Reality, what is reality? I can't tell if you're just venting about your personal problems or actually trying to have a dialogue, but I'll respond anyways (sorry if you're just venting).

First this "hippie" thing is just over used and boring. What is a hippie? Why do people keep talking about hippies in santa cruz? It seems like hippie means, junky, stoner, protester, liberal, democrat, antiwar, antibush, antineocon, communist, terrorist, criminal, idiot, smelly person, homeless, anarchist, etc. I think a "hippie" is a sociohistorical construct that is now used to identify anyone you don't agree with. So why is there such an obsession with calling certain UCSC students hippies? The popular buzz word should be terrorist anyways. it used to be communist.

what does protest for the sake of protesting mean? i hear that quite a few times now, its an interesting statment. Like eating for the sake of eating. We need to have some higher cause. I'm just joking, but i think that this is an issue of perspective (and most of these issues are). You see it, like many others, as protesting for the sake of protesting. While those organizing are trying various methods to gain there goals like most conscious organisms. Protesting is one of the methods employed against the recruiters. It is one of the most public forms trying to engage other less interested people into the issues. And we're all learning. And, like the stereotype goes, if we are lazy stupid stoner anarchist hippies, then how did we organize this? HOw did we get out of our houses to get all the resources needed to stage this event? Fascinating. Like the theme in Hamlet, be vs seems.

I really like your last comment. Go get jobs, we all have jobs. Thus we pay taxes. So we aren't necessarily wasting your money. I'm sorry you feel like your money is wasted, and the economy sux because of an antiwar protest. I don't see the connection to be honest, but i understand your frustration. And probably that is why we protest. Our taxes are used in this war and supporting these military recruiters. SO if we stoped using our taxes in the military, we'd all have more moeny to spend. then you'd be happier with more money, better economy (although military weapons are a big export of the US), and then no more protests. How about that?

School is funded by federal money, yes. Federal money is funded by our tax dollars, yes. We have jobs and we pay our taxes. This is all logical, what isn't logical is why our money (tax->federal money->public school funding) has any connection with the military having to be in our university. its our money, why do we need to have conditions imposed on our money? And you know, if we went to a private school and protested, you'd be there telling us to get a job and stop draining the economy. what a lose lose situation. it seems like we hippies, whoever we are, need to relocate to another country. but where is the US military not present? damn it, i can't find one. i'm too stupid to find a country that has no US military presence nearby. Well, we idiotic hypocrits are at a loss, and you are too since we'll have to work this out some how.

but remember, we tend to discuss issues on different levels, and many times are guilty of being ethonocentric. We need to contextualize every issue and event. There are social, historical, environmental (physical), and philosophical elements that need to be addressed. Name calling doesn't really help, although if you can get enough people to do it all the time, it might help alienate that group of individuals. And if that is your goal then i guess there is nothing more you can say about that. Anyways, i hope you are not an unhappy person, like many of the protesters who enjoy life but are also involved in expressing their ideas, thoughts, and feelings in various forms.

If you or anyone is interested in seriously discussing this issue, then lets set up a place and time. It'll be a good exchange of ideas/emotions. I'm interested in constructive dialogue. So i half wrote this with my weird sense of humor, but if you seriously want to engage in this topic, post that desire, and we'll figure something out. If you're just venting, sorry for picking at your message, and vent away!!!

paz
Kai the stupid