Give me an F...

Give me a U...

Give me a...

Anyone old enough to fill in these blanks will remember this as the opening salvo of Joe McDonald’s “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag” call to arms against the war machine at Woodstock (the real one, not the marketing nostalgia parties they had in 1989 and 1994).

Societal acrimony is a big topic in the ‘Ville, but I'm not sure I buy it (I think people have been doing bad things since Cain and Abel). 

Then I turned on the TV this morning and, lo and behold, what did I see? A genuine, full-blown college demonstration going on at New York University. Immediately my ears perked up to find out what the cause was.

The environment? Africa? Tibet?

No, they were protesting about money!

Bummer, man.

It was like a scene from 1968, except in 1968 no self-respecting college kid or hippie would admit that money was important for anything. (Note to self: If that were true, where did all those obnoxious investment bankers in the 80s and 90s come from?)

Right On! College kids chanting, seizing school buildings, storming the barricades...

I started to get a little weepy with nostalgia. I could almost hear them chanting:

“Hell No! We won’t escrow!”

Instead of DuPont, ITT or Sikorsky -- the military-industrial-complex villains of 1968 -- they were protesting for increased financial transparency, more financial aide and the desire to rationalize administrative salaries.

Far out, these kids are regular Tim Geitners!

It was kind of cool to see the kids taking to the streets again, but they've got a lot to learn.



Peace, love and happiness my Minyan brothers and sisters!