question about suriving highschool

[salchica]

i'm a junior in highschool and i'm having alot of difficulty making it through. my school is very la preppy/ afluent in general. i like to stand out, but i'm sick of not having an accepting community. i long to have friends who i don't have to constantly explain myself to. i'm pretty sure once i get to college i'll be able to find a like-minded comunity, but how do i make it through now? is this an issue alot of other hippys have? thanks, peace!
sal

[Lady of the Freaks]

i don't know what to tell you. i had to leave. high school was a toxic environment for me. i suggest taking the GED and going to a community college if you want to continue your education. you'll probably find the atmosphere a lot more mature and accepting.

[young_hippy_4:20]

drop out haha

[Distant Lover]

I would like more detail before giving much advice. Are most of the students from more affluent families than yours? Do you feel that you are looked down on as a result? Do you get picked on by bullies? Do you go to church? If so you might find more congenial friends in a church youth group. Friendships are based on common interests and shared values? What are your interests? What do you enjoy doing when you are not in school and not doing homework? Look for people who like to do the same things.

[salchica]

i don't really feel looked down upon because of class, but i deffinetly feel like people don't accept my beliefs. evey day people will say things just to offend me or try to change my views. dropping out really isn't an option unless i run away, and i don't want to hurt my mom by doing that. i'm interested in so many things, but hiking, baking vegan, and climbing aren't activities anyone i know is interested in.

[LoveConquers]

I know how you feel man. Acceptance can be hard.....I somehow lucked out though and found some people who understand me. I'd love to give advice but I really dunno what to say. Sorry man...I guess I'm no help.

[Lady of the Freaks]

i don't really feel looked down upon because of class, but i deffinetly feel like people don't accept my beliefs. evey day people will say things just to offend me or try to change my views. dropping out really isn't an option unless i run away, and i don't want to hurt my mom by doing that. i'm interested in so many things, but hiking, baking vegan, and climbing aren't activities anyone i know is interested in.why not look for people in the community outside of school who share your interests? hiking, baking vegan and climbing are all activities you can usually find people doing together. do you have a local food co-op? they often give classes in stuff like vegan cooking. taking one would be a way to meet people. they usually have bulletin boards people use to connect with those who share their interests. same with recreational equipment stores for things like hiking or climbing.

[Distant Lover]

i don't really feel looked down upon because of class, but i deffinetly feel like people don't accept my beliefs. evey day people will say things just to offend me or try to change my views.
To give much advice, I would like to know more about your beliefs. If you do not want to state them publicaly, please send me a PM. It is probably the case that others in your school share your beliefs, but lack the courage you have in expressing them. They admire you, even though you do not know it.

[salchica]

i'm an uberliberal. i'm very passionate about non-human animal rights, the environment, pacifism, gay marriage(just to name a few). i deffinetly think finding some sort of orginization to participate in is a great idea, thanks lady.

[Distant Lover]

i'm an uberliberal. i'm very passionate about non-human animal rights, the environment, pacifism, gay marriage(just to name a few). i deffinetly think finding some sort of orginization to participate in is a great idea, thanks lady.
When I was your age back in the 1960's those beliefs were fashonable. Where did the time go?

[Littlefoot]

i'm a junior in highschool and i'm having alot of difficulty making it through. my school is very la preppy/ afluent in general. i like to stand out, but i'm sick of not having an accepting community. i long to have friends who i don't have to constantly explain myself to. i'm pretty sure once i get to college i'll be able to find a like-minded comunity, but how do i make it through now? is this an issue alot of other hippys have? thanks, peace!
sal

Hi Salchica. You won't find any real progressives in college
either. Colleges are where the children of the elite learn
the skills necessary to become greater and lesser leaders
of The Machine. They talk a great game, but act quite
differently.

In the '60's, the "College Radicals" were shocked and
appalled when the real hippies started acting on their
wonderful ideas: Moving out into the country and trying
to build a new and better civilization.

You seem to want to have all the benefits of being "straight"
and to be progressive also.

Can't be done. Sorry. Actions speak louder than words.

Littlefoot

[lilyflowerr]

You're in a tough situation i can kind of relate having a somewhat similar situation. Many of my friends arent like me at all and may even have different views that only thing is they accept my ideas and dont put me down for it. What i can suggest is just to maybe give some people a shot. There's got to be some people who have the same interests as you or believe the same thing.
If people judged me just by looking at me they would probably never know what kind of person I really am because I necessarily
come off as a "hippie" type person 24/7 but inisde I am who i am. For now I try not to conform and act like myself - I do consider a lot of my friends conformists in a way but they're pretty good people most of the time so for now i can deal .. but i definelty cannot wait for college where I can meet more likeminded people as well.

good luck
remember just because someone may dress or act a certain way doesnt mean they dont secretly have a love for vegan cooking or hiking as well
try to deal with it as best as you can - only 2 more years lol
hope i could help? :)

[hipstick]

I think the key here is that you are searching for something that only exists within yourself. We all from time to time question our position on this earth, wondering if we're revolving around the earth on our own momentum or if the universe is really propelling it all forward. This all gives us the illusion that we are in control, but in fact we are all on a path to the same destination, peace. Do not feel that you can not be friends with those who are not like minded. You may learn more from someone who you disagree with then you will ever learn from a best friend.

Try to keep an open mind.
Know yourself and know that you will find brothers and sisters who support you along your path, but in order to find them you must keep walking.

:o)
Be Well,
Hipstickadeedoo-2ya

[Box Of Rain]

do what you think is right.

if school doesnt feel right then think of an alternative.
there are so many choices and different things you can do.

[LauraMay]

When I was your age back in the 1960's those beliefs were fashonable. Where did the time go?

To be my age back in the 1960's!!!
I would love it :)

[Whiskers123]

I am lucky, I never really gave a shit what people thought of me.

[coyotesister]

i remember when i was back in high school it seemed like i was always moving on the fringe...at times it could be so painful and lonely. however, i never changed who i was to fit in (one of the best decisions i've ever made). you can get through this sister but you have to take each day as it comes. try to find a common ground...things aren't always as they seem...especially in the teenage realms.

in highschool alot of folks are just starting to sprout their view of the world...feelings/vibes are really strong. just know that perhaps there are folks in your school that share your views but are afraid to break free of the social norm. also, how do you project what you believe on others? are you passing on your message with kindness or are you ramming it down others throats? it's all about perspective...

keep on being you...
shanti

i

[Whiskers123]

In grade 10 I decided to stop hanging out with all the asshole kids. So after that I had like... 3 really good friends (and a few other people I hung out with mainly at school). I wouldn't hang out with kids that talked bad about people behind there backs all the time. Or talked badly about girls. It just bugged me way to much I decided they were not worth it. I thought it would be hard, cause I was basically giving up all my friends cause they mainly hung out in larger groups. However it wasn't and I am so glad I did it.

After that I got new friends, from all grades and groups. Mainly only hung out with people one on one or in groups of three. Get to know people a lot better and build more trusting relationships I think that way. Plus even 1 asshole kid talking shit about people in a group of 10 would ruin my time anyway.

[Quoth the Raven]

I am lucky, I never really gave a shit what people thought of me.
Hahaha, indeed - I thrived on debate (intelligent debate). Insults and "fuck you hippie" I just ignored. Physical violence rarely happened.. but when it did I was always the victor (no, not the "moral victor" i.e losing, I really kicked seven shades of shit outta those punks).

[rainbow_magnolia]

I dropped out and went back and dropped out, and joined a new school and then dropped out.
i haven't graduated high school.
In grade 2 when i moved to a conservative town, i was shunned because my parents had long hair. It was really hard for me to make friends mostly because everyone was so set in their ways. they called us the commies. no one would allow their kids to come over, or even trick or treat at our house. it was so pathetic

i learned to get along without the negative air by being myself, saying and doing what i felt, no matter what people thought of me.

you have two options:
conform (which is totally bogus because you lose yourself)
or
Find yourself (and be true to who you are and how you feel)

school is so easy to do over through correspondence you can focus on your education and not have to worry about the miniscule matters of what every body else is doing.

Be true to you

[earthmother]

School was a nightmare of either trying to be something I was not, or being alone. I chose being alone, which led me to befriending the other loners. Otherwise, I learned nothing but the feel of being surrounded by vicious idiots. I was an honor student until the day I quit. 16th birthday. I never looked back and was never sorry.

College is not all it's cracked up to be. Just a way to put off growing up, waste more of someone's money and time. Unless of course you are planning on being a doctor or something that REQUIRES credentials... Most folks I know who went to college ended up not using their "education" any more than I used mine.

Serious education happens when you have a chance to figure out what you are really into and then do it on your own.

[XBloodyNailPolishX]

As I have heard from many adults, and learned myself, high school is one of the toughest, hardest, most difficult things you will ever go through.
You can either drop out, or be strong. You've only got one more year. I know it sounds like a lot, but it'll be over before you know it if you just focus on your studies and IGNORE. Yes, I know its hard; I went to high school in the foster system which doesn't just have bullies and class clowns, but gangs and racism and violence and hate.

[CalicoSilver]

Not sure how this might fit in your situation, but perhaps you'd be more comfortable with your beliefs if you didn't give others an opportunity to oppose them. I'm pretty sure it isn't written anywhere that in order to have a belief, one must announce it in public. It's been a few years since high school, but I don't think inter-personal dynamics have changed that much over years - so if you don't wear these (non-mainstream beliefs) on your sleeve - so to speak - then those who really have an interest in knowing you, and the things you believe - will emerge and interact with you. If none do, then perhaps they're so contradictory with their mainstream values that there can be no connection. While I do understand that being accepted is important, being accepted for who you are - and what you believe are even more important in the long run.

[ChiefCowpie]

make it fun to disagree with people. these people who are telling you to run and hide cuz you are different are telling you bullshit. let your freak flag fly and do lots of farting and people will love you.

[Brent]

Your Not alone in this struggle. You've described me in a nutshell at school, just know that there are people who understand, even when there are so many that don't. I also need guidance in the way of the world and what to do about school, But after reading these blogs, i plan to start making food at night and inviting kids out of the lunchroom and to start coming to play frisby and eat free food with people they usually wouldn't. its a farout dream, but hopefully it will work.

is there any other aged hippies that would like to give some advice to changing? I feel times will start changing when we start acting...

[Antari2012]

It's not just us, it's anyone who wants to be an individual. This world is out to make us all into one conformed being with no sense of self. Failing to do so gets you attacked by society.

I was constantly under both physical and verbal attack in school, so rather than deal with that daily, I decided it would be far more beneficial to me in every way to simply be home-schooled.

I have no advice but to remove yourself from the situation. It is not cowardice, as I fought back whenever attacked physically, and ignored them when attacked verbally. No, it's to preserve your confidence, to better your intellect, to strengthen your resolve. Being exposed to the enormous negative energy of high school will do more harm than good.

[Kathekon]

I was in a similar situation as well. I attended a rather small (200 students K-12), conservative school in Texas. For quite some time I was the only hippie in a sea of jock/redneck types. I was studious, quiet, rather nerdy. I, too, was surrounded by more affluent kids, definitely not in the in crowd. I read...for enjoyment (something that was not really done at this particular school.) Basically, it was a bad time, though I did finally find a core group of three friends half way through high school. One thing I did not do is conform, I was always a bit of a rebel, though not in a destructive way, and broadcast my beliefs as loudly and often as I could.

Anyway, my advice is to stick it out, get your degree. It is only a couple of years, and you will discover that high school means nothing once you are out. It will all fade into the background. Now, at 34, I could care less if I never see anyone from those days, and I have only the vaguest memories of that part of my life. I by no means recommend selling out or conforming, but I cannot honestly say dropping out would be a good idea. Do not change your core values, that which makes you the wonderful individual that you are, but also be prepared to be somewhat pliable, to bend with the wind, and you will weather the storm. Those who remain adamantly rigid and unyielding are too often broken against the unforgiving breakers of life.

I think a great place to start would be to analyze yourself and to list your strengths, weaknesses, goals, and means of acquiring those goals. And by goals I do not mean a nice job in the machine or some other means of "playing the game", it can be anything you want. Just try and put it all in perspective within the greater framework of your life (this high school business is a vey small part). Once you have weighed all of these factors and have a better understanding of yourself, you will be better equipped to decide which is the correct path- stay in or bail. Those who advise searching for like-minded individuals via the internet and other ways are offering excellent advice, there must be people similar to you out there, you simply must find them, perhaps on this very forum.

I would like to recommend a few books that helped me along, and allowed me to finally come to some degree of understanding about my place in the world...some as recently as last year.

Siddhartha- Hermann Hesse (this lead me- recently- to analyze myself, to ascertain my strengths and to know my weaknesses, and ultimately helped me decide to formulate my plan of living overseas in two years)

The Razor's Edge- W. Somerset Maugham (about a man who follows his own voice, flying in the face of all convention, but at the same time he is not angry or forceful, just resolved and dedicated).

Stranger in a Strange Land- Robert Heinlein (read this in high school, changed my entire life)

The Fountainhead- Ayn Rand (I read this during my first trip to India, and it had a very powerful effect)

[rygoody]

i'm a junior in highschool and i'm having alot of difficulty making it through. my school is very la preppy/ afluent in general. i like to stand out, but i'm sick of not having an accepting community. i long to have friends who i don't have to constantly explain myself to. i'm pretty sure once i get to college i'll be able to find a like-minded comunity, but how do i make it through now? is this an issue alot of other hippys have? thanks, peace!
salPersonally, being around a non-accepting community that I must always explain myself to is something I can deal with. Even through college I never even ran into a notably sized community of people that just 'got it'. It's just the current way it is in those flows of people. Although if you try hard enough, you can swim against the current of it and cause quite a stir! Thats always fun.

The thing that bothers me FAR more than un-accepting community. Is teachers creating various lessons that teach fairly odd and concealed morals and life lessons that you don't even really notice. Then just sit up there thinking "why does everyone treat each other so shittily? Oh I guess thats just what people are supposed to do".

One thing though, high school students are very hypnotized about stories of LSD.

If all else fails, as Leary said, dropping out must be gradual and elegant. It requires far more energy to properly drop out than it does to stay in society.

[Littlefoot]

School was a nightmare of either trying to be something I was not, or being alone.


Tell me about it. A while back I received an invitation to attend a high school
reunion. Don't ask me how the hell they tracked me down.

I filled out the RSVP card as follows and mailed it back:

"Thanks for the invite. If high school hadn't sucked and most of you
weren't assholes, and if you hadn't trashed all the wonderful wild
places I used to love, I'd probably take you up on it."

Littlefoot

[earthmother]

I would LOVE to go to a high school reunion! But the class I was in has not HAD one since. Maybe that says something for the realities. I have finally run into a couple of folks that I was in school with and heard news of more. And lo and behold, the tables have turned. Many of them are drunks. Several guys had gone bald. A few in prison. Several of the girls who I was so jealous of due to their popularity and looks, are now fat and ugly. Hardly any of them have their shit together as well as they wanted everyone to believe they did back then. I really had to laugh!

[Littlefoot]

I would LOVE to go to a high school reunion! But the class I was in has not HAD one since. Maybe that says something for the realities. I have finally run into a couple of folks that I was in school with and heard news of more. And lo and behold, the tables have turned. Many of them are drunks. Several guys had gone bald. A few in prison. Several of the girls who I was so jealous of due to their popularity and looks, are now fat and ugly. Hardly any of them have their shit together as well as they wanted everyone to believe they did back then. I really had to laugh!

Gloating over other people's msfortunes isn't something I would expect
an Earth Mother to do.

Littlefoot

[earthmother]

An Earthmother is still human and still has a sense of humor. It's a learning experience seeing it all unfold and finally getting it... But really, it's just fun to think about, I'd actually love to see all those folks one more time now that we're all grown up (?) Maybe we could start over and find some common ground, repair some karma... At least carry around a bit different mental image of each other...

Here's to a better year than the one before :)

[Littlefoot]

An Earthmother is still human
...



"Still human"? A murderer could use that as an excuse, too. It's
quite human to kill other people.

I just expect someone who claims to be an Earth Mother to at least
try to live up to the name. I don't think the Earth gets satisfaction
from any human misery.

Some genuine sympathy should accompany your other feelings,
in my not-so-humble opinion. Maybe it did and you just didn't
express it. I choose to believe that's so.

I live up to _my_ name. My feet aren't very big. :-)

About 10 years ago I ran into the schoolyard bully who
was my nemesis in high school. We fought a dozen times
and he kicked my ass every time and generally made much
of my time at high school miserable.

I could have taken him to pieces and utterly humiliated him
if I had wanted to. He was in terrible shape and I've had a
lot of training in that area since.

But I let those feelings go and discovered that I really just
felt sorry for him and treated him with more respect than
he deserved. Why kick someone when they are down?
That would make me as bad as he was.

Happy new year to you, too, Earthmother.

LIttlefoot

[shameless_heifer]

" I could of taken him peices and utterly humiliated him if I had wanted to. He was in terrible shape and I've had a lot training in that area"

Wow you were trained to tear people up, why would you train to do that but have no intention of using it. You are quiet confusing or confused one.. you refuse to 'fight' but you allowed yourself to go against what you say you believe and 'train' to fight. How ODD.

I also see you like to put others down, isn't that a form of abuse. Every time I read one of your posts, you make yourself look big by putting others down.. That sure aint the Hippie Way. Why is it Little Foot, that you think that your way is the only way and if people don't do, be, think like you. They are assholes, or windbags or have nothing worthy to contribute.

I don't care for the way you conduct yourself in the forums Little Foot. You try make people feel bad about themselves. That aint why we are here!! You are free to post here as long as you DO NO HARM, but you contenually try to belittle other folks opinion. You talk shit that you don't live up to yourself. I have my eye on you. I am in a position to boot your butt out of here if you persist in stomping on the flowers. This is your last warning.

shameless_heifer

[Littlefoot]

" I could of taken him peices and utterly humiliated him if I had wanted to. He was in terrible shape and I've had a lot training in that area"

Wow you were trained to tear people up, why would you train to do that but have no intention of using it. You are quiet confusing or confused one.. you refuse to 'fight' but you allowed yourself to go against what you say you believe and 'train' to fight. How ODD.

That's a figure of speech, sh. I have been trained to protect myself and others
from violence without being brutal. Without permanently disabling them or
killing them.

But you already know that, because I've posted it several times on other threads
that you participated in.

So that accusation is incredibly dishonest of you.

What I would have done, had I succumbed to that unworthy tempation, would
have been something like pinning him to floor until he said "uncle" or rendering
him temporarily paralyzed or unconscious.


I do that when faced with denial of obvious facts, which is quite common
in America, where you can be considered an "environmentalist" just because
you _say_ you are, even though your ecological footprint is significantly
above the average. This pisses me off.

But you are right. I still shouldn't do it, and I am trying. Try to understand
me, okay? I have been watching things get worse and worse for about
40 years now. And all the time there are people all over the place claiming
to be progressives who are engaged in doing something real to meet the
challenges that face the human race. But what they are doing is obviously
not working yet they won't face reality. This is _very_ frustrating.

[QUOTE]

That sure aint the Hippie Way. Why is it Little Foot, that you think that your way is the only way and if people don't do, be, think like you. They are assholes, or windbags or have nothing worthy to contribute.


Once again, it is just their denial of obvious facts that bothers me. We aren't
going to get anywhere if we won't face reality.

Like the free speech issue. It's written into the Constitution, but it doesn't
exist in mainstream America at all.

Claiming that we have free speech just because it is written into the Constitution
is like claiming that we don't have murder because it's against the law.


I don't care for the way you conduct yourself in the forums Little Foot. You try make people feel bad about themselves.


No. I try to get people to face reality. It's the reality that's bad.

You are trying to shoot the messenger.

I didn't create this world.


That aint why we are here!! You are free to post here as long as you DO NO HARM, but you contenually try to belittle other folks opinion.


Only if that opinion is self-serving nonsense that has no basis in reality.

Lot of that around here. Here's some right now, coming up from
you:


You talk shit that you don't live up to yourself.


That simply is not true. I have never claimed to be anything I am not.


I have my eye on you. I am in a position to boot your butt out of here if you persist in stomping on the flowers. This is your last warning.

shameless_heifer

I do indeed believe that you would try to kick me off the Forums for daring
to bring up issues that you don't want to face.

That's the American Way: Free speech for me but not for thee.

And: I'm an enlightened progressive because I _say_ I am.

But it wouldn't be for stomping on the flowers.

I am not stomping on flowers. I am stomping on plastic flowers.

Like you with all your "peace and love" bullshit. Anyone can read
your vicious and dishonest attacks on me on other threads.

And your talk about shooting people.

You are trying to hold me to a standard that you do not live up
to yourself. Yet you accuse _me_ of being a hypocrite.

I don't ask anyone to do anything that I don't do. I think people should
eat only plants and I eat only plants.

I think they should get rid of their cars and I don't have a car.

I think people shouldn't kill people so I don't have any weapons.

The list goes on.

Littlefoot

[earthmother]

Oh my, Littlefoot, do you have NO sense of humor? Please tell me you are just pretending you don't understand what I say. Please tell me you don't really always have to look at things from a negative mindset as if everything anyone says, no matter how innocent or true, has to be picked apart and debated at length by you as if hip forums were your own personal soapbox and the rest of the world were your enemy?

Has it ever occurred to you that you are really taking life way too seriously? You will, for all your great knowledge of the proper ways to live, surely give yourself ulcers, gray hair, and high blood pressure from worrying so about what people think and say here. Good Lord! Try going to a forum for "pseudo-progressives for a capitalistic society" or some such! At least there your strong arguments and statements are more NECESSARY. I find that those individuals who you rebel against with the most vehemence seem to be those who you actually have the most in common with, and it would seem a better (and healthier) plan to be taking these people as allies rather than creating enemies out of nothing. All members of the human race are not all in the same bag. And those of us who ARE in the same bag may not agree with every single thing everyone else thinks on a personal level, but there is at least SOME power in numbers as opposed to being a totally separate entity from all others... A lot of us are friends here, friendships that have evolved over time with unmet, yet loved, intelligent and like minded people, and you COULD be one as well. But for some unknown reason, these very people are the ones you go after the hardest. We are not in competition here. Thankfully, the main targets of your wrath are the most able to cope, because they have PERSONAL POWER, which would appear to be the thing that you don't feel comfortable with...

[Littlefoot]

(I deleted this post because I think I was being unfair to Earthmother and
shameless_heiffer. I get too defensive sometimes.)

[Littlefoot]

Earthmother wrote:

"Try going to a forum for "pseudo-progressives for a capitalistic society" or some such!"

That's exactly where I am. There are very, very few people on these forums who are
proposing or involved in anything that isn't psuedo-progressive (meaning that what
they are doing or planning won't preserve the health of the planet and heal it, won't
bring an end to warfare; and won't resultin poor people being no longer exploited).
Regardless of their good intentions.

And certainly very, very few people here who are proposing or involved in anything
that will result in them distancing themselves in any way from capitalist society.

This kind of economy-culture requires trashing the planet, it requires the exploitation
of poor people, and it requires warfare.

Always has. Been like this from the beginning. From the first days of America
at the dawn of the Industrial Age. And it's worse now.

We aren't going to get anywhere until we accept the obvious
fact that this civilization is a failed socio-economic experiment.

The Left wants us to believe that it's basically a good system
being mismanaged, but when they are in power nothing changes.
Because they are wrong.

It is rotten from its very foundations. It can't be fixed. We have
to start from scratch and create a new civilization.

LIttlefoot

[earthmother]

"...The Left wants us to believe that it's basically a good system
being mismanaged, but when they are in power nothing changes.
Because they are wrong.

It is rotten from its very foundations. It can't be fixed. We have
to start from scratch and create a new civilization."

Yea, I know, I know, but you have repeated this over and over again until it's getting to be an old story. You are preaching to the choir here. This society is VERY rotten. Absolutely. I'm NOT arguing. But creating a totally new civilization won't happen until things get so bad that this one falls to pieces and it's a forced issue, and then we will have made such a mess of the planet that we will have a hard time surviving. And that is the truth. And you know it is. And if I say any more, I will be repetitive also, and I don't feel it's necessary to shove my thoughts down peoples throats into infinity. Especially when it's someone who only wishes to find the differences and the divisions among people instead of the common grounds and common goals... But that's just a waste of time. Matters not to me what you do or how you live. You'll do what you do. It has no effect on my life at all. And my life affects you not one bit in reality, except that my life seems to disturb you greatly for some reason, even tho you have not one single clue as to how I DO actually live. Don't you ever THINK about what it is that you are doing here that seems to upset so many people? Do you think that upsetting people is a good way to get a point across? Actually, SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE is a much better way to get a point across to anyone. "YELLING" at people (putting them down, name calling, insults, constant criticism) does not work. When you "yell" at someone, they stop listening. They grow defensive. They no longer hear what you say. And that too is simply the WAY IT IS. And you know that too.

[Littlefoot]

"...The Left wants us to believe that it's basically a good system
being mismanaged, but when they are in power nothing changes.
Because they are wrong.

It is rotten from its very foundations. It can't be fixed. We have
to start from scratch and create a new civilization."

Yea, I know, I know, but you have repeated this over and over again until it's getting to be an old story. You are preaching to the choir here.


Considering your very recent reply to cosmicdust...

http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3978143#post3978143

Beginning:

"Cosmic dust, I really enjoy your posts! A lot of thought and research... But the one thought that resonated the most was that the truely wise man..."

...where you equate technological development with human evolution and
high-technology as our only hope, I'd say that I am not preaching to the
choir at all. Far from it.


This society is VERY rotten. Absolutely. I'm NOT arguing. But creating a totally new civilization won't happen until things get so bad that this one falls to pieces and it's a forced issue,


That is just a copout. What you are saying is that you know we should change
our ways but you aren't going to change yours. You are just going to go on
living as you do while you wait for someone else to take care of things.

That's okay. They are.

A new civilization is being created right now by real progressives
that know better than to wait around for those who are just pretending to
be progressive. It's happenning.

I've deleted the rest of your post for obvious reasons. While holding my
nose.


Littlefoot

[earthmother]

*Littlefoot. Please quit it, NOW. I KNOW you are smarter than this, as you have shown many times to be very intelligent. I am not obligated to spend my entire day trying to get you to understand what is ABSOLUTELY understandable to anyone else BUT you. You MUST be faking not being able to grasp the things I say. That is just plain horse-pucky!

It seems you have taken over almost every thread you enter as if you fancied yourself the king of hipforums. You post relentlessly until everyone else just gives up. You MUST always have the last imperial word. And whenever someone calls you on it, you ignore most of what they say and simply continue on your nit-picking way. You are overbearing, repetitive, and insulting. You pick apart every single post from others with a vengance much like a vulture picking at fresh road kill, even managing somehow to find fault with people who are agreeing with you. Picking arguments with people who actually have very much in common with you, attempting to crucify those who are the biggest participators in the forums. You are purposefully (?) misreading and misunderstanding what I say. Are you TRYING to waste people's time? What really IS your point??? Have you simply found a place where people tend to be more accepting than most, so you are allowed to continue on longer here with your insulting manner than you would be on other forums? Are you just here to USE people as scapegoats? I'm REALLY TIRED of going over the same old stuff over and over again with you in an attempt to try to simply get you to understand what I am CLEARLY saying. You know perfectly well that it is just a waste of time, because all you are actually interested in is finding fault, not having a discussion with anyone. You are far too certain that you are the only one who is right in every instance and it seems your main motive is to cram your "rightness" down everyone's throats, no matter WHAT anyone else says or thinks about anything. I say AGAIN, have you not noticed that most people who are having a discussion with you eventually get fed up??? Go back and look at your posts for petes sake! You seem to feel the need to DOMINATE every thread and everyone you come in contact with, ESPECIALLY if they won't play your game. What IS YOUR PROBLEM???????????? There are lots of really good folks here! But you treat everyone as if they were simply HORRIBLE, stupid, or at very least, beneath you. If you refuse to answer any other questions, at least answer me this. WHAT DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU ARE ACCOMPLISHING IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION BY ATTACKING EVERYONE??? You behave in a manner that, intelligent or not, TURNS PEOPLE OFF!!! It takes away your CREDIBILITY! I should think you would want to do JUST THE OPPOSITE. If you REALLY cared about the environment or anything else for that matter, you would want to approach people in a way that would get them to LISTEN to you, NOT piss them off!!! Come on dude, YOU ARE SMARTER THAN THIS!!!!!!!!!! Try LISTENING for once.

Oh, I know, I'm so hypocritical, and pseudo-something-or-another and stupid and ignorant and horrid that you will just have to ignore me, that is after you have called me a pig or a moron or an idiot or some other childish thing... Heard it all before about a hundred times, FROM YOU ONLY. Why do you suppose that is?

*Another thread ruined by LITTLEFOOT.

[earthmother]

By the way, FOOT, I DO NOT GET SATISFACTION FROM HUMAN MISERY. I don't even get how or why you would think that. When I said it made me laugh, did I say I was laughing AT THEM??? No, I didn't think so. Did it EVER once occur to you that I MIGHT have meant I was laughing at MYSELF or the SITUATION? I thought not...

[shameless_heifer]

Stands beside Patsy in UNITY and Sisterhood.. the REAL STUFF up close and personal.

You had better come up with a better plan LF, this one is NOT working in here for you. I'm speaking as a moderator now., you ARE steping on the guidelines now by harrassing faithfull members, ones that do contribute to the forums and have formed alliences and bonding friendships You are telling the same thing repetively in every thread you go to, which is against the guidelines.. Skip did not create these forums for you to blast the members, who by their LOVE and DEDICATION keep the halls sacred in a manner. Our Creed is to use no force and you say use no force, but like I have said, Patsy and others have also said, making it a majority, you are trying to force the issue even with ones that agree with you.

Your making a pest outta yourself and your starting to act like your off your meds. You leave me no alternative but to put a stop to it if you contenue with the pattern you are setting.

If you do have any intelegence at all, you will stop acting like you know everything about peoples lives which you obviously have NO CLUE to knowing and claiming everyone else is scum. Don't press me on this matter. Either BE COOL or your gone!! I will not play your stupid game any longer or allow you to disrupt every thread and members with your rantings.. You have my word on this.

Best get your shit together dude. This IS your last warning, and you can stick that where the sun don't shine (your own words).

sh

[XBloodyNailPolishX]

Oh my gawd, little foot... this thread is ruined... this is so stupid.

[Littlefoot]

Earthmother wrote: "*Littlefoot. Please quit it..."

Quit what? You include no quotes from me.

I'm not even bothering to read yet another one of the vague and rambling tirades
you vomit every time someone dares to subject one of your posts to critical
analysis.

Littlefoot

[Littlefoot]

Oh my gawd, little foot... this thread is ruined... this is so stupid.

Sure seems stupid to me. All these long paragraphs of generic criticism but no one has
the courage to include any quotes from me, so it's impossible to tell just what
they are upset about.

I think that's deliberate. They don't have the integrity to debate me on any of the
issues I raised.

Or maybe they just have thorns in their paws.

I think I'll just let them work it out on their own.

Littlefoot

[shameless_heifer]

It's just another bump in the road. This too shall pass and all will be calm. We can only do our best to do what we believe is right, not just for ourselves but for everyone.

About High School, it's tough and they teach some not so usefull stuff, but it does set a pattern to learn rather then the alternitive. I think home schooling is the ideal school, if the parent/teacher has the ability to teach. That too is difficult, no one person is so learned that they know everything there is to teach. Education is the keys to wisdom, experience is the proof.

I was shunned in school bc I was hippie, in fact they put me in a school for socially dysfunctional teenagers bc I took LSD. I didn't care what they thought, I wasn't trying to agravate them, and I didn't want them agravating me.

It wasn't that I didn't want to learn things, I just didn't like what they were puttin' down. I was bored, the classes and teachers were uninteresting. The sike school was cool, we could listen to the radio and smoke.. we did or work at our own pace and the teachers were cool.

There was a small band of us mistfits that were the hard core stoners and a few that were mentaly dysfunctional and needed a more one on one enviroment. There were about 11 students and two teachers one of which was the principle/sike doc and lived on the small compound that was connected to the sike hospital next door. We were free to come and go and did not live there, just 8 hrs a day like regular school

We got stoned at school everyday, it was like a cool place to hangout and learn something if you wanted, if not just sit and veg. Altho we didn't get high in the class room we did outside. Everybody wore shades. it must have looked strange to the two teachers.. half the class wearing dark glasses inside., the same half that went off campus for lunch.. funny, the things we do in our youth. I later went to collage to further my education in the healing field. I still am a student, I am still learning and growing. Like we all are.

Peace and Brotherhood
sh



sh

[earthmother]

That sounds a bit like the "private" school my kids were in for a while. There is nothing like what you describe here, but there are always some kids the school considers "problems", either due to their actions or due to who their parents are. Needless to say, my kids were some of those who were labeled troublemakers even tho the only one who actually ever did anything BAD was my son who liked to skip school occasionally... So they made life really rough until I and a few other parents with the same problem got REALLY pissed and took our kids out of their prison/school ALL AT THE SAME TIME and enrolled them in the local hippy-run private school. Up until that point, there were only a few students there and they actually thought that they had to DO something resembling school work... But when the "problem" kids entered the school, it became suddenly obvious that they only THOUGHT they had to do any actual work, when in REALITY they were allowed to "go with the flow" and learn at their own pace. Once THAT was discovered, the parents of THOSE kids got their panties all in a bunch and REMOVED their kids so they would not be "corrupted" by the "bad" kids who were actually learning more there than they ever did in regular school... That was a stepping stone to eventual homeschool, which the school board not only approved easily for all those "problem kids" but they went above and beyond the call of duty in order to keep those kids OUT of their school by doing everything they could to HELP us keep our kids homeschooled. The LAST year they were in homeschool, the school never even saw fit to give them their end of year tests, just pass 'em on, no questions asked. It was completely bogus. My youngest daughter ended up quitting school altogether at 15, the school board never said a word, even tho the legal age is 16. They just didn't give a shit. Well, GOOD, because once my kids got out of that trap and had some time to grow up a bit, they all went back to the studies that actually interested them and they are happy. Only one of four actually graduated highschool. One got her GED, which has not done anything for her at all except make it where she can say she has one. The others are not playing the "gotta graduate or get a GED" game. It seems not to have any effect on their lives, as it never did mine...

[shameless_heifer]

It wasn't till I was older and had kids in school myself that I really became awear of how calloused the school system was.

My daughter Amy, was born with Cystic Fibrosis and had terrible lung problems and dijestive problems from birth. When she started school they would call me to come and get her everyday bc her coughing was disrupting the class. Well Excuse Amy for trying to breath.

Amy was in n out of the hospital three or four times a year, missing school and falling behind in her grades, altho they did not offer a tutor to help her catch up while she was in the hospital for weeks at a time, sometimes months, they blamed her.

As an example of how cold these people we let teach our kids are; We had a driveway that you could park 10, 18 wheelers in and still have enough room to have a rodeo in., yet the bus driver would not pull up to house to pick Amy up. They said she would have to stand out on the road, wind rain or snow like everyone else, but would fail her if she missed school bc of pheumonia. I took her out of public school and homeschooled her as I could, mostly in the healing ways of nature, cooking, canning, sewing, raising a garden. We laughed a lot and made learning fun.

She told me that the teachers made her feel stupid bc she didn't know the answers to the questions. I did or tried to help her with her lessons, but she was sick and didn't feel like or really didn't have the strenght to do them, with IVs and tubes, breathing machines, tests and all the needles all the time....arrrgggg..(chilling, chilling) well you get the picture.

My oldest son(37) went to 12th grade and they expelled him in his senior yr, for having a doob at the bon fire, he was a straight A honor student, who never needed to study a subject, only having to read it once He went to job core (not recomened) and got hiis GED and took a few collage courses. The other four youngest were homeschooled till their teens and wanted to attend public school bc of their friends, it was their choice, and it was only for a couple of yrs and then all but one quit school altogether.

What they were taught at home was more useful to them in real life then what the system was puttin' out.

sh

[earthmother]

One of my daughters wanted to go back to public school for her senior year so she could graduate with them, but when we tried to re enroll her they told her that because the "approved" private school she was attending was approved but not "accredited", they were going to have to put her back right where she started, in 10th grade. She looked at them and basically said screw that, I'm quitting.

My youngest two had trouble with reading and comprehension in public school. But they were not "bad" enough to qualify for SPED (special education) and that was the only option. No extra help available. I agitated that if my kids were legally forced to go to school, that the school had a responsibility to me and my kids to give them just a bit of extra help so they would not continue to fall behind. So they sent them to a counselor to see if they had a good home life! I was livid, and if it werent for the fact that it turned out the counselor was a HIPPY who I happened know, I would have jerked them out of school there and then. The straw that broke the camels back was when the someone brought a bag of weed to school and hid it in the boys bathroom. The principal decided to lock down the school and bring in the drug dogs and cops. But before he did that, he called 15 kids out of class and interregated them one at a time behind closed doors with no one else present. My youngest daughter, who had never been in any trouble at school, WAS PATTED DOWN by the MALE PRINCIPAL. She was so scared that she started PUKING. The principal refused to allow her to call home. He then closed all phone lines so NO ONE could call home. My daughter then stumbled across my son in the hallway, he was also called into the office, and they bolted out the back door and down over the hill into the woods. My son was an expert at skipping school and he took her two miles thru the woods to a friends home who ALSO was being harassed. The Principal called me and tried to act all innocent, telling me that my kids had skipped school but not telling me there was a reason. I sent someone to go get them, and when they got home, they filled me in. I got on the phone PRONTO and let some other parents know what was going on with their kids, including the parents of the actual kid who brought the weed to school. (He'd stolen it from them that morning!) Then, the principal called again. Too bad for him. He LIED to me about the whole thing. He claimed there had NEVER been any drugs of any kind EVER found at the school... I told him off, hung up on him, and my kids never darkened his doorstep again...

[shameless_heifer]

I know what you mean EM, I had my fill of a public employees thinking they run your whole existence. They hold too much power over parents. Now we can't even spank our own kids when they really mess up.

I never had to physically disipline my kids, maybe a little spat on the bottom, but never with an assult weapon, like a belt. I would usually lecture them to the point that they would rather me have beaten them.

The school can beat your child with a wooden paddle, but you can't. Not that I want to beat my kids, just that the system is stepping over the line with their meddling.

There is no disipline anymore, no repercussions for their actions. Kids are killing other kids, teachers and parents bc they have no respect anymore. The schools actually turn the kids against their families and call CPS if you try to control your own kids.

Schools tell kids that their parents are on drugs if they smoke tobacco. School tells kids to turn their parents in if they smoke pot. The schools paint a bad picture for kids about their homelife, and try to program them to be robots doing their bidding..looking, talking and becoming replicas of themselves.

They have changed math intirely, to where a parent has to take a course in arithmatic just to help them with their homework. New Math?!?, what was wrong with just adding two and two to get four. Why is everything so complicated. They pour on the homework and run them around a track till they drop. If they have any talent in sports, they will drive to your house and pick up your child, piss test them and if they pass, they will do whatever they must to make sure the kid passes, like doing their homework for them, so they can play sports and win win win for the school, making them competivly cutthroat.

I suppose the only thing to do about it is take our kids outta public schools and homeschool them.

sh

[earthmother]

Oh yea, I had a friend with kids in elementary school. They called in the CPS for some reason (had an idea the mom was dealing pot I guess.) They grilled two kindergarteners and a 9 year old. Then they brought in two STATE COPS and grilled the 9 year old until she broke. When the kids got home from school that day there was a bust going on and they were tossed in a car and taken to foster homes. Just like that. Makes you wonder what YOUR kids might say about you in a similar situation... It took her over a year to get them back.

[PeaceItOut]

i don't know what to tell you. i had to leave. high school was a toxic environment for me. i suggest taking the GED and going to a community college if you want to continue your education. you'll probably find the atmosphere a lot more mature and accepting.glad to hear so many people feel like this. only one person around me felt what i was feeling. I couldn't stand it either. I told myself i was just oing to finish, but it really weighs on you after a while.
I am currently finishing my GED :)...the people are great. i havn't worn shoes for a week, and only a few funny looks (you know, there are always those immature a-holes in school...nomatter where you go)

[jfer629]

im 16 and a junior in high school as well. definatly dont drop out cause then all the time u spent at school was pretty much wasted u know. Just hang in there im sure you'll find a few close friends no worries. and yeah high school sucks i cant wait to get out but just think of your future and hang in there, you'll be fine.

[coyotesister]

"im 16 and a junior in high school as well. definatly dont drop out cause then all the time u spent at school was pretty much wasted u know. Just hang in there im sure you'll find a few close friends no worries. and yeah high school sucks i cant wait to get out but just think of your future and hang in there, you'll be fine."

now THAT is just naive crazy talk. of course it is good to finish highschool...it looks good to future schools/jobs...to them it shows that you can follow through and complete a task. HOWEVER, it is not the be all end all that will make or break your life. your life is spread out in front of you "do what thou wilt". don't be afraid to make mistakes...that's the best way to learn and grow. don't listen to others that say "YOU HAVE TO...blah blah blah" they are trying to steal your energy...they are just helping you create barriers and blockages made of fear. fear is your worst enemy...don't doubt yourself...listen to your inner voice...you know the one that ALWAYS tells you the truth....follow your heart(and then you truly will be fine)!

love and light to guide you always
shanti

[MollyBoston]

I vote you should stick it out.

Practically everyone's miserable in high school, aren't they? I know I felt like I was hiding everything from everyone - I wasn't nearly as comfortable with my own quirks as I am now. I played this nice quiet girl role, but I felt like I was faking it to everyone.

You're right, college will be a LOT better.

I don't know, I guess my best advice is to remember that everyone - even the preps, lol - are probably just as messed up and sad and confused as you are. It's just that they're hiding it.

[Distant Lover]

To be my age back in the 1960's!!!
I would love it :)


Unfortunately, during the 1960’s we had a lot of the same problems I think teenagers have now with in crowds, social hierarchies, and bullies who pick on those at the bottom of the hierarchy, like I was.

I never learned how to dance because if I had gone to a school dance I would have been beaten up. Eventually I learned how to fight by working out with weights and taking karate lessons. By the time I was skilled enough to be effective, fighting was no longer important. Meanwhile, I had not learned how to dance.

[trose]

I feel kids these days do have it harder than we did in the 60s, early to late 70s in my case. The testing alone in my state is a killer and the stinking thing is causing the drop out rate to skyrocket which is absurd. There is so much violence in the schools here, the kids either join the violent little gangs here or have to watch their back every minute. The teachers in my opinion are apathetic to the students and have their own agendas which is drawing a paycheck. Before anyone jumps on me for that statement, I was a teacher for over 15 years and have seen it all. I quit teaching due to just being disgusted with the whole system which is getting worse. Our system is failing kids not helping them.

The social scene and bullies, yeah that is still in place of course. I don't remember every kid that doesn't fit the mold of the perfect child being put on medication such as adderall and ritalin. We are feeding speed to our kids for God's sake and what is happening, more speed is being invented for the growing population of kids. Something bad is wrong with that picture. Then if kids are broken and can't be fixed, they are shipped off to bootcamp or some Godforsaken alternative school. I don't remember that in the 70s except for extreme and I mean homicidal extreme cases.

I would absolutely hate being a kids these days trying to deal with the violence, testing, medication, and just bs that they have to face in our miserable education system. No wonder our prisons are overflowing, we failed our kids and won't fix the problem, only add to it.

I am fixing to homeschool my 12 year old. He isn't the perfect kid and is of course not flourishing in the schools since he would Godforbid rather draw than read Harry Potter. I won't have him become another casualty of modern society.

To the original poster my advice, if you can hack it definitely stay in school. You will someday regret dropping out say if you want to go to college later. However, if school is making you nuts and depressed, look at other options but by all means get a diploma or GED. Also you have to consider your state's laws. You may have to stay in school if you are young. I do feel for any young person trying to get an education and putting up with the bs in the schools today.

[earthmother]

I don't know, I guess my best advice is to remember that everyone - even the preps, lol - are probably just as messed up and sad and confused as you are. It's just that they're hiding it.No probably about it. And not hiding it very well actually. Altho it took until I got OUT of school to figure that out. The REASON those people are so snobby and hateful acting is because that is how THEY try to hide their feelings of inadaquacy. They surround themselves with others who are as miserable as they are and they think it gives them power.

My realization came at a party, shortly after I quit school. The "preps" were all hanging in one spot and the "outcasts" were hanging in another, but close enough to accidentally hear some of what was being said. Now, I was one of the MOST outcast of all. But here are these girls, whispering and acting all snobby, looking over their sholders at us, when the WORST and most hateful and snobby of all looked at me, looked back at her "friends", and said "I bet she's laughing at us".... SO! they were actually WORRIED that I might be laughing at them! What a revelation! Gee, up until then I never realized that I had any power at all over them!!! Now I find out that they were SCARED of me....

That IS what it's all about. Just another form of insecurity, coming out as "I'm so much better than you".... It's really sad.

[wa bluska wica]

childhood is shit

life gets better

[if you let it]

[lkjhgfdsa]

whatever you do, don't drop - your education is very important. High school is honestly a joke, people are such assholes (excuse the language) and it can be hard to be accepted by them. All i can say is hang for the rest of your time there, do some fun drugs to pass the time, graduate, and go to college. College is so different, almost everybody you will meet at parties in college are so laid back, and won't care about your beliefs, they'll probably judge you more on how much fun you like to have then anything else. Another cool thing about college is that there are so many people that you are bound to find a group of people just like yourself, college is so much more diverse than high school, depending on the school you go to, you probably wont even see people from your high school again. so just hang on and wait for all the good times you'll have at college. just my two cents...

[always on the road]

Hi, i'm at university now, and for me, too, it was tough to go through high school. However, you just have to remember that 'high school' is just one place of a plenty of places you can go to. Of course, now seems like a really important place but maybe you can try to thing about it as if it was...a kind of job or something. Why don't you try to find new environments, explore your interests...? That's what I did -or tried to, I'm not sure. I don't know how you say this in English but..."don't let the first tree block the view of the forest", meaning something like... there's plenty of things you are gonna live you can't even imagine now so don't get too focused on this one.

[Helter-Skelter]

It weent to hell. Listen, I've got 2 weeks left of high school, I can't stand it! My parents are putting more and more pressure on me and it's hard to concentrate in class when I've got a whole load on my shoulders. Also, I have a job that is really close to my house, but as soon as I graduate, I'm moving out (and I mean the day after my graduation I am out of there) and my parents are trying to tell me that I can't quit my job just because I want to move out. Ha. Talk about problems.

If you want someone you can get along with, talk to yourself! Then you'll know you're always going to be talking to a better class of people :D

[dollydagger]

i'm a junior in highschool and i'm having alot of difficulty making it through. my school is very la preppy/ afluent in general. i like to stand out, but i'm sick of not having an accepting community. i long to have friends who i don't have to constantly explain myself to. i'm pretty sure once i get to college i'll be able to find a like-minded comunity, but how do i make it through now? is this an issue alot of other hippys have? thanks, peace!
sal


Life begins after high school....

[knattyk420]

Dont drop out its not worth it. HS was hell for me but college was sooo much better. I have a son in the jr high and I know the hell he goes through. I live in a small town and have finally after all these years found likeminded ppl. It just takes time. Good luck