Hippies Verses Hipsters

                                                   
      The new "crunchy" generation in a neighborhood in Salt Lake City known as the "Sugarhood" could have been a throwback to Haight Ashbury in the sixties in many ways. It seems the hippies kids or "hipsters" are alive and well. Being a person from the sixties, I couldn't help but notice the similarities and the differences. There are a lot more choosing the vegetarian route today. The "Whole Foods" store I was in that's near a college, focuses on a lot of natural and vegetarian items.  I was sitting at a table having a Belgian chocolate mousse for lunch.  A young slender man with a tall cream colored turban and a bright colored satchel on his back came out and sat at a table to eat his lunch alone. He was eating a big bunch of  fresh spinach directly from the plastic container. He had some habenero sauce but I don't know what he was putting it on and was drinking a can of coconut juice. At another table there were two boys that were sitting together. One looked like he could have come right out of the sixties with long scraggly hair.  The other one had sunglasses on the back of his head and short cropped hair. They were drinking fresh lemonade sweetened with agave nectar and eating their vegetarian sandwiches. A doctor that looks like he is from India came in in his hospital greens and sat down at a table alone.  In between eating he texts. Most people having lunch aren't talking even if they are sitting with others but they are texting. Occasionally they might show something on their smart phones to someone else. That was another big difference I noticed.  People aren't really talking to each other today. Of the seven tables occupied on the patio only one in seven was actually having a conversation and that was between texts. The turbaned man was the only one without a phone.There was a young man with a beard that had a bright lime green case on his smart phone that matched the bright green trim on his athletic shoes that was texting.  A mother in a black tank was eating with her five year old daughter who wore a light blue sundress.  They weren't talking. An older woman came in with what appeared to be her grandson of about ten. It was refreshing to see that they were actually talking. She was a pretty hip grandmother though drinking her Oolong tea.  Most of the other's sitting alone were texting.  An older man came in and sat down. He dropped his cell phone on the cement and exclaimed, "Jesus F'ing Christ on the F'ing Cross!"  Others ignored him. That's another thing. There doesn't seem to be much respect for deity these days. Taking God's name in vain isn't considered a swear word anymore, neither is the "F" word.  After a while the man pulled out a cigarette and started smoking.  The smoke circulated around the patio and many chose to leave at that point. Smoking really isn't cool in the U.S. today which contrasted greatly with Nice in France when I was there recently. The smoke in the outdoor cafes was very irritating and annoying. All the young people smoked including very young people and no one seemed to notice or mind.
    Another thing that is different with the hipsters is that there are a lot more tattoos today. A girl in front of me standing in line has permanent tattoos of different kinds of butterflies all down her right shoulder and back. There were many throughout the store sporting tattoos as well, some more tattoos than others.  The population has doubled in the last forty years from three billion to six and a half billion.  Maybe more people seem to need to have a way to stand out in the crowd. I saw a girl walking around the store that had purple marks all over one arm.  I thought they were tattoos at first but looking closer realized it was a birthmark.  It seems strange that so many are choosing to put permanent marks all over themselves. The process is painful yet it seems to be such an important trend that they are willing to suffer masochistic behavior to be a part of that trend. That's different than the sixties as well.
     As I watched people, most of them seemed polite and tolerant of each other. I couldn't really tell though if they were happy.  I wouldn't say I sensed a lot of joy among those at the Whole Foods store that day.  Some on the health supplement aisle were diligently studying the contents in bottles and potions.  Another woman at the meat counter was inquiring about how the Farmed Samon were being Farmed.  People seem to be much more worried and aware of what they are putting in their bodies today.  The Age of Information has definitely become the "TMI" generation.  It's made them all a little paranoid.
     One thing I find really sad about the  hipsters though is that there doesn't seem to be anything that's considered "sacred" anymore.  It all seems to be about the "head" and not much about the "heart". Spirituality amongst this new generation seems to be way on the back burner. Atheism seems to be the new thinking.  Religion is out. I find it disturbing in many ways.  It begs these questions. What if any morals does this generation have?  What do they consider right and wrong?  Was that the hippies intention for their children?
Some things to think about.