The Young to Old Hippie FAQ Thread

Hey bro. Haven't heard the CD; saw him in concert and he played Deja Vu (All Over Again). He introduced it by saying he plays it for families. There was many a nodding head and a swipe at the eyes. There were also a few that left muttering under their breaths. ~sigh~ I guess there will always be some that just will not tolerate a dissenting voice, no matter what it's saying. Baa baa baa. Perhaps he should have sung "Long As I Can See The Light" for them.

 

Hey Drumn-I did get that line from the song-that was 'nt by accident-Fogerty gets all the credit for that-I saw him a few months back on Austin City Limits-he sounded great-before that; the last time I saw him was with Credence Clearwater at the Fillmore-67 or so-he has really held his voice and looks together -must be livin right! That song has a powerful message and kinda reminds me of the song For What It's Worth-see ya-Rob

 

I dig,....

Therefore, I am.

If you find yourselves able, to hang a lable on me.
Hang it high.

But,... just be baby.

Read
Create
Cooperate
Love

Throw yourselves on the mercy of wisdom.

You are ALL beautiful!

 

Hi Kassy, I wish you had been thru that era too. It was so totally awesome to see all these young teenagers come together and try to fight the establishment,(peacefully of course) I think part of the problem is that in todays society, there is too much lip service going on(all talk no action). Thanks so much for the respect and for the smile on that you have put upon this "older Hippies" face. Much love and peace to you sweetie!!!

 

brilliant Southernman!!!!

 

In 1818 when I was just a little tad . No j/k

 

Hippies Lived thru the 1960s , 1970s, Now what us young folks are , Well i guess the best word for me to use would be "Kidz" I love that term anyways....We all have hippie tendencies, Hippie mindsets , Some might even use the word "Headdy" hahaha which is really great too But all in all ......We are right now Who we are I am Derek, Who are you?

 

Well said, If anybody gets a chance to see "Naked Lunch," by

William Burroughs, do so over and over again.

 

On Being A Hippie

First let me clear up a few misconceptions about what a Hippie is. Long hair does not make a Hippie. There are plenty of long haired rednecks out there. Clothes don't make a Hippie and the use of drugs definitely doesn't make you a Hippie. Being a Hippie had nothing to do with being rebellious. Native Americans would say it's "Tafunka" (a way of life). It's a matter of respect. Respect for others and their rights to be who they are. Respect for the Earth and all that dwell on it. Mostly it's a respect for yourself. Allowing yourself to be who you are. Search the inner you, deep inside your heart, the answers are there if you just listen. You'll be suprised at what you might find. There are two paths in life the right one and the wrong one, it's up to you to chose. Peace, DDR

"I'm not cynical - just experienced."

 

so....i'm writing a paper in my college writing class. "How and Why has drug usage changed from the 1960's to now?" Your article helped a little, but the entire drug section was about Leary. I wanted to know about over all every day use. From all that I've researched drugs then weren't as negative an influence as you made them out to be. I don't know. Thank you though. Good article, I might have to quote it. :-D

Jenna

 

This was a nice thread. It seems there are a lot of young folks here who would like to define themselves as hippies. There was an aspect of the entire movement that not too many people touch on. During the hippie era there was a breakdown in relationships within ones age group. It didn't matter how old you were. The 16 year olds could hang with the 30 year olds and be accepted for themselves. Everybody was into the same ideas for change. Unfortunately it seems to have reverted to the 50's style. Today a 30 year old hanging with 16 years olds is considered some kind of pedophile.

Sorry I wasn't around sooner to help you with your report OxyBabe. I could have told you some crazy stories.

 

I have a question...
Ok...my parents were a bit young in the sixties so they cant anwer my questions... and if they did it would feel a bit wierd.
i would like to know how the hippies that consumed drugs feel now at an older age.
long term damage from the ones who can realy talk, not the poor lab rats that are experimented on.
the thing is i'm 23 and i've done my share of "things" since i was about 16. sometimes i think it's time to stop doing a lot of the things i do. pot doesnt concerne me that much. but what advice can you "old hippies" give me on drug use. what should i do or not do? for how long and how often did you use and what did you use? how do you feel now, health wise?
i take my health very seriously and plan on living a long healthy life. i'm vegan, semi organic, and take care of myself... i guess the only thing that isn't so good for me are the drugs...
i don't know were i'm going with this... but you guys understand
so... what's the deal?

 

I don't like pot because it slows me up. I quit using speed because it made me too fast. I like booze, cause it's just right.


Stay away from shrooms, LSD and hallucigenians unless you are prepared to enter a completely strange but valid reality. These ARE NOT drugs to idly use. Read philosophy, Carlos Casteneda, then dive in--- these are drugs, yes, but also keys to doors you may regret you opened. The beings on the other side are rarely amused.

 

done shrooms

done lsd
i've crossed to that side
i've had good trips and bad ones
mostly good... but i know how intense it could be
i dont even want to talk about my first acid trip... well i tell you this, i saw ambulances and medics knocking on my windshield telling me i was dying, and to open the door so they could help me... now i laugh about it but at the moment i was terrified

 

Well, I personally have a fondness for the psychedelics, but I'm experienced, and have had a few harrowing trips, so I know what to expect, what my limits are, and when NOT to partake of the sacraments. I haven't had any long-term damage that I'm aware of; my cognitive skills still function just fine, except for some minor memory problems that are a part of aging. I'm well on my way to learning a second language (German) so that should tell ya something. I only like pot occasionally, and I only use alcohol moderately, as it is more toxic than almost anything else.

So, that's my POV.

 

I have done everything from smoking banana peels (what can I say, I had to find out for myself LOL) to shooting heroin (which is the worst fucking drug. You shoot up, you puke, then you go to sleep. WTF?) I think I have tried every drug out there, at least once. Smoked Pot, hash, keif. hash oil, angel dust, MDA. Dropped acid, mescaline, beneys dexeys, Seconal Nembutal. Ate peyote, shrooms. Shot meth, crank, Demerol, dilaudid, Valium, Peruvian and Bolivian coke (they come from different plants. Not many people know that), Persian Mexican and china white junk. That's a pretty fucked up list, but despite that I never ripped off or stole or committed crimes behind any of that.

Pot is on the same level as martinis. It's OK. Although the post high lethargy keeps you from getting stuff done if you have responsibilities. The rest of them are crap. If I had it all to do over and I knew what I know now, I would do pot and psylocybin. I love sillypsybin. Never had a bad experience unlike acid. That's it.

As far as advising you I would say the long term health risks outweigh the benefits, if there are any. But ultimately it's your decision to make. If you do want to use, then don't bow to peer pressure to force you to do something you're not sure about. Like all choices in life it's best to make informed decisions. Don't believe media campaigns or government propaganda. It's usually bullshit. Read legit medical info. It's mostly right on, but there are exceptions, as in bad science. I'm 56. I've been clean for about 7 years. I have cirrhosis of the liver from HepC, but the HepC is in remission and the liver is healing. I'm one of the lucky ones. Bottom line is you can enjoy life without the drugs. I didn't have sex without being high till I was in my 40's. It was just as sweet. LOL

love like you've never been hurt,
and dance like you do when nobody's watching

 

Hi,
Alchohol kicked my young ass and continued to be a problem into middle age. Of the A-Z drugging I did back in the day? Well I guess I could recommend Far Eastern Hashish as worthy of my time. The rest was pretty "hit and miss...."
Tundrahopper4

 

~I love that faq article on the history of the hippies! Great job in research and writing.~

I was a hippie chick, and a part of me still is, and will always be....

I lived in Monterey, California during my elementary school & highschool years, and at about the age of 14, tripping on some paper acid (LSD) my friends and I decided to sneak (we had to lie to our parents to get out of the house) and go to the now famous Monterey Pop Festival to watch Jimmy Hendrix, Mommas & The Poppas, etc.--(what a trip man!)

At the age of 15, my best girlfriend and I decide to run away from home, and guess where we ended up? In San Francisco, and of course, we went directly to Height & Ashbury looking for others like us, run-away under age hippie chicks! Our parents found us and we were back home within a week.

In high school I was part of the radically cool crowd because we were hippies/idealitst/artsy/strange--I remember one day when the local college kids showed up on my high school campus recruiting kids to come join the Anti-War Demonstration that was going on that day. Me and a bunch of friends cut school and went with them all in their VolksWagon Vans, and we all joined in the demonstration march against the VietNam War--walking down main street and holding up our fists shouting: "Hell NO! We Won't Go! We won't Fight your Fascist War!"<<or something to that effect.

At the age of 17 I ran away from home again, this time with a little help from my friends, where basically I went "underground"--living with various other hippies, college students, radicals, etc., and moving from one communal situation into another. From Marin County to San Francisco, to Berkeley, to Santa Cruz, etc.--there was always lots of sex and free drugs, and even a little exploitation going on from time to time by opportunistic types (users/wannabees) who liked to take advantage of this whole runaway hippie chick phenomenon. Oh, there were other runaway chicks like me, quite a few in fact, they came from all over the country, and even some from Europe, no shit.

Eventually I settled down in Santa Cruz, California where I met and started living with what would turn out to be my first husband and the father of my 2 oldest daughters.---I worked as a distributor for the "free paper" which was a local underground UCSC student paper. I also worked in the bulk food store, where I helped fill the huge bulk foods bins with granola, bulgar, wheat flour, carob chunks, etc.--We lived in various communal Victorian houses which were common in Santa Cruz at that time. Most of them where populated with UCSC students, and some true hippies, heads, freaks, but also activists and radicals. I particularly liked the quick education in political awareness I gleaned from the activists and radicals that I oftentimes encountered and befriended. My then husband became a martial artist, and eventually we owned our own martial arts studio, and of course we all lived in the back of the studio, which was completely illegal zoning wise. The marriage was short lived and we were divorced less than 4 years later.

I was extremely idealistic then, I believed that LSD is all anybody really needed to realize the true nature of reality, god, life, etc.- and I really believed that love and peace would eventually rule the world, but I also believed that something needed to be done to get things rolling. Something radical. I believed in action. I first became a social activist back then (I also enrolled in college about that same time) and I became involved with various causes over the course of many years for which I have never regretted having been involved in...
and blah, blah, blah, and it goes on and on the story of my life, but that was mainly the hippie years...

Just sharing. Trippy, eh?

Later-

 

Great bio, Primordial. I'm getting radicalized again, myself. And thinking subversive thoughts like coaxing Owsley out of retirement and making some HUGE batches...