The Decline and Legacy of Hippies

In the nineteen sixties, a generation of young people rejected the world that their parents had built They turned away from war, conformity, consumerism, and traditional authority. and instead emraced music, peace, love, psychedelics, communal living, and a radically different vision of freedom And for a brief moment, it seemed like they might change everything Then almost as quickly the movement began to fall apart Learn more about the rise and fall of the hippie movement on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily This episode is sponsored by Quinince. 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Go to quQintinces d. com slash daily for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's QuInCE dot com slash daily for free shipping and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Qince d. com slash daily This episode is sponsored by MintMobile. There are things in life that you do not want to be transparent, like your swimsuit or your search history. But when it comes to your wireless bill, transparency is everything. That's why MintMobile's wireless plans have no gimmicks and no gunches. J high speed data and reliable coverage on the TMobile five G network All plans are fifteen dollars a month, even the unlimited plan. It works on your current phone, your current phone number, and you can keep all of your contacts. That's why I recommend MintMobile To get your new wireless plan for just fifteen bucks a month, go to mintmobile dot com slash Eed. That's mintmobile dot com slash EedD. Cut your wireless bill to fifteen bucks a month at mintmobile dot com slash ed. That's it. there's no catch. forty five dollars upfront payment required equipent to fifteen dollars a month, new customers on first three month plan only Speeds slower above forty gigabyte on unlimited plan. additional taxes, fees, and restrictions apply, Cemint moobile for details. The Hippie movement did not emerge out of nowhere. Its intellectual and cultural ancestors can be traced back to several earlier traditions. One major influence was boohemianism. Bohemians, who began in the early nineteenth century in Europe, rejected conventional middle class life, embraced art, poetry, free love, unconventional dress, and often lived in poor but creatively vibrant neighborhoods Another influence was the nineteenth century transrcendentalist tradition, especially figures such as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. They offered models of simple living, resistance to unjust government, and spiritual independence The Beat generation and the beatnicks of the nineteen forties and fifties were the most direct predecessors. Writers such as Jack Harowwak, Allan Ginsburg, Willi M S. Burrroughs, and Neil Cassidy rejected the conformity of post war America Beat culture drew influence from jazz and intellectual subcultures. Jazz music played constantly and fashion was inspired by musicians Poetry was also a major part of beat culture as artists sought to express themselves spontaneously through beat poetry, challenging existing American literary standards The American hippie movement began in San Francisco in the mid nineteen sixties It started in the Hate Ashby District when artists students and dropouts began to move into the region Individuals were initially drawn to hate Ashbury because the rent was cheap. Additionally, the area offered a more boohemian lifestyle distinct from mainstream America unconventionality was vividly reflected in the local businesses, including coffee houses, boutique shops, and stores selling drug paraphernalia. This environment drew teenagers and young adults eager to escape their conservative middle class upbringings The term hippie comes from the word hip, which was borrowed from the earlier Beatns In the hippie movement, the term hippie was actually mostly used by older outsiders to mock young people in the movement. The term was picked up by journalists who brought the nickname to widespread attention Despite being called hippies, the group typically did not use the term or identify with it. They often called themselves fllower children, freaks, or the underground The majority of hippies were part of the baby booomer generation, the children born in the aftermath of World War two. The nineteen fifties saw consumer culture at an all time high, and it was also the height of the Cold War with duck and cover drills in fear of the Soviet Union Despite their background, many felt isolated by the mainstream world and they wanted something more. This desire led them to seek others with unique lifestyles. They separated from society and often lived in large groups. Many adopted holistic medicine and unprocessed organic diets Their style also broke from traditional norms. They rejected conservative fashion. Men often had long, swraggly hair and beards. womomen also kept their hair long and wore it casually Their clothes were vibrant often with psychedelic colors, many more flowers in their hair Long loose clothing such as bell bottom pants and Victorian shawls were common, as were beads and sandals The hippie aesthetic bled into popular culture. It was found in the clothing, advertising, and design of the nineteen sixties, even among people who wouldn't be described as hippies. The hippie lifestyle was also heavily defined by drug use, particularly psychedelics such as LSD, which could alter a person's moods, thoughts, and perceptions. Marijuana and LSD became deeply ingrained in the community frequently present at parties, protests, and music events The substance use contributed to the emergence of new musical styles, including psychedelic rock and the subgenre of acid rock. and it also played a major role in the eventual fall of the movement More on that in a bit Hippies also felt passionately about the environment Because her lifestyle was connected to nature, they believed in eco living The hippie compounds tried to be self sufficient and the food was usually grown on site and was organic Hippies played a major role in the establishment of the first Earth Day Many of the members of the Hippie movement lived in communes. During the movement, about three thousand hippie communes existed, each having its own culture shaped by its members communes allowed hippies to reject mainstream culture and allowed them to live in the free love lifestyle and peace that they wanted Communutal lifestyles varied significantly from one group to another In terms of spirituality, some known as Jesus freaks were Christian, while others embraced Buddhism or Hinduism, and some adopted no faith at all Substance regulations also differed as drugs were permitted in most communes but prohibited in some others Clothing standards range from traditional attire to complete nudity Furthermore, while certain communities were mostly self sufficient, others engaged in various forms of commerce Despite their various practices, problems arose in the communes The main issue was the lack of a governing body With lax rules, many skipped work choosing to hang out or do drugs over their responsibilities Many communes also struggled financially, which led to tension Older members often left, either returning home or moving to another commune Part of the hippie movement was public gatherings. These events were called be inss. The term be in was a combination of be and sit in The initial B in called The Gathering of Tribes took place in San Francisco in nineteen sixty seven. This gathering initiated what was known as the Summer of L, a major cultural phenomenon that highlighted protests, spirituality and music The summer of Love successfully expanded the awareness of the hippie movement to the rest of the population During the summer of love, one hundred thousand people visited the Hate Ashbury District of San Francisco seeking to experience the city's music, peace and love. The enormous influx of people created chaos in the area rather than fulfilling these promises The Woodstock Music and Art Fair held in August of nineteen sixty nine in upstate New York became the defining symbol of the hippie movevement Roughly four hundred thousand people attended Despite rain, mud, food shges, traffic jams and logistical chaos, the festival was remembered as a largely peaceful gathering built around music cooperation and shared idealism His performers included Jimy Hendrirx, Janice Japlin, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Santana, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and many others Woodstock became the movement's great Myth, a temporary city of peace and music where young people proved that they could gather without descending into violence Of course, you can't really talk about the hippie movement without talking about the Vietnam War The Vietnam War was one of the most important forces behind the rise of the hippie movement At first, many hippies were more cultural than political. They wanted to change consciousness, relationships and daily life, but as the war escalated, it became impossible to avoid The draft meant that young men could be forced to fight in a war that many considered immoral and didn't want any part of Television brought images of bombing, burning villages, wounded soldiers, and civilian suffering into American homes Hippies often overlapped at the broader anti war movement, though the two were not identical Groups such as the students for a Democratic society were more explicitly political, while hippies were more likely to emphasize peace, love, personal liberation, and spiritual transformation. One popular slogan during the protest was makeake love not warar. First printed during a Berkeley California anti war protest, the slogan was the epitome of Hippie ideology The beginning of the end of the Hippie movement is usually dated at just four months after Woodstock at the Ultimot Free cononcert in California Held in December of nineteen sixty nine and headlined by The Rolling Stones, Utimont was a poorly organized, chaotic and violent event Heell's angels were used as security During the Rolling Stones' performance, a young man named Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by a Hell's angel near the stage Ultimant is often described as the symbolic end of the nineteen sixties counterculture. It's a simplification, but it captures something real The hopeful image of Woodstock was replaced by images of violence, bad planning, drug abuse, and danger That same year also saw the Manson family murders, which terrified the public and badly damaged the image of hippie culture. Charles Manson was not representative of hippies, but he used countercultural language, communal living, sex, music, and drugs in a horrifyingly manipulative way. To many Americans, already suspicious of the movement Mansin seem to confirm their worst fears As you can probably guess, the hippies were not universally loved. In addition to the expected criticisms from more conservative supporters of, say, President Nixon, criticisms also came from unlikely sources One surprising critic of hippies was George Harrison, a member of the Beatles Harrison visited Hayne Ashby in nineteen sixty seven at the peak of the suummer ofove and found the whole scene to be disturbing. He said, quote I went to Hayate Asashbury, expecting it to be this brilliant place. I thought it was going to be all these groovy kind of gypsy kind of people with little shops making works of art and paintings and carvings. But instead it turned out to be a lot of bums, and many of them were just very young kids who had come from all over America and dropped acid and gone to this mecca of LSD It certainly showed me what was really happening in the drug cult. It wasn't what I thought of all these grooy people having spiritual awakenings. It was like any addiction, so at that point, I stopped taking it actually, the dreaded Lysergic. E quote He further went on to say, quote Hate Ashbury reminded me a bit of the Bowy There were these people just sitting around the pavement begging, saying, give us some money for a blanket. These are hypocrites. They're making fun of tourists and all that and at the same time, they're holding out their hands begging off of them. That's what I don't like E quote. The Hippie movement waned in the nineteen seventies for multiple reasons. First, the Vietnam War began winding down, especially after the draft ended in nineteen seventy three and American combat troops withdrew. Anti war activism didn't disappear, but the central issue that had united millions of young people lost urgency Second, the movement suffered from drug problems. Psychedelic experimentation gave way in many places to heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, and alcoholism The romantic image of expanded consciousness became harder to sustain amid addiction, homelessness, and mental breakdowns Third, the movement was weakened by poverty and impracticality Many hippie communities were built on lofty ideals, but lacked structures for long term survival property, open relationships, anti leadership attitudes and disdain for ordinary work produced real problems Those who grew their hair out, dressed in vibrant colors and participated in drugs and free love eventually got older and returned to their previous life They left their communes, went back to school or work, and conformed to the same society they once rejected Many of the hippies of the nineteen sixties became the suspender wearing yuppies of the nineteen eighties The AP movement burned brightly and briefly, but its cultural impact actually lasted longer than its moment in the spotlight It became one of the defining cultural revolutions of the twentieth century Hippie fashion and aesthetics remain evident today, and many of their beliefs persist in other social movements The hippies did not create the utopia that they imagined And their movement was often undermined by naivete, drugs, and internal contradictions