OWS and Why Hippie Punching Won't Work

"Get a job!" "Take a bath!" This is quickly becoming the theme of the right-wing attack machine against the #Occupy Wall Street movement, which is now more than two months old. Even the leading candidates seeking next year's GOP presidential nomination are adopting this talking point technique, which many pundits call, 'hippie punching'.



Many conservative politicians owe their living to 'hippie punching'. The last time the left really took to the streets was during the 1960s...when many protesters held public demonstrations to promote civil rights or end our military involvement in Vietnam. Richard Nixon capitalized on the anxieties of the so-called 'silent majority' by promising to bring 'law and order' to the cities and college campuses. Nixon and the right's appeal struck a chord with America's working class, who saw the protesters as nothing more than spoiled rich kids who've never worked a day in their lives. Even my father, while supportive of their causes, often referred to hippies as 'middle-class brats'.

The right continued to use this paradigm successfully ever since. Every progressive movement during the last 40 years has been labelled with the lazy hippy tag. This includes the nuclear freeze movement of the 80s, the WTO protests of 90s and the anti-Iraq War movement (what there was of it!) during the last decade.

Now comes Occupy Wall Street...and the right has, once again, begun punching hippies. However, today's dynamic is quite different. This isn't 1969 when long hair and radical politics were something found only in a few urban neighborhoods and campus towns. The growing support for Occupy Wall Street suggests that the American people are more interested in substance and real economic issues than with cheap shots about drum circles, long hair and hygiene.

The issues of the late 60s pitted labor unions and veterans against the protesters. Now the protesters have the vast support of members from both groups. This is a crucial difference that will make all the difference in the world. Hippy punching may work in the short term (the Republican primaries) but eventually, it will fall flat.