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Dirty, Skinkin Hippies


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We have 'hippies' in Eugene (if that's what you wish to call them), but what concerns me more are the panhandlers and homeless crazies that deface public places, beg for whatever, smell worse than you can describe and generally end up wandering around town freaking people out. At least 1% of the local population is homeless here.

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Yes, it is a huge number. And those are just the ones we KNOW about. There are likely more.

There are a variety of reasons for the homeless population in Eugene:

--Some are just suddenly down on their luck--mothers with children who lost their jobs or had to separate from abusive spouses.

--Some are homeless veterans who can't find work (one recently died outdoors in the cold in February and they gave him a military funeral when they found out who he was).

--Some are the patients that used to be housed in the state mental hospital, then migrated all up and down the I-5, some landing in Eugene. (This hospital was closed down a few years ago). They often refuse help and exhibit odd behaviors. The police are not allowed to force them into care or incarceration if no crime has been committed or if they verbally refuse assistance.

--Some are just chronic substance (drugs, alcohol) abusers who have no rehab programs to go to (because our local county budget is non-existent) or who have no interest in changing their ways. They, too, can exhibit unpredictable behaviors.

--Some are just criminals on the loose.

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Well I was one for a time. But there were times when I just didn't fit in.

I like to bathe. I like to work and make money. ( Made money on tour with the Grateful Dead by selling food in the parking lot. Paid for all the beer and food and tickets for the next show, hotel rooms with showers too!) I like guns. I vote. I liked hunting. I eat meat whenever I can. I'm too conservative for most of them. ( And too liberal for the far right too, go figure!) I was a hedonistic woman chaser, and ex- miltary to boot. I wear shoes habitually! Dirty feet are a turn off! :sick:

Flower power can kiss my backside!

The funny thing was, most of my ex-hippy dippy friends are now much more conservative than I or have moved to Canada and become citizens there. I respect them because they are all hard working and productive now. But, some of the others, well they were just taking up space if you know what I mean.

Yeah, patchouli oil has nothing on modern deodorant and soap!

Did meet some far out chicks though. :devil:

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What JimmyZip said.

Those were truly interesting times. It's weird being a conservative hippy who works, earns money, dresses sensibly and respects the flag and owns guns. There are a lot of us out there.

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Yes, it is a huge number. And those are just the ones we KNOW about. There are likely more.

There are a variety of reasons for the homeless population in Eugene:

--Some are just suddenly down on their luck--mothers with children who lost their jobs or had to separate from abusive spouses.

--Some are homeless veterans who can't find work (one recently died outdoors in the cold in February and they gave him a military funeral when they found out who he was).

--Some are the patients that used to be housed in the state mental hospital, then migrated all up and down the I-5, some landing in Eugene. (This hospital was closed down a few years ago). They often refuse help and exhibit odd behaviors. The police are not allowed to force them into care or incarceration if no crime has been committed or if they verbally refuse assistance.

--Some are just chronic substance (drugs, alcohol) abusers who have no rehab programs to go to (because our local county budget is non-existent) or who have no interest in changing their ways. They, too, can exhibit unpredictable behaviors.

--Some are just criminals on the loose.

You forgot the LAZY, dirty, stinky hippies that have never worked a day in their life. Driving their rat trap cars held together by "save the..." stickers.

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Did not know the term "transients" (for homeless people) until I moved to Eugene in 1987. They were a big part of the crime problem back then - especially sexual assaults, break ins, littering, etc.

We have 'hippies' in Eugene (if that's what you wish to call them), but what concerns me more are the panhandlers and homeless crazies that deface public places, beg for whatever, smell worse than you can describe and generally end up wandering around town freaking people out. At least 1% of the local population is homeless here.
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Yes, it is a huge number. And those are just the ones we KNOW about. There are likely more.

There are a variety of reasons for the homeless population in Eugene:

--Some are just suddenly down on their luck--mothers with children who lost their jobs or had to separate from abusive spouses.

--Some are homeless veterans who can't find work (one recently died outdoors in the cold in February and they gave him a military funeral when they found out who he was).

--Some are the patients that used to be housed in the state mental hospital, then migrated all up and down the I-5, some landing in Eugene. (This hospital was closed down a few years ago). They often refuse help and exhibit odd behaviors. The police are not allowed to force them into care or incarceration if no crime has been committed or if they verbally refuse assistance.

--Some are just chronic substance (drugs, alcohol) abusers who have no rehab programs to go to (because our local county budget is non-existent) or who have no interest in changing their ways. They, too, can exhibit unpredictable behaviors.

--Some are just criminals on the loose.

You forgot the LAZY, dirty, stinky hippies that have never worked a day in their life. Driving their rat trap cars held together by "save the..." stickers.

Now see, what you got there isn't a hippie. What you got there is you modern day earth muffin. Different Generation of the same lunacy.

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  • 6 months later...

Hippies are rough on the olfactory sensors indeed. Everytime I see the upside down broken cross that everyone recognizes as a "peace symbol" I just want to snap! The "peace symbol" its self is about as un-American as it gets

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I prefer Rush's term:

Urban Outdoorsmen...

St Petersburg, FL has a huge problem with homeless teens (and adults) on the streets. It's pretty sad to see 4-6 kids (none over 18) clustered on a street corner at 1am with a mangy mutt and a bunch of jackets... In Florida... In the summer. Even at age 16-18, you can smell them from 15 feet.

They have plenty of money for cigarettes, gauges in their ears, and tattoos though. I'm sure some have homes to go back to, but prefer the street.

Jeff

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I don't mean to butt in on this thread, but what's a hippy?

Well,

This term is not what it used to be. Originally it was a term used to describe the "hipsters" of the late 50s who liked poetry and dressed in black. The term came from the likes of Burroughs Ginsberg and Kerouac. They were the inventors of terms like "The Man" to describe authority and "Pigs" Also those responsible for making terms like "up tight" and "cool" common. Then it evolved to describe the long-haired, flower-power, tie-dye wearing, peace-loving, anti war youth of the mid 60s to early 70s. Now though, it is really describing the anti-establishment (still the common theme from back to WSB, AG and JK days) unwashed, long-haired people you see hanging around in downtown areas accross the country. They will be largely white, with dread locks, unshaven, and dirty. Sometimes they have a dog or two, and will often beg for money. They can also be seen with a guitar, playing for tips, singing old Grateful Dead or CSNY songs. They seemed to have lost their way after the drug related death of Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead fame.

JZ

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