Four members of ASAP, the loosely formed coalition of activists at the center of the July 4 Riverfront Park protest that ended with 17 arrests, met with Spokesman-Review staff Thursday evening for an informal conversation about the group, its members and their political and social goals. For many of us, the conversation was something of a nostalgic experience. I’m not sure how many of the people offended by the group on July 4th were themselves radical hippie anti-war protesters during the ‘60s and ‘70s. Maybe too many of the boomer generation have forgotten our own activist roots and how our anti-war, anti-establishment protests were received by our parents’ generation. My own parents, blithely disregarding my own politics, shoulder-length hair and bushy black beard, complained about smelly long hairs in ragged clothes promoting Communism, insulting the military and scaring the wits out of friends and neighbors -- Editor Steve Smith/News Is A Conversation.
D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.
with 17 arrests, met with Spokesman-Review staff Thursday evening for an informal conversation about the group, its members and their political and social goals. For many of us, the conversation was something of a nostalgic experience. I’m not sure how many of the people offended by the group on July 4th were themselves radical hippie anti-war protesters during the ‘60s and ‘70s. Maybe too many of the boomer generation have forgotten our own activist roots and how our anti-war, anti-establishment protests were received by our parents’ generation. My own parents, blithely disregarding my own politics, shoulder-length hair and bushy black beard, complained about smelly long hairs in ragged clothes promoting Communism, insulting the military and scaring the wits out of friends and neighbors -- Editor Steve Smith/News Is A Conversation.
