got his start in the public square as head of the King County Bar Association’s drug policy project; then used that platform—previously considered fringe, druggy radicalism—to springboard into elected office. His opponent had tried to smear him in 2006 for his drug activism, but that drove up Goodman’s polling numbers in the moderate eastside 45th District and he won election (and reelection last year). Goodman's stayed true to his roots and will be speaking at Hempfest on the main stage on Saturday at 4:55 p.m.
Music: On the DanceSafe electronic music stage, check out Brian Lyons, founder of Seattle house night Flammable, on Saturday 3:15 p.m. KJ Sawka plays on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. And on Sunday on the main stage, check out Tony B's Hip Hop Revue from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Again, to all the people who think I hate hippies and think I want Hempfest to die: The opposite it true. Hippies are great, and the counterculture movement of the late '60s is largely to thank for the progressive politics in America today. Hippies worked hard to get Hempfest where it is. I know—I was one of them.
- PHOTO VIA HEMPFEST.ORG
Right now, people think pot rally = hippies. It's not true, but the jam rock and honky reggae = hippie vibe. Don't be a cliche! For example, think about how much it would suck if the health care reform rallies were led by welfare moms, or how unconvincing an NRA rally would be if everyone there had a firearms violation on their records.
If this country reforms drug policy, it will be for the benefit of society overall—freeing police resources, generating tax revenue, saving money on incarceration—not because the general population thinks hippies have a right to use drugs. Hempfest has an image problem, and if the organizers want to support the movement, they will work to fix it. In the meantime, it’s this weekend in Myrtle Edwards Park, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days. Donate some money when you go in the gate. Hempfest may not be perfect, but it’s an all-volunteer miracle, it’s part of an important movement, and it’s the best pot event in the world. But it can be better.
2
Why not provide some facts to back up your opinion that the hippie image is detrimental to the legalization movement.
3
Can't make Hempfest this year.
I'll be attending Crackfest down in South Park.
After that I'll take "mass transit" up to Lynnwood for Rapefest.
Then on to Madofffest in Redmond.
I mean, Seattle can't be the only place with entire festival devoted to criminal activity...right?
Can't make Hempfest this year.
I'll be attending Crackfest down in South Park.
After that I'll take "mass transit" up to Lynnwood for Rapefest.
Then on to Madofffest in Redmond.
I mean, Seattle can't be the only place with entire festival devoted to criminal activity...right?
4
Posts like this are a far bigger embarassment than anything a bunch of hippies ever did. God you're a fuckwad.
5
@2: Probably because only dyed in the cotton hippies would actually not realize that fact.
Seriously, Dominic is absolutely right. The fact that pot legalization is seen by the larger public as an issue that is cornered by people who flout mainstream standards of conduct is a hindrance. And I think it would be much less of a hindrance if such groups were seen as members of a coalition, rather than those leading the charge.
In short: I support pot legalization. I don't feel like participating in a hippie culture fest.
Seriously, Dominic is absolutely right. The fact that pot legalization is seen by the larger public as an issue that is cornered by people who flout mainstream standards of conduct is a hindrance. And I think it would be much less of a hindrance if such groups were seen as members of a coalition, rather than those leading the charge.
In short: I support pot legalization. I don't feel like participating in a hippie culture fest.
6
Hippies are the reason pot isn't legal, full stop. There is nothing glamorous or interesting or valuable about hippies.
But the real threat to America is that Algerian font (above the guitar player).
But the real threat to America is that Algerian font (above the guitar player).
7
Hippie culture fest? What do you people REALLY know about hippies? Most of you were not even born when Hippies roamed the earth. Stop being so pompous and all-knowing about those you know next to nothing about. Hempfest is about Pot and those that, um those that, um, it's about Pot.
9
@4: Speaking of fuckwads, hasn't it been a while since you said that people who don't own guns want to ear-rape Lady Liberty? Come on, I'm sure you can work it in to this thread somehow.
10
@7: The fuck? I have to have been at Woodstock in order to know that I don't want to party with hippies?
Frankly, that kind of logic is why.
Frankly, that kind of logic is why.
11
If hippies were able to cut their hair and go Clean for Gene, surely they can go Clean for Green. And, despite being a good student, doesn't Ian Barry look like the stereotypical pot smoker? New guard same as the old guard.
12
I think this happens to be a problem that movements in general have: it's easy to view them as being about 'them' instead of 'us'. People tend to look at a group (be it marijuana users, the gays, gun owners, or the anti-globalization movement) and automatically brand the entire group with the identity of its least-empathetic members.
But it seems like Hempfest is saving folks the trouble of doing even that by playing up the hippie angle. The problem isn't that there are hippies at Hempfest. The problem is that Hempfest makes itself look like it's all about hippies. It's like if an anti-globalization protest was to bill itself as being all about smashing things up: it would be even easier for outsiders to dismiss the protest as just being crackpot anarchists, instead of giving them the chance to see that some of the people inside the movement are just like them and they share a lot of positions about the issue. It's playing to a specific identity, which makes it more difficult for people outside of the group to find common ground with those inside.
It reminds me a lot of Critical Mass: I love Critical Mass, and I try to attend as much as possible. But a lot of the time it seems like the movement plays right in to the 'stupid-hipster-shithead-wear-a-helmet' stereotypes that people have about it. The only difference is that Hempfest is an organization, and not a leaderless mass, and so is both more and less capable of changing itself. Hopefully the organizers can recognize the issues that the festival has and can fix them so that more people can see that potheads are decent, normal, productive people - instead of commie layabouts who mooch off the state to serve their drug habits.
But it seems like Hempfest is saving folks the trouble of doing even that by playing up the hippie angle. The problem isn't that there are hippies at Hempfest. The problem is that Hempfest makes itself look like it's all about hippies. It's like if an anti-globalization protest was to bill itself as being all about smashing things up: it would be even easier for outsiders to dismiss the protest as just being crackpot anarchists, instead of giving them the chance to see that some of the people inside the movement are just like them and they share a lot of positions about the issue. It's playing to a specific identity, which makes it more difficult for people outside of the group to find common ground with those inside.
It reminds me a lot of Critical Mass: I love Critical Mass, and I try to attend as much as possible. But a lot of the time it seems like the movement plays right in to the 'stupid-hipster-shithead-wear-a-helmet' stereotypes that people have about it. The only difference is that Hempfest is an organization, and not a leaderless mass, and so is both more and less capable of changing itself. Hopefully the organizers can recognize the issues that the festival has and can fix them so that more people can see that potheads are decent, normal, productive people - instead of commie layabouts who mooch off the state to serve their drug habits.
13
For some reason, this post reminded me of an episode of Seinfeld where Kramer participates in an AIDS walk but refuses to wear the AIDS ribbon and ends up attacked by a mob who are angry he's not wearing it.
15
@2: I must've totally missed the part where pot had been legalized in the decades that the hippies were running the legalization movement.
20
@19 Hippie chicks are excellently hot, what with their nipples pushing through their peasant shirts and whatnot.
21
Is it me, or does Lynette Squeaky Fromme (at the beginning of her sentence) look like everyone's version of the idealized Seattle Girlfriend?
http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blo…
http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blo…
22
It is an interesting dynamic when people are excluded from the mainstream because of their lifestyle and therefore in turn reject the mainstream and then want to be accepted by it without accepting it.
This I-hate-you-for-hating-me-now-lets-get-together annual event is getting old.
Tim Eyeman seems able to get his crazy laws on the books. I guess the Hempfesters are way too stoned to match wits with him. Maybe it is time to put down their bong and and take up their cause?
This I-hate-you-for-hating-me-now-lets-get-together annual event is getting old.
Tim Eyeman seems able to get his crazy laws on the books. I guess the Hempfesters are way too stoned to match wits with him. Maybe it is time to put down their bong and and take up their cause?
23
Dominic - you're much like the hippies you lament, better in text and annoying in person. I agree with your sentiments, but when i was going to that goddamn hippie patchouli fest 10 years ago, your shrill ass speeches made me want to give you the goddamn hook off the stage. Fucking hippies and shrill ass "we gotta fight" speakers suck almost as much as these juggalo looking clowns with their pitbulls out there today.
I love weed but what is wrong with you people.
fuck.
I love weed but what is wrong with you people.
fuck.
24
Whenever I think about hempfest, I think of an S.F. hempfest back in the nineties. The band Adjective/Noun went out on stage and unfurled their banner. It was a swastika made of pot leaves. Then the singer began going on about how hippies were nazis because they celebrated Hitler's birthday(4/20). My friend, who had played earlier and was watching from the stage watched people going from cheerful, to really bummed out, and finally to openly hostile. It still makes me laugh.
25
Hippies make me want to vote Republican. My ideals fall in line with the left, but the sight of hippies clinging to their tie-dyed youth reminds me of my parents and friend's parents. Something in me turns me into a snotty, rebellious teenager and I wish to pull an "Alex P. Keaton" on them.
p.s. If they were smart they would point this out: Pot is illegal in America so the people who grow and sell it are drug dealers. Pot is legal in Amsterdam, so the people who grow & sell it are farmers. I'd rather live next door to a farmer than a drug dealer.
p.s. If they were smart they would point this out: Pot is illegal in America so the people who grow and sell it are drug dealers. Pot is legal in Amsterdam, so the people who grow & sell it are farmers. I'd rather live next door to a farmer than a drug dealer.
26
God, the fact that such things could take place on the open like that, is it any wonder!? Last I heard the Dutch were revisiting their Pot cafes laws and reducing their numbers, since they've had to deal with lots of criminal behavior because of it. And people with indoor basement laboratories with fluorescent lamps are "farmers" now? LOL God have mercy on us.
27
@ Loveschild,
Since it's grown hydroponically it's actually organic farming at that.
I thought Amsterdam revisited it's pot cafe laws because the pot was mixed with tobacco. The government decided that pot had to be pure and unadulterated and there was a huge out-cry from the public because pure pot cigarettes aren't very popular. They really like the tobacco blends and due to anti-smoking bans, tobacco products can't be smoked in-doors.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/worl…
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-…
Since it's grown hydroponically it's actually organic farming at that.
I thought Amsterdam revisited it's pot cafe laws because the pot was mixed with tobacco. The government decided that pot had to be pure and unadulterated and there was a huge out-cry from the public because pure pot cigarettes aren't very popular. They really like the tobacco blends and due to anti-smoking bans, tobacco products can't be smoked in-doors.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/worl…
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-…
28
Dominic, I think you have many good points, but I don't understand the intolerance to prayer flags and tie-dye? There is a rich history of these things/images in the history of cannabis-acceptance. It's just an aesthetic. Why all the hatred?
29
A few days ago someone wrote somewhere in the Slog comments that Loveschild was a project written by a revolving cast of graduate students (or something like that). The unevenness in the first line of Loveschild's post (taking the lord's name in vain + "on the open") seems to support that theory. We're on to you guys, "Loveschild", you hear?
30
I hope you'll stop by my booth today. I'll touch my right nipple to let you know it's me. Please sneak around back. I have a brick-sized gift for you, Dominic. I'm a fan.
31
Seems a little odd to blame hippies for a lack of forward thinking legislation on dope in the United States- would love to hear the group think on the death penalty, gay marriage and all other American throwback thinking.
32
@28: Because that aesthetic is alienating to the greater population. I lived in Seattle until 2007 and never once attended Hempfest. Why? Because I have a powerful aversion to prayer flags and tie dye. Rightly or wrongly, the hippie aesthetic is associated with the kind of selfish, pie-in-the-sky, navel-gazing attitudes of the Boomer generation. I grew up being spoonfed those attitudes and resent the whole damn generation. Surely I'm not alone.
33
I don't understand (well, I do actually; the essence of being counter-culture means that you either refuse to accept or can't comprehend that which makes culture function) why so many posters here don't understand that Mr. Holden is 100% correct. Ultimately, prohibitionists are fighting a culture war just like Nixon and the Nixons before him did. Objectively, there's no reason that cannabis should be illegal so emotional reasoning is what rules the day.
If people truly wanted to see cannabis legalized, they'd swallow their pride and do what it takes to make the debate turn on the objective merits, not the emotional merits. Unfortunately, too many people are motivated by their ego at this point in time.
(I have nothing against hippies except many times the means are their focus rather than the ends)
If people truly wanted to see cannabis legalized, they'd swallow their pride and do what it takes to make the debate turn on the objective merits, not the emotional merits. Unfortunately, too many people are motivated by their ego at this point in time.
(I have nothing against hippies except many times the means are their focus rather than the ends)
34
Complaining about hippies and tie die at Hempfest is exactly like complaining about drag queens at a gay pride parade.
Sure, drag queens and hippies are kind of an embarrassment to more mainstream folks. And you're right that drag queens and hippies aren't going to change any minds among the suburban soccer moms.
But trying to excise the hippies from Hempfest is just as wrong-headed and futile as it would be to try to excise the drag queens from Pride. They are an integral and historical part of the movement. Embrace it and work with it.
Sure, drag queens and hippies are kind of an embarrassment to more mainstream folks. And you're right that drag queens and hippies aren't going to change any minds among the suburban soccer moms.
But trying to excise the hippies from Hempfest is just as wrong-headed and futile as it would be to try to excise the drag queens from Pride. They are an integral and historical part of the movement. Embrace it and work with it.
35
Don't like prayer flags?
Maybe crosses with the dying Jesus is more your taste?
In all the years I have volunteered at many types of festivals and in several cities - this objection is a first.
Are we getting just big time too prissy? I mean, really, whining queens - shit, oh dear.
Dan likes to use douche bag. Maybe multi colored hanging douche bags would work? Could put the Stranger logo on them.
Throw out the prayer flags, which are part of that repressive Budhist thing.
Hanging douche bags, I like it. Fresh, new, trendy, no history in the pot movement. Wow. A whole new look for the edification of the middle class, whomever the hell they are.
Maybe crosses with the dying Jesus is more your taste?
In all the years I have volunteered at many types of festivals and in several cities - this objection is a first.
Are we getting just big time too prissy? I mean, really, whining queens - shit, oh dear.
Dan likes to use douche bag. Maybe multi colored hanging douche bags would work? Could put the Stranger logo on them.
Throw out the prayer flags, which are part of that repressive Budhist thing.
Hanging douche bags, I like it. Fresh, new, trendy, no history in the pot movement. Wow. A whole new look for the edification of the middle class, whomever the hell they are.
38
While Seattle has all but turned Pot Smoking into a sacrament, there is still a $100 fine.
Seattle Police should demonstrate that they enforce the law fairly - not just in the CD - by collecting this fee from all Hempfest participants.
Seattle Police -- get the money...enforce the law fairly!!
Seattle Police should demonstrate that they enforce the law fairly - not just in the CD - by collecting this fee from all Hempfest participants.
Seattle Police -- get the money...enforce the law fairly!!
39
"Complaining about hippies and tie die at Hempfest is exactly like complaining about drag queens at a gay pride parade."
And sadly,
Gay marriage: losing battle
Pot: still illegal
But hey, keep waving your freak flag, so we can keep having the same goddamn conversation for the next twenty years.
And sadly,
Gay marriage: losing battle
Pot: still illegal
But hey, keep waving your freak flag, so we can keep having the same goddamn conversation for the next twenty years.
40
@27 You can still by tobacco/ marijuanna cigarettes in Amsterdam; I was there in June. As far as I know, the Dutch aren't changing their marijuanna laws - but they are reducing the size [that is, trying to eliminate] the Red Light District. The Powers That Be want tourist friendly shops and cafes there instead. Right now the whole place is sadly deserted.
Frankly, I'd be for the removal of tobacco in marijuanna cigarettes - I only buy the pure thing anyway.
Frankly, I'd be for the removal of tobacco in marijuanna cigarettes - I only buy the pure thing anyway.
41
If the price of social acceptance is to adopt mainstream standards of conduct and behaviour, then *it is not worth it*.
42
@41: The problem isn't social acceptance, my friend. Pot is pretty socially acceptable. The problem is that it's illegal. And that will not change as long as those leading the charge for legalization are perceived as being at odds in a general sense with mainstream society.
Basically, the conflation that you are engaged in is a big part of the problem. If Hempfest is a celebration of hippie culture, that's fine, but it's not going to effect its stated goal of legalizing pot. What everyone here (except the hippies themselves) is saying is that these two things aren't compatible.
Basically, the conflation that you are engaged in is a big part of the problem. If Hempfest is a celebration of hippie culture, that's fine, but it's not going to effect its stated goal of legalizing pot. What everyone here (except the hippies themselves) is saying is that these two things aren't compatible.
43
Maintaining the charade that people are passionate about, and rally about, the misallocation of law enforcement resources blah blah - and dodging the ingestion motivation - seems to be more damaging to the cause of legalization than allowing the subcultural expression at which you turn up your nose. It was once a way to get the trojan horse through the gates, but now that the festival is established, it's time to get honest.
Marijuana should be legalized because the prohibition is unjust. People should have the right to ingest cannabis because it is mostly harmless (and certainly less harmful than the punishment).
Cannabis users should quit pretending that hemp will save the world, and put their energy into demonstrating that they are not scary degenerates deserving of incarceration. Hempfest should concentrate on demonstrating that cannabis use can be fun and can be socially acceptable. And yes, making it a freak show is counterproductive because it maintains the sense of "otherness" that terrifies uptight old voters.
Marijuana should be legalized because the prohibition is unjust. People should have the right to ingest cannabis because it is mostly harmless (and certainly less harmful than the punishment).
Cannabis users should quit pretending that hemp will save the world, and put their energy into demonstrating that they are not scary degenerates deserving of incarceration. Hempfest should concentrate on demonstrating that cannabis use can be fun and can be socially acceptable. And yes, making it a freak show is counterproductive because it maintains the sense of "otherness" that terrifies uptight old voters.
44
From an entertainment standpoint, I agree with Dominic's sentiment. The last time I was at Hempfest, my two favorite things I saw were a kick-ass female fronted metal band and Rick Steves. The jam bands and the overarching hippie aesthetic bored me to tears. Pot smokers are not a monolithic entity with shared cultural tastes; anything that Hempfest does, moving forward, to diversify the festival's entertainment is great. I just think it could afford to be more diverse than it is now.
45
Anyone who understands the three appeals of argument gets why the continued use of '60s countercultural tropes is detrimental to the goal of legalization. Those who don't understand why the tie-dye and bubble fonts hurt the cause need to put down the bong and read some Goddamn books about rhetoric and advocacy.
46
Dominic, you're expecting WAY too much from Hempfest. You could have tens of thousands of lawyers in suits and soccer moms show up, and it wouldn't make any fucking difference in terms of legalization. Legalization will be won through the courts and legislation. Hempfest, while it advocates legalizing pot, is a festival for people to come and let down their hair, as smelly and disheveled as it may be. It's not a conference or seminar or hearing. Just as gay pride parades are not going to win us any rights; those rights will be won through court battles and legislation, and the parades are a chance for us to go out and just fucking have a good time, drag queens and half-naked boys and dykes on bikes and all. It might repulse some people, but even if we all showed up for pride in suits with polite signs requesting our civil rights, the right will still seek to deny us our equality. The hippies and smelly hordes having their festival, and the fight for legalization, need not be exclusive, and can coexist. Just admit that deep down inside you hate the hippies and the fact that you fear someone might associate YOUR drug use with THEM, and work on your own issues. Let the hippies and freaks have their fun.
That being said, I don't smoke pot, have never been to Hempfest, and think that hippies are disgusting. I've seen the photos and videos of it, and while I'm not a religious person and don't believe in Hell, Hempfest is about as close as I can get to imagining some kind of eternal damnation or apocalypse. However, I don't begrudge people having a day to be the freaks that they are, especially in a part of town that I never go to.
That being said, I don't smoke pot, have never been to Hempfest, and think that hippies are disgusting. I've seen the photos and videos of it, and while I'm not a religious person and don't believe in Hell, Hempfest is about as close as I can get to imagining some kind of eternal damnation or apocalypse. However, I don't begrudge people having a day to be the freaks that they are, especially in a part of town that I never go to.
47
I love weed, but weed culture is annoying. Thanks for having the guts to say as much D.H.
I always think of that bit that David Cross has when he talks about pot culture and the his distaste for the guy who has a centerfold of his favorite bud from High Times on his wall. Is it possible to just smoke some weed and not go cliche?
I thought most of the arguments for legalization were that it was something that was safer than believed, and pretty common. So why embrace outdated culture? If I want to spend a weekend listening to bad jam music and getting stoned with hippies I can go to the Gorge....and I don't want to thanks.
I always think of that bit that David Cross has when he talks about pot culture and the his distaste for the guy who has a centerfold of his favorite bud from High Times on his wall. Is it possible to just smoke some weed and not go cliche?
I thought most of the arguments for legalization were that it was something that was safer than believed, and pretty common. So why embrace outdated culture? If I want to spend a weekend listening to bad jam music and getting stoned with hippies I can go to the Gorge....and I don't want to thanks.
48
I smoke pot, at least once a week.
Hempfesters?
Total fucking losers defined by their pot smoking.
Hempfesters?
Total fucking losers defined by their pot smoking.
49
We just got home from this years 'Fest and I can't say that I ever need to go again. Between the lines to get in, the "no dog" policy that apparently doesn't apply if you have a pit bull (we counted no less than 6 pit bulls inside the event), the 15-year-olds blowing cigarette smoke everywhere and the throngs of nasty-smelling people, thanks but no thanks.
I'm a responsible pot smoker and legal Washington State patient and this thing is pretty much an embarrassment. More than turning out to be a waste of time, I left feeling like if this is the energy behind legalization in this state, we've got a l-o-n-g way to go.
I'm a responsible pot smoker and legal Washington State patient and this thing is pretty much an embarrassment. More than turning out to be a waste of time, I left feeling like if this is the energy behind legalization in this state, we've got a l-o-n-g way to go.
50
from article:...or how unconvincing an NRA rally would be if everyone there had a firearms violation
Huh? Hardly anyone in the NRA has a "firearms violation" or maybe that was part of the joke(?)
Huh? Hardly anyone in the NRA has a "firearms violation" or maybe that was part of the joke(?)
51
@50: Yeah, I think that's the point. The NRA, whatever you think of them, has gone out of its way to demonstrate that it supports responsible and safe gun ownership as a basic right, not reckless jackassery. The NRA would be a much more laughable and less effective organization if it was composed of a bunch of convicts and gangbangers.
Okay, well maybe "laughable" is the wrong word there, but you get the idea.,
Okay, well maybe "laughable" is the wrong word there, but you get the idea.,
52
I've attended and volunteered at Hempfest for four years, including this year. The weather was great Saturday and we had fun at DanceSafe. I'm sorry you have beef with the core staff, Dominic, that's a bummer. But when I think of Hempfest, I don't really think "hippies." There are way more gutter-punk kids at Hempfest than those resembling hippie-types. There are also well-dressed yuppies, middle-aged mothers, average Joe tokers, medicinal users, and many others. Similarly to Commenter #46, I think legalization will be won through the courts and legislation, and we should let the revelers have their fun this weekend. It's a celebration. The hippie thing is kind of a non-issue, right? Taking down the tie-dye won't make a difference in image or attendance. But better music might- I'd agree with you there. Michael Manahan and KJ Sawka will rock it at the DanceSafe stage on Sunday. see you there!
53
I was there today and it didn't seem like a hippiefest to me.. It seemed a lot like bumbershoot but with more people and less music.
54
People don't realize an important truth: if you don't look like the people you're trying to convince, they're not going to listen to you. That may be wrong, unfair, evil, etc. - whatever, it doesn't matter. If you are wearing tie-dye and have dreads and you're trying to persuade an average Joe that he should listen to you, it's not going to happen.
Pot legalization won't come about because of drum circle-attending, hacky sack-playing, beaded wish bracelet-selling, kind veggie burrito-rolling hippie douchebags. It'll happen because "normal people" are obviously not criminals for smoking a plant.
Pot legalization won't come about because of drum circle-attending, hacky sack-playing, beaded wish bracelet-selling, kind veggie burrito-rolling hippie douchebags. It'll happen because "normal people" are obviously not criminals for smoking a plant.
55
I went to hempfest yesterday and, honestly, I have no issues with the hippies. What I take issue with was the hordes of kids marching around smoking their pot in open defiance just to prove how "cool" they are. Those are the people holding marijuana reform back, not the hippies.
Let's face it, hippies smoke pot. We know this, this is no secret, and illegal or not they have been doing it for 50 years. Suzy Soccermom doesn't care if hippies smoke pot. Suzy Soccermom cares if that hippie "tricks" little Billy into smoking pot. THAT is what is holding legalization back--the massive group of poorly educated narrow-minded parents screaming "Wont somebody pleeeeease think of the children!" and the even larger group of punk ass teenagers who continue to smoke pot, not because of the actual effects, but as a way to rebel against that large portion of voters called their parents by growing dirtweed in their closet and making pipes out of their pop cans.
Let the hippies stay IMO. This is their day just like it is every other responsible adult who enjoys the essentially harmless act of smoking pot. But ban everyone under 18 please. Every time people start honestly talking about legalization it always comes back to "yeah, but more kids will start smoking!"
If the hempfest staff was serious about making the responsible adult use of marijuana legal they should make this event 18+ clear and simple. I don't need to see 15 year old girls hitting on 40 year old burnouts for a toke and I sure as hell don't need to see people with infants in strollers (who also happen to clog up the pathways and get in the bloody way, but that's another issue.) One picture of some teenager blowing smoke in the direction of a sleeping 2 year old (which I did see, by the way) will be ten steps back for any one step forward this sort of event causes.
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Let's face it, hippies smoke pot. We know this, this is no secret, and illegal or not they have been doing it for 50 years. Suzy Soccermom doesn't care if hippies smoke pot. Suzy Soccermom cares if that hippie "tricks" little Billy into smoking pot. THAT is what is holding legalization back--the massive group of poorly educated narrow-minded parents screaming "Wont somebody pleeeeease think of the children!" and the even larger group of punk ass teenagers who continue to smoke pot, not because of the actual effects, but as a way to rebel against that large portion of voters called their parents by growing dirtweed in their closet and making pipes out of their pop cans.
Let the hippies stay IMO. This is their day just like it is every other responsible adult who enjoys the essentially harmless act of smoking pot. But ban everyone under 18 please. Every time people start honestly talking about legalization it always comes back to "yeah, but more kids will start smoking!"
If the hempfest staff was serious about making the responsible adult use of marijuana legal they should make this event 18+ clear and simple. I don't need to see 15 year old girls hitting on 40 year old burnouts for a toke and I sure as hell don't need to see people with infants in strollers (who also happen to clog up the pathways and get in the bloody way, but that's another issue.) One picture of some teenager blowing smoke in the direction of a sleeping 2 year old (which I did see, by the way) will be ten steps back for any one step forward this sort of event causes.
56
@51- Does that mean a health care reform meeting lead by those 'welfare moms' is laughable as well? Or is it because pot legalization only helps hippies like health care reform only helps welfare moms?
57
#54 - exactly right.
The legalization movement needs a soccer mom talking about relaxing with a toke after putting the kids down instead of having a wine cooler or a glass of blush.
The legalization movement needs a soccer mom talking about relaxing with a toke after putting the kids down instead of having a wine cooler or a glass of blush.
58
Holden is 100% correct and should not have back tracked. A couple years ago around Hempfest time the PI ran an article about one of the guys who founded it and still was heavily involved.
He was a white guy with dreads who has been living on disability since he was in his late teens/early 20's- TWO DECADES. He said this was due to a back injury... than later in the article he talked about how every year he helps do the construction work to set up Hempfest. Hope the disability office got wind of that info.
Sorry, but it makes me cringe that someone who is the spokesperson for legalizing pot in some dreadlocked fool who has been on the dole his entire adult life. Yeah that really helps crash the sterotype of the lazy pothead who doesn't contribute to society.
He was a white guy with dreads who has been living on disability since he was in his late teens/early 20's- TWO DECADES. He said this was due to a back injury... than later in the article he talked about how every year he helps do the construction work to set up Hempfest. Hope the disability office got wind of that info.
Sorry, but it makes me cringe that someone who is the spokesperson for legalizing pot in some dreadlocked fool who has been on the dole his entire adult life. Yeah that really helps crash the sterotype of the lazy pothead who doesn't contribute to society.
59
@56: Well, I think that when the people leading a movement are that susceptible to being labeled as a minority special interest group whose interests aren't aligned with the greater good or mainstream society, you have a huge political problem. Also, it's "led." That misspelling always bugs me.
60
You know the real enemy to the gay right's movement are gays who smoke pot. (That's a joke to show how hypocritical Dominic is when he calls out the hippies)
61
I wouldnt go and sugar coat it for them, just because someone doesnt agree, Dominic. You are right. Hempfest has gone downhill in a big way. And expecially the part about kids, and I mean 10 and 12 year old CHILDREN smoking pot right out in the open.
It is wrong, and child protective services should be attending this festival if they are going to allow children under age 21 beyond the gate without their parents. Hempfest officials need to be held accountable for all the stoned kids in Seattle this past weekend.
With all the booths selling things that are not even made from hemp, crowding out the booths that are there to educate, it would seem that the retail intrests outweigh the educational intrests at Hempfest anymore. It is sad to see Hempfest going to pot. Punn Intended.
It is wrong, and child protective services should be attending this festival if they are going to allow children under age 21 beyond the gate without their parents. Hempfest officials need to be held accountable for all the stoned kids in Seattle this past weekend.
With all the booths selling things that are not even made from hemp, crowding out the booths that are there to educate, it would seem that the retail intrests outweigh the educational intrests at Hempfest anymore. It is sad to see Hempfest going to pot. Punn Intended.
63
There's something to be said for tradition. Your hatred for the silly trappings of this issue betrays an aversion to those who initiated the movement. You're resentful because it wasn't you. It's just a plant, and the pressing for it's acceptance began long before your birth. Nobody is forcing you to wear tie-dye. What kind of "ghetto" would you prefer? What kind of scent would meet with your approval?
I saw so many different types of people at Hempfest. There was some tie-dye, yes, but do you want it to be banned? Wow, did a hippie rape you in your childhood?
I saw so many different types of people at Hempfest. There was some tie-dye, yes, but do you want it to be banned? Wow, did a hippie rape you in your childhood?
64
the problem is not the hippies. the problem is all the "mainstream" people who are too chickenshit to come out and say they smoke pot and that it should be legalized. (including me, as evinced by my anonymous handle).
Dominic is right in that the legalization movement needs the mainstream. But he's wrong that the problem is the hippies. The problem is that the hippies fill up the vacuum left by all the mainstream people who are not out there advocating.
Dominic is right in that the legalization movement needs the mainstream. But he's wrong that the problem is the hippies. The problem is that the hippies fill up the vacuum left by all the mainstream people who are not out there advocating.
65
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/53412…
SEATTLE -- Seattle city officials said animal control officers responded to four separate reports of animals left in hot vehicles on Sunday.
One dog died, and a police report for another incident said officers found a pit bull in a hot car with scratch marks throughout the interior "as if the animal was trying to escape."
Officials said in all of the Sunday incidents the pet owners were from out of the area and attending Hempfest.
SEATTLE -- Seattle city officials said animal control officers responded to four separate reports of animals left in hot vehicles on Sunday.
One dog died, and a police report for another incident said officers found a pit bull in a hot car with scratch marks throughout the interior "as if the animal was trying to escape."
Officials said in all of the Sunday incidents the pet owners were from out of the area and attending Hempfest.
66
@13: totally on point.
Hippies have great ideals & morals, but much of hippie culture is played out, commodified, or just fucking lame. Diversifying the appeal of the IDEAS and virtues of something like Hempfest is only a good thing.
xoxo, a devout pot-smoker and happy idealist.
Kudos, Dominic.
Hippies have great ideals & morals, but much of hippie culture is played out, commodified, or just fucking lame. Diversifying the appeal of the IDEAS and virtues of something like Hempfest is only a good thing.
xoxo, a devout pot-smoker and happy idealist.
Kudos, Dominic.
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