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Jon Reading wrote:
I think Hippie is the perfect term to describe the counter-culture movement.
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I don't think there's one discrete "counter-culture movement", and I don't think it's a useful label.
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Jon Reading wrote:
I think you can't read 10 posts on Aikiweb without someone throwing out "peace", "harmony", "love" or some other term used to forward a Utopia-state ideology. How about a silver bridge to the middle-weight UFC championship? Nope. World peace; peace between nations. A path to the Olympics? Nah, just a path to enlightenment.
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I'm not going to argue about what's going on inside other people's heads; that's their property, not mine. I'm not one to burden aikido by making it the vehicle for all things good or whatever. But consider this: the words "peace", "harmony" and "love" have degrees of meaning and are used in all those degrees, not just in promotion/pursuit of a "Utopia-state ideology". Ever hear the phrase "peace and quiet"? Peace, harmony and love have very quotidian meanings; who's to say that that's not the sense in which they're most commonly used by the aikidoka who use them in connection with their practice?
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Jon Reading wrote:
So what do we do. We stick up our nose at our sister arts. We don't care what they think.
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Got a mouse in your pocket?
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Jon Reading wrote:
Except they are our peers. They are fellow experts in the field. Their opinion should matter and we should be saying, "what do you think he means, 'hippie's art'"?
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I already asked myself that. My conclusion is that it's most likely a case of dismissive labeling. Beyond that, I don't feel the need to analyze it, and certainly not navel-gaze about it. Dismissive labels are not based on true knowledge and thoughtful analysis, and they don't shine any light on any subject. Devoting brain cycles to tossoff remarks as if they were thoughtful, meaningful insight strikes me as a waste of time.