The hippies were right all along

Here's a good read for a lot of the younger members.

It is often my impression when the term 'hippie' is touched in posts it is with a degatory flavour or for the ridiculeing of a drug induced utopia.

Well, hippies was a lot more than that. They were a lifestyle of visionaries.


Just remember the reference is to the REAL hippies, not the various pseudo kinds created by the garment and record industry or fashiom and lifestyle gurus.

Considering one myself fighting the doubts of faillure, this is warmheartning to me.

I always say it was a time special and privileged occuring maybe less than once in a millenium and I fell privileged to have been part of it.

Compared, whata drag it must be to be young today. Not much visions.

It's a shame that people always follow the medias version of events, and the original intent is always lost. Kids who call themselves 'hippies' now think it's about doing nothing but smoke pot all day and sit in drum circles.
I don't think they realise 'dropping out' didn't ever mean giving up.

At the risk of revealing my age, I can only say 'I remember' the movement. I would have given anything to have been a part of it. I was a tiny-tot then and I remember such things as our parents putting their hands in front of our (my generation) faces when we would pass a group.

I remember my Uncle Lattie was a hippy through and through. He partied hard yes, but he fought hard too. He would let me go along with him when noone knew and hang out with him and his friends.

It consisted of a few girls and guys, girls were always so pretty... I remember that very well, the guys always looked dirty. I remember that well too. The girls didnt look pristine, they simple looked very pretty. I realize now that at 20... every chick is hot lol.

Anyway, verbose and side-tracked. As I was saying, it consisted of me and my uncle with his friends in someones house or at a park. They would be making out, smoking out but most importantly, they would be SPEAKING out. They desperately wanted change and honestly believed they could change humanity.

I image humanity is a lot worse now than then... I mean, most I know are true bitter assholes. This must sadden anyone that lived that movement.

I missed it by a decade or so but I feel honored to have been dragged around with them when he could get me away from the 'programmers' as he would refer to his parents (my granny, who raised me).

The youth of today is EXACTLY what the media tries to put hippies out to be: Dope smoking losers with no education or motivation. The only difference now is, they dont care about themselves... much less me, you or a dolphin.

Yeah, I said it. Ouch, truth burns.

As a self declared card carrying old hippie the only thing I can say is yes and your point is?
or as that old Elvis Costello song asked "What's so funny about peace. love and understanding?" (great song, the Coal Porters do an excellent version)

I cut my teeth on things such as the whole earth catalogs and that fundamental world view still informs a lot of what I do and how I approach things.

[edit on 11-5-2007 by grover]

I like it.

Reminds me of the series of commercials on TV (I just don't remember which financial company it's for) that advertises retirement for this particular generation of people. One shows the empty rocking chair sitting on the front porch and then the retiree zooming off on his motorcycle (with the classic rock music in the background).

At 44, I'm not part of that generation... but as a child, I certainly witnessed it. Not only did they contribute so much to our society, but I think they also were great mentors for their children to continue to be free thinkers (in spite of the subliminal control of the media).

You know what is absurd is that a lot of the hard core conservative ideology is a reaction to the 60's and the ideas that came out of it.

It's so nice to finally hear something positive about my generation! I grew up in the '60's and remember quite well all of the protests, civil rights marches and speeches that inspired an entire generation. I was born in 1954, so was right in the middle of it.

Our generation was the best educated, the most outside-the-box thinking, creative, involved generation to come along in a long time. Yes, we did set out to change the world. We realized that so much of our institutions were hypocritical, such as our government. This of course scared the bejeezus out of politicians, who tried their best to clamp down on us and to discredit us, hence the bad name of hippies. When was the last time we saw the likes of Abbie Hoffman, Martin Luther King, Jr., John and Bobby Kennedy, Timothy Leary and so many others? All of them brilliant, all of them denigrated by the powers-that-be. The younger generations think that hippies were worthless, dirty bad people because that's what they've been taught.
But look at our accomplishments: We ended the Vietnam War (a war which never should have happened anyway), we furthered the cause of civil rights, we volunteered, we protested against injustice and many of us are still involved, trying to change the world for the better. We still march against war and try to bring peace into the world.
We've gotten a very bad rap from the press and from our govt. but the truth is we did accomplish alot, maybe not all we set out to do, but we did accomplish an awful lot.

Originally posted by grover
You know what is absurd is that a lot of the hard core conservative ideology is a reaction to the 60's and the ideas that came out of it.

Ill vouch for that. Just when I dont think I could possibly be more conservative I find myself surrounded by 'hippies' and similar ilk then suddenly, BAM!, 20% more conservative at least.

I cant stand them. I saw a Prius on my way to work and got mad at it. Ever see the 'Smug' episode of South Park? Thats a simple way to describe my reaction. It goes a little deeper but I dont care to get into it.

Dont get me started on "art" thats just splatter on a canvass, ungh...
Then thers the theory that all this 'free love' promiscuity helped make HIV and other STD's wide spread as they are today, the bulk of a generation wasting time and not preparing for retirement or their future and now we see an increased push to socialize evrything, a coincidence? Maybe.

Ill concede to the notion that if everyone bought into the hippie rhetoric it would be a viable option for soem grand utopia. If everyone bought into anything it would work. If we were all into some sort of human sacrificing feudalistic war cult that would work too. But not everyone can be into any one thing.

I like the bit in the article about hippies being right as long as its not; more guns or a right to life. Thats funny. In summary the article states hippies are right about the things hippies believe in. Well, NAMBLA is right about the things NAMBLA believes in.

Originally posted by grover
Dont get me started on "art" thats just splatter on a canvass, ungh...

Splatter art is a hippie thing? I don't think so. Hippie art is Op art. You know, the stuff that makes you dizzie just looking at it. Check out Peter Max or just google Op art to see what it is.

Then thers the theory that all this 'free love' promiscuity helped make HIV and other STD's wide spread as they are today, the bulk of a generation wasting time and not preparing for retirement or their future and now we see an increased push to socialize evrything, a coincidence? Maybe.

3 quick things here...

1) As one 'who was there', (18 in '65), I can tell you for sure that free love is a misconception (pun). It had more to do with the Christian ethic 'Love thy Neighbour' than sex. A relationship always had 'strings attached', even during that era.

2) AIDS, as far as I know, started in Africa, not in North America during the '65-'75 hippie era.

3) I consider myself still to be a hippie because my views never changed from then and I still was able to retire with a company pension which will never cause me to be dependent on ANY social programs.

I ride a Honda Helix 250cc scooter that gets 70 mpg but before that (when I still had a good knee; messed if up in the service and has only gotten worse as the years have gone by) I bicycled everywhere I went, including when I moved back to Va. from Maine. I grow my own food as much as possible living in a city, I recycle, I compost my garbage, I practice wholistic medicine whenever possible, I cook from scratch and rarely buy processed foods, my TV and radio are permanently tuned to PBS and NPR, which I support, I belong and shop at the local natural foods co-op (when I can afford it, you aren't rolling in dough on disability) I read voraciously and love world music, blues, jazz, bluegrass, classical and rock and I vote religiously, for liberal and progressive candidates, I was one of those protesting this stupid and ill planned war from before it even started, I am associated (or have been at various times) with the Quakers, the Unitarians and the Baha'i's AND I never sold out. Hell I would be a lot more prosperous if I had but the corporate/consumerist world holds little attraction to me and I hold less for them. yep I am an old card carrying hippie liberal and proud of it too damn it.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
I like the bit in the article about hippies being right as long as its not; more guns or a right to life. Thats funny. In summary the article states hippies are right about the things hippies believe in. Well, NAMBLA is right about the things NAMBLA believes in.

I find it offensive that you compare us hippies to NAMBLA. You really hate Priuses so much because you think it was a consequence of hippie thinking?
Don't you think that's a bit overreacting?

Well, here's another point for hippies; our generation didn't produce so many hate-filled, bigoted people, we tried to broaden our horizons a little more than that.

Originally posted by grover

I cut my teeth on things such as the whole earth catalogs and that fundamental world view still informs a lot of what I do and how I approach things.

yep, there were a group of us that had to go out to the WVa farm,
to wash off the DC stench most weekends...
primitive living of sorts, well off-the-grid in any case.

but when babies were coming our way it became time to re-integrate into the world.

but for those that have a yearning of what hippies & hippie life was about,
there's a niche in the world today known as "Eco-Village" where one can live and die in that 'hobbit' world reality, different Villages have different themes but with thousands to choose from worldwide you can find a place to immerse oneself to the degree one desires




Oh, forestlady....perhaps your just going for he name recognition
when you mention Abbie Hoffman...but he wasn't of the hippie brand,
He was a militant & anarchist always trying to rouse the establishment 'pigs' & the 'revolutionary underground' to conflicts.
I more thought that Jerry Ruben, instigator of the street theatre,
Yippies & the never-quite-made-it; political Yippie Party...
imo, He was a guider for the counter-culture not Abbie

I stated in the OP "fighting fears of failure". Meaning all the visions and how this mindchange would, seemingly coming out of nowhere at a sudden, was bound to change the future world. We saw that as a fact cuase the movement was so broad and litterally spreading like a wildfire. Some of us eventually would end up in positions of power in the society, or, more likely the old order would collapse by its inerti and we would take over.

Well, it didn't collapse, but it was compromised and had to adapt. As a footnote quite a few politicians today actually was part of the movement. To some degree, like Joshau Fischer the former German foreign minister. Maybe even Bill Clinton, who hitchike Europe at that time. In 1966 I met an American at a hostel in Thesaloniki I had some very good conversations with. I can't remember his name, but it could have been Bill, and I've often thought it could have been that Bill.

Yes, we did do a change, but as the world looks today, the change wasn't big enough ...maybe because we got lost in drugs. Because let's face it the visions got engulfed in purple haze, that laid them bare for rediculeing and manipulations. Around 1970 the junkie became epidemic, and I do believe it was conspiracy (by CIA) tio kill the movement.

Must to my surprise I learn young people today can declare themselves 'hippies' (for thisguyrighthere, I don't understand you can talk about hippies today). Like ANOK states "'dropping out' didn't ever mean giving up", I think they're better characterised as 'junkies'.

Concerning drugs, here I like to emphasis, we knew very well to distinct between psychedelics and hard drugs including alchol, at least where I came 40 years ago. Part of the conspiracy was to confuse the concepts and let drugs be drugs. That has killed millions of young people.

Finally, to put it straight, the REAL hippie movement started in Height Asburry, SF in the midsixties, went worldwide with the summer of love '67 and was started commercialised in '68, and to me it was all over, killed in pseudo and surrogats around '71-72 (John Travolta disco and ball-less BeeGees).

To close I wanna say, I'm proud to have been part of it and with the words of Bob Dylan:
I'm not sorry for nothing I've done / I'm glad I fought, I only wish we won

Maybe we did in the end.

To forestlady, yes, we was privileged like only one generationds in a thousand years are.

Originally posted by forestlady

Well, here's another point for hippies; our generation didn't produce so many hate-filled, bigoted people, we tried to broaden our horizons a little more than that.

Wow you got my number. Just your typical hate-filled, bigoted equal opportunity right to lifer who party got the 13th and 14th Amendments passes, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 and wrote the bill for womens suffrage.

I just cant stop hating those damn brown people. And those gays, lordy how I hate those gays.

I hate the Prius because the Prius owners cant help but walk around like their performing some grand feat for all of our sake. If they really cared about emissions they would support nuclear power or be trying to get people to eat vegetarian to cut down on the pollution the raising of livestock causes.

I applaud Toyota for seeing a niche market and exploiting it. Good for them.

Ive been riding a bike exclusively for over half of my life because driving is too expensive. I commuted a 60 mile round trip everyday for 2 years before moving closer to work by bicycle and never once thought it made me better than anyone or eleveted me to some holy level or even mentioned it save when some guy would complain about being stuck in traffic for 20 minutes.

I hate the Prius because it seems like in every glove compartment Toyota threw in a free elitist attitude to carry around.

I also cant stand the people who get all geared up to ride a bike 8 blocks to work only when the weathers nice. Theyre generally popous and approach their little bicycle habit as though it were some monumental lifestyle change on par with losing 300lbs.

You know Grover, I raise my own food too. I also hunt. I can and preserve and practice fundamental skills like fire starting without tools and rope making and home building and it has nothing to do with the hippie ideal. I do it for self reliance. I do it because I dont want to be dependent on the system now or once the NWO forces it on everyone. Whats this Bahai thing you keep mentioning? I remember some online "whats your faith" quiz and it told me thats what I would enjoy. Not that I would join any organized religion. From what I read its pretty hardline conservative.

Yeah, the hippies were probably right in their ideology. Unfortunately, all too often, they didn't practice what they preached. Of course, I am not old enough to have experienced it myself, so I base my thoughts on the movement second hand through what I have read and been told by older people.

[edit on 11-5-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

What a bunch of tripe. You people are still being manipulated by the media with this "article". I suppose now they are your friends??

I don't understand what is so positive about this article. All it does is still promote an agenda (a "liberal" one obviously) and soften one thing the "hippies" stood for (anti-establishment). Today that establishment tells you to drive a hybrid, recycle pop cans, eat organic food and, with Al Gore, SAVE THE PLANET! Back then it was save the planet from the coming ICE AGE, and now (40 years later for you older hippies who are starting to have that early senility induced by years of pot smoke) its GLOBAL WARMING!

My point is, you can't remain a hippie if you are pro-establishment, so therefore, I'm throwing my aluminum cans wherever I please (they came from the earth, they can go back!), driving like a madman on under-inflated tires, eating Cheetos for breakfast (and throwing the bag out of my window), and encouraging GLOBAL WARMING so I don't get so chilly at night with my bedroom window open!

I'm only young but I think you will find we will all have to be "hippies" eventually. (I really hate that term left over from (is it Nixon? Wouldn't surprise me)) some corrupt media wrangling administration. Hippy = Realist to the younger generation. Earth is a person too.

I agree - Hippies where right.

What made them wrong?
Money? The system? Police - Corruption? Lies?

Most hippies are hypocrites, especially the ones from the 60's and 70's, they rejected corporations, middle-class value, etc.., but only when it suited them. In time they saw their friends giving up the live on love and off of the earth mentality and returning to a lifestyle of capitalism. Most of the hippies/baby boomer's are now the worst offenders of "keep up with the Jones" mentality, granted not all, but most.

Wasn't it the Hippies that spit on soldiers arriving home from Vietnam and called them baby killers?

I am always amused at how there was always no shortage of Hippies to protest something. Of course the conservatives had to work that day to make sure all the programs to support those Hippies had enough money.

Don't tell me that a large portion of the male population were not there for the women.

I can't wait to see if SS is still around when I retire; but the important thing is that the Hippies get their cut while the money is there.

Then again a Hippie did save Forest by telling him to run....Forest, run....