Hello! For one of my youth culture college courses, I need to interview either current or past "hippies". If anyone could help me out by even answering one question I'd appreciate it! Questions: What is your age? Race? Gender? General location? How would you define a hippie? Where does music fit in the hippie culture? Where do drugs fit in the hippie culture? Are hippies still around today? Has the hippie culture disappeared into mainstream culture? Any more information you'd like me to know regarding hippies or your involvement with them?
I was a hippy because I was labeled a hippy. I'm 60 and was 14 in '67. I grew up in my time. It happened to be the 60's I gravitated towards a long hair crowd because my musical roll models had long hair, I grew my hair, which opened the door to sex, drugs and rock n roll Like many, I am an alcoholic/addict. Luckily I recovered. I left home, ultimately got married, raised a family, now getting ready to retire. It was cool. It might seem cool to younger folks today, but it was just another decade in my life. There are always sub cultures
back in the day, when media invented the term, to discredit the high moral ground of anti-war and anti-segrigation activists, hippie was that other guy further down the road. then after the term was coined it kind of backfired on the corporate interests who did so, because the repution for party, created a mythical bandwagon that was made real by almost everyone in the boomer demographic wanting to jump on it. the real history begins with the first computer assisted socialogical study, something called the club of rome, and well a whole bunch of things. i first became aware something was going on when everyone was talking about the mass arrests of protesters trying to end segrigation. so i lived through the era. but i grew in small towns in northern callifornia so i really remained pretty much out of touch with all that while it was going on, and only became aware of the bandwagon when it had already been well established in the early 70s. What is your age? Race? Gender? General location? 66, euro-american mixture, northern nevada currently, but grew up primarily in the northern sierras in california How would you define a hippie? someone who values the conditions others have to experience in the world we all have to live in, more then they value what someone else thinks of them as a person (which is a pretty heroic attitude from my perspective) Where does music fit in the hippie culture? well music is just a part of every culture. the hippie movement inhierited that from the beatnic movement that came before it. Where do drugs fit in the hippie culture? well they really don't and do. the early activists got into pot, to avoid becomming alcohaulics like nearly everyone's parents. later of course, playing with hallucinogens helped create that bandwagon that self fulfilled medias attempt to discredit the higher moral ground of activism. Are hippies still around today? Has the hippie culture disappeared into mainstream culture? this is all somewhat in the eye of the beholder as to how you choose to define what. activism certainly hasn't died, even if big money is now playing the game of anti-progressive activism with fronts like the tea party. essentially the real activism has grown up pretty much too, though the ad hoc approach can be just as motivational as the well organized, as we have seen with occupy and the 99% i'm sure you won't find any of this in your textbooks, but that's the real deal as i experienced it.
