Being different, and having fun doing it.
We generally do not tolerate people who seem different, whatever that might mean. Tolerance, or the illusion of tolerance, seems to require an act of Congress, a Presidential order, or a Supreme Court decision.
The only interesting experiment I have seen in the area of being different was the brief exercise of being a flower child, or hippie in the 1960s. Many people assumed that being a hippie was a way of copping out. Since the 1960s we have polarized into deeply entrenched conformity on one hand, and being lost and adrift on the other.
A hippie (or hippy) is a member of a subculture that was originally a youth movement that emerged in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The word ‘hippie‘ came from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into New York City’s Greenwich Village and San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district.—Wikipedia
Being different can be fun, entertaining, and a good source of exercise. These hoop riders demonstrated their prowess at the 4th of July parade in Huntington Beach, California this year to the delight of the spectators
My seat was at the beginning of the parade route. I admire these performers for committing to such a rigorous and demanding assignment to entertain so many thousands of people.
Oh, yes. The commitment to share differences is what makes being distinctive so worthwhile.
Your thoughts on being different?
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