You know, I’ve been drinking—I mean thinking…

*RANT ALERT*

I saw one of those pictures of hippies vs. militia and the hippies were giving them flowers in protest for peace. This shows that even peacemongers make the same mistake as war guys. Failure to communicate, caused largely by ethnocentrism.

The hippies were operating under the belief that everyone should adopt their values: pacifism, indiscriminate sex, and religious drug use—exactly like everyone else in the world!

Everyone thinks they know best. Well, to be fair, you can't really blame them for that; it's human nature. It's part of our self esteem function. But it's consistently taken too far. Nobody knows best, nothing is absolute. Recall the words of the Different Strokes themesong. It's true.

Regarding the photo with the flowers, here's what the hippies should have done if they were really serious about this whole 'peace' experiment. They should have researched their adversaries in an attempt to understand them. Find out what they like instead of assuming they liked flowers like the hippies did. The flowers were needlessly theatrical and gay; they were trying to make a scene and that's where they fucked up. No sensible person likes to have foliage foisted on them. Ask the Hare Krishnas.

Let's explore a scenario:

Armed Guys: "Alright, all you filthy Hippies! Get out of here or I'll blast you all with my comically oversized gun!"

Protesting Hippies: "Hey, Hey man. No need to shout. This is a peaceful protest. Here have a flower some drugs, or maybe a beer. It must be pretty hot under all that armor and black clothing."

Armed Guys: "Oh… Uh, thanks. It is pretty hot out here."

They both drink.

Armed Guys: "Wow, that hits the spot. Thanks you guys. But seriously though, you'd better leave. Now's not a great time for a protest."

Protesting Hippies: "Yeah, I guess we've made our point. We'll get going, even though we totally have a right to assemble."

Armed Guys: "We'll see you later."

Protesting Hippies: "See you around, man."

 

See? Wasn't that so much better? Both sides got something, and it was made clear—but more importantly, understood—that they would both return to continue communications.

So when you're ever in an argument remember: It doesn't pay to start the drama unless you speak the other guy's language.