A recent post decrying any similarities between OWS and the Tea Party got me thinking: Where were you people during the sixties anyways? Oh yeah, you weren't born.
Granted I was watching Romper Room during Woodstock. But here's what I remember about the hippies and anti-war demonstrators:
1. They were antagonized by "The Establishment".
2. They hated government in general and the president in particular.
3. They were mobilized
4. They wore funny retro clothes
5. They were largely members of the privileged class
6. They were easily beguiled by colorful demagogues (according to the squares in my family)
7. They squandered their education
8. They had a reputation for sexual promiscuity (ouch, don't go there!)
You think this is an astroturf movement?
Because of the generational overlap, I'm generally sympathetic to the Tea Party movement. It is, unquestionably, misguided. But I'm pretty sure the Tea Party is driven by the same economic pain the rest of us share.
At least they had great music.