Trend Alert: Organic Professionals
As everyone knows, a social movement is nothing until it is given a silly name, treated as a fad, trivialized, commodified, and ultimately destroyed by ravenous media. The latest trend to receive this dubious honor: organic professionals, or “oppies.” Modeled after the young urban professionals — or “yuppies” — we all remember from last century, oppies are upscale professionals who leave the city and relocate to the countryside in search of a greener lifestyle. They buy food at organic markets, build green houses, send their kids to schools that teach biodynamic farming, read “Organic Style” magazine, talk a lot about sustainability, and oh yeah, commute to the city to work. The largely wealthy, Democratic urban emigres sometimes clash with the largely poor, Republican natives — and, heck, the whole idea of a boutique eco-friendly lifestyle is easy to mock for snotty big-city media types — but as far as Grist is concerned, any green trend is a good green trend.
