When did you realize you were a hippie?

5 seconds ago, as in...

 

Stop getting caught up in the label. That's not the OP's intention and you know it! The OP wasn't trying to stereotype you. It seems that she/he wanted this to be a thread about sharing epiphanies, maybe. It could have been really nice.

Sure, labels can be limiting. In this case, though, 'hippie' is just a useful word used as a shortcut. You all knew that, so chill.

I also think that hippiedom is big enough to contain people who share some, but not all of the same values. Is 'counterculture' a better word for it?

Or maybe if you want to participate in this thread, but you don't want to be labeled, you could ask yourself, "When did I first realize that I wasn't a zombie?" if that's more to your liking.

 

When I was a kid, I started to sense that my family was different very early on. I remember that my mom said that so-and-so's family was so square and I asked her if that meant that we were round.

I got in trouble at school in kindergarten for telling the other children that their food was dead animals. The principal called my parents and told them to make me stop because children were refusing to eat their meat, even at home. My parents told the principal that they weren't going to stop me from educating the other kids.

I didn't know that it was unusual to wake up and run to the window to see if your friends' family's converted school bus home was parked in the driveway.

Then my mom bought a school bus and made it into a home. We left my dad and moved to The Farm (an intentional community in Tennessee). We lived there for a couple of years. Beatnikville. The food sucked for the most part, but other thatn that, it was a good place to be a kid. I didn't realize at the time that The Farm was unusual, because it wasn't my first communal living experience.

When we left The Farm we moved to a little town in Wisconsin. THAT'S when I realized that we were different. I couldn't believe that those little redneck children could be such assholes. I didn't understand why they cared so much about clothes and stupid stuff like that. They teased and harrassed my brother and I relentlessly. I didn't know people could be so mean or stupid.

They made fun of my long hair, so I cut it ALL off. They still made fun of me. So I made friends with some Hmong refugess that the rednecks also hassled, and we fought each other's battles.

I TRIED to conform, but I'm not good at it. This whole time, too, my mom was a political activist. My whole family is kind of eccentric and nonconformist. I honestly think that I could pay a 'normal' person for their clothes and ask them to teach me some 'normal' catch phrases and nobody would be fooled for even a second. I don't try to be weird, I just am.

So, that was my Hippy Epihany. Leaving the intentional community and dealing with shallow rednecks.

 

My kid is thick. Not fat. But bulked up and 6' tall. He is really a gentle soul. I was surprised one day when I heard from mom that she had to go to the school cause he had been fighting. His friend Ben (Binh) is Vietnamese and about 5'2". Apparently my kid objected to a bunch of guys on the varsity football team calling Ben a gook, and decided to kick the crap out of the whole team by himself. He didn't fare to well, but got suspended for a week for "starting" the fight. As an old non-violent hippie, I couldn't have been prouder. At least he didn't lose any teeth, and the black eye went away. Some battles are worth fighting.

 

Yeah, some battles are worth fighting. Believe me, I was NOT a violent kid, but I had to defend myself. Those rednecks called me 'Eppy" instead of my name because they couldn't say 'epilepsy' or my unusual name. Nothing was done about it. They just hassled me endlessly. So, yeah, if the adults were going to put up with that kind of bullshit, I had to do something. The same kids that picked on the refugees picked on me, so we teamed up.


If the adults that were responsible for my safety had done something about all of the harrassment, I would not have resorted to violence. I was already well-versed in pacifism.

At that school I organized a little protest, too. I was nine or ten years old. Only the boys were allowed to use the tether ball thingy. If girls tried to, they'd chase us and punch us. The stupid teachers did nothing about it. So I, the daughter of the activist, drew up a petition. All the girls signed it. I took it to the principal. Then girls and boys had to take turns using the tether ball thingy. School policy. We (the girls) told the boys that they could play tether ball with us, but they apparently thought that being a girl was contagious or something. They wouldn't come near.

 

i went in and out

 

ever since i was little ive wanted to understand who i was and what i was doing here, you know? the meaning of life...through our entire exsistance people have tried various ways of finding out. In my opinion, taking mind altering drugs and sitting naked in fields talking about peace with great people just seemed like the best way to handle not knowing, id rather be content with the uncetainty than angry. Plus, i look really good in tye dye.

 

It is to hard to put into words.My spirit longed to be hippie. Easy way to explain it.

 

all the things that i liked was so different from everyone else. people constantly telling me i was born in the wrong decade. the things i wore and such. just seem like it was me, the only way to be me, you know. no other way. and i love that it is me.

 

i'd love to hate people calling me a hippy...but no one does.

when i was younger, we'd dress play 'hippies'...as in, dressing in skirts and shirts i thought were beautiful (they are...but falling apart because of age)
later, i stole my parents Beatles, and Janis Joplin CD's. and read some books on 'counter culture' and all that jazz. and about protests.
It then occured to me, hey not everyone hates wars.
So I wanted to be like them...

 

My dad took me to the bookstore, and while he was in the Humor section looking for Dave Barry books, he came up to me with a book called The Hippie Handbook and said "HEY EMILY, THIS'D BE PERFECT FOR YOU!" I flipped through it and realized he was right. XD

He also sometimes buries his head in his hands and goes "Now I've got a goddamn hippie and the next Kurt Cobain as my spawn." (The Next Kurt Cobain being my brother. Josh isn't THAT bad.)

 

It was when I was around 18 or so and I tried mushrooms for the first time and I realized what everything around me was and who I was and what an amazing thing we are together and the insanity of being able to know that and be stuck in it at the same time with never-ending awe, yet also being able to forget about it and just take it all for granted. That's when I knew that I was me. Not necessarily a "hippe" depending on what you think, but just me in the deepest sense.

 

recently when i sarted smokin pot, and realizing how fuckin STRRRRRANGE everyone in this world is. people in this world with grounded and responsible kind heads, really balanced and rounded people, are really rare. so many people are on an entirely different trip of manipulation, and egotistical, delusional, self-contained BULLSHIT.

the internet is a perfect example of this, the personalities people create on here,the techniques they try to use to manipulate and lie to mother fuckers for the most TRIVIALLLLl bullshitty 'gain'. there are COUNTLESS other things you could be putting POSITIVE energy into to cultivate some GOODNESS and love. god knows theres a whole world that could use it, and maybe you could even find some real benefit and power in there. fuckin with people is too easy, and fuckin with them on the net is WAYYY to easy, and completley injustifiable. the philosophy or mind model behind it is completley fucked, let the walls crumble, and build something new. nobody here is growing, living, or loving, but just feeling confused and at a loss of words for a whole world of BS that really doesnt even deserve getting into. people need to admit their wrong and let go of the greed theyve been building and holding tight onto, let it crumble and watch somethin else grow... or go fuck themselves.

instead of pretending everything is perfect, and that the world does not exist and nothing or no other life is here, when its staring you right in the eye and you know godamn well what it is thats looking. COME THE FUCK ON, has the world been THAT bad to you personally? and would it not make a whole world of sense more to try to shift the world into even a TINY bit of a nicer paradigm so others dont experience the 'badness' you have? theres a LOT of places with opprotunities and spaces for growth, where you could be used as a tool through to universe to fill it with some GOOD. in the net and more importantly in the world which i guess the net is apart of , but why not DO IT??? people are fuckin chumps man and im afraid im not much different unfortunatley, but that is what being hips about. embracing TRUTH, not BULLSHIT.

 

When I realized how full mainstream society is of it, war, unfullfilling existence, everything. I want a life where you explore life and it's mysteries, and do all that type of stuff for your spirit, not just for your body.

I don't want a life where you buy a house, work all your life and die, no way. I want to LIVE life

 

I think I first realized I was a hippie when I was 8 years old--that was the first time I had seen a Volkswagen Beetle--or at least the first time I really took notice of them! I told Mom and Dad that that was the kind of car I wanted to have when I grew up. Of course, I'm 35 now and I still don't have my Beetle (what's wrong with this picture? LOL)--but it was also around that time or a little later that I was introduced to incense--my dad loves it too! I keep a lot of it in the house these days! I've always been a peace lover--war is definitely not the answer! I also love anything bright and colorful--I love tie-dye and wear lots of it--in fact, I'm wearing some right now! LOL As for my hair, I prefer it long--the longer, the better! Anyway, I hope that provides you with a good answer! Peace!

 

Well my parents were both hippies so I just rolled with it. For my 1st grade picture I was wearing a dress with a nature picture on it with cut up fringe on the sleeves and my hair was down to my ass. So basically. I've always felt it. The music, the love. Forever. Fucking sweet.

 

I don't consider myself a hippie, because as far as I am concerned that was a unique part of history with circumstances that cannot be exactly repeated. The counterculture has influenced the world in which we now live in so many ways that we do not realize.

I would love to have been a part of the '60s, seeing the blooming of San Francisco rock bands, meeting the beautiful people before the movement became commercialized, and getting involved in the general political activism.

I realized I leaned more toward the hippies after a very intense psychedelic experience in the middle of this year. I don't believe I will ever look at life in the same way, emotionally, but it's not something in my consciousness at all times.

 

That's easy. Spring tour 95. Meet up with a "homeless" hippie and the next thing I know I'm on tour at the Memphis shows. I was finally finding everything I knew to be out there since having had a spiritual awakening. But as the great teacher says it, " when you seek it you shall find it." And my life has never been the same since .

 

1 dec1ded 1 was a h1**y when 1 dec1ded 1 10ved vn*r0tected sex

 

When i was going to have a hair cut once and run screaming from the hairdressers!!!!!!


I'm 46 and if anyone comes near me with scissors i will scream and toss my hair about like a scream queen in a horror movie!!