Bonbon:
A Christmas cracker, a wrapped tube with a toy and joke inside, can also be called a bon-bon.

To me, the goal of commenting on a blog is not how one appears or may appear (at least not for me), but to create and open up dialogue.  Now I realize that this is a venue that you may only ‘talk’ to people who are much like you and would rarely disagree.  

Consumerism (among many other things) has torn this country and the world to bits.  That is plainly clear. 

Basic values are dependent on the individual.  They vary.  Respect for others’ opinions does not mean to tell them that you feel sorry for them.  To say that you don’t agree with someone is one thing, but to only agree with those that agree with you closes you off, narrows your vision, and prevents you from truly understanding your fellow men.   Each day I take care of my grandmother and I am a teacher.  I help people every day of my life.  

Assumptions do not get anyone anywhere, including the assumption that you believe I am on my back side.  If that is the case, where do I find the time to take care of dying family members or help a woman each night of my life who is scared to be alone because the television told her that she should live in fear of everything? Where do I find the time to plan lessons for students, to grow food for others, or to volunteer?  I assume that while you were writing your post here, you were standing up.

You, sir, have called out the wrong soul.  For God’s sake, talk to people in terms that make them want to talk to you.  Be real.  Be tolerant. 

You state that violence gets ‘no one anywhere’ and you frame that in terms of some hippies throwing flowers at Disneyland.  I agree.  I don’t think violence gets anyone anywhere either.  I urge you to read about the connection of famous hippies and musicians and how many are from military backgrounds and the probability of their successes vs. where they came from and what/who they were connected to.  

Do you think that your government is or has ever engaged in violence or genocide currently or previously? Do you think that saying you want to smack an old person – hippie or otherwise – is violent?

Take care.  Good luck and peace.

Great story Robert.  I could never really figure out why hippies/yippies or anyone for that matter felt the need for violent protest.  We have a government that is subject to change through petition and election.  It may take a bit longer but violence gets no one anywhere. 

As for ‘um’ – you should know it’s all about values.  Comsumerism is what has made this country great but it has also been the catalyst for forgetting basic values.  Values like respect for others and their opinions.  Values that would include getting off your back side and helping your fellow man.  If you don’t see how foolish your post looks then I truly feel sorry for you.

Professor Bob does indeed sound like an old Hippie. The wisdom that usually comes with age seems to have eluded him.

I remember in the 1960s, at the height of the Hippie phenomenon, the media created a subgroup of the Hippies; they named them the Yippies. Now I don’t know if this terminology ever made it off the West Coast but as I understood it, the Yippies were the activist Hippies. The Hippies were mellow, stoned, laid back, too lazy to do much to advance their cause. The Yippies would resort to violence and anti-social behavior of various kinds to grab media attention they felt would further their cause.

I have disliked the Hippies, and hated the Yippies, since I was 11 years old in the late 1960s. That summer, my family was traveling through Southern California. Although we lived in Northern CA, we seldom had time or money for vacations, and although I had dreamed about it ever since I knew of it, never went to Disneyland. But on that trip we got one day at Disneyland. We got there in the early afternoon and had a blast. It was everything I had imagined. But I did notice some strange things; I kept seeing Hippies inside the park. Back then they had dress codes and would not have let them in. Something wasn’t quite right. As the afternoon progressed, I saw more and more of them. And they were behaving badly. Some were being taken away by security. Something was certainly wrong.
As day turned to dusk, an announcement came over the loudspeaker system: Frontierland was clsing. All visitors please exit immediately. That was strange. Then about 20 minutes later, Tomorrowland was closed. Then one by one all areas were closed and we were told to exit the park. How can that be,  I thought? It wasn’t even completely dark and we were being told to leave! This wasn’t fair! All my life I wanted to go there and now I was being told to leave early? Why?
As we made our way down Main St. to the exit, a solid mass of fifty thousand people all leaving at once, it was obvious that something was very wrong. Along both sides of Main St., standing shoulder to shoulder facing the crowd, were Police attired in full riot gear. Why are they here? I wondered as we moved along. As we reached the exit, the answer was apparent. Bands of scraggly degenerates were everywhere, screaming insults at the Police. We paused for a moment outside the inner gates, contenmplating the scene. The Hippies were picking flowers from the beds of flowers shaped like Mickey Mouse and throwing them at people, while shouting obscenities. We went out into the parking lot and saw the first skirmish line of Police pushing the Hippies away and out into the lot, dispersing them.  By then I had figured it out. The Hippies came to Disneyland to start trouble. It was because of them the park had to close early, runing the day I had dreamed of for years. The park issued passes that were good for admission the next day, but that didn’t help me. We were leaving the next morning.
Back at our hotel room, we turned on the news  to see the lead story was what happened at Disneyland. The reporter called them Yippies; the activist Hippies. They had targeted Disneyland that day. They started out in the early afternoon jumping fences to get into the park. The management felt that if they ignored them instead of confronting them, the Yippies would get tired of playing and leave. They didn’t know there were at least a hundred Yippies and the Yippies intended to start trouble. By the time it was apparent things were getting out of control and the Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. riot squad was called in.
Ever since that day I have despised the Hippies, and absolutely hated the Yippies. Those filthy degenerate vermin! Years later as I worked in law enforcement and became a member of the riot squad, I always remembered that day. I knew if I ever got the chance to smack down some old Yippie degenerate I’d just have to lean over and tell him “That’s for Disneyland, scumbag!”