Scalia said to ‘ask the nearest hippie’ about marriage. Good news: There are plenty in Maine

Maine is the second-least square state, man.  (Image from Estately)

Maine is the second-least square state, man. (Image from Estately)

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dropped this gem in his blistering, yet meandering, dissenting opinion:

“Who ever thought that intimacy and spirituality [whatever that means] were freedoms? And if intimacy is, one would think that Freedom of Intimacy is abridged rather than expanded by marriage. Ask the nearest hippie.”

The Huffington Post went out in search of a hippie. It found Neil Cousins, 61, of Virginia, who was protesting outside the White House.

“Scalia is a big knucklehead,” he declared.

Well, in case you need a second opinion, here’s some good news, your honor: Maine has plenty of hippies.

According to this Estately analysis from last year, Maine is the second most-hippie state.

The real estate site looked at a few factors. To wit:

  • The number of communes
  • Food co-ops per capita
  • Number of in-state Etsy stores shilling hemp, patchouli, and tie-dyed products
  • And, I quote, “percentage of Facebook users who express interest in the following: Grateful Dead, Phish, cannabis, tie-dye, peace, LSD, Bob Dylan, and hippies”

“In the end, Vermont was declared Hippie Heaven and Mississippi earned the title of Hippie Hell,” the site said.

Good to know.

(Thanks to the Washington Post for the idea.)

Dan MacLeod

About Dan MacLeod

Dan MacLeod is the managing editor of the Bangor Daily News. He's an Orland native who moved to Portland in 2002 and now lives in Unity. He's been a journalist since 2008, and previously worked for the New York Post and the Brooklyn Paper.