There's no such thing as a hippie

hmmmm....sounds like a good idea!

where do i get one of those then?

 

There are many things to still challenge....

Racsim, Sexism, Ageism, War, animal cruelty, class, poverty, lack of free education, etc etc

I don't see the point of rebelling for rebellions sake.

Love Clairexxx

 

I hear ya sister. I hear ya on that!

 

this is true, but it just seems that whatever we challenge these days, nothing seems to happen. they challenged things in the sixties and they changed coz enough people wanted it.

we can fight all of the above issues and nothing seems to happen.

peace and love
stardust
xxx

 

We need more numbers and more determination I guess...

Arguably the reason the government changed things initially was to curb public rebellion. It was reactionary.

If it sees no real threat of that anymore why bother in changing anything? Infact they have taken away more freedoms recently, the very ones we faught for... se the CJA etc.

They use fear to take our freedoms away... the very same fear that makes people argue that WAR is the road to peace

Crazy Crazy times!

Love Clairexxx

 

yeah....crazy times. thats why i like the idea of going back.

i know we cant go back and things will never be how they were. all i'm saying is it would be nice if we could.

i would love to live in a time where (for example) i could park my caravan any place i want without worrying about getting moved on. i have the CJA to thank for that.

no-one seems to want to fight anymore. there seems to be a lethargy among people. no-one believes change is possible so no-one bothers fighting for it.

peace and love
stardust
xxx

 

I think if you actually did go back, you'd just find a whole load of different problems. The grass is always greener, as they say.

 

true. i guess i'm in a negative mood tonight. dunno why really. i just fancy the idea of being somewhere else. in a different place in a different time.

peace and love
stardust
xxx

 

Its so ignorant of of you I mean the only reason you say that peace is not possible is because you have never seen true peace. Look at a new born baby and tell me there is no way to have complete and tottal peace...

 

world peace and a new born baby are two entirely different things.

 

I get that all the time. I worked out ages ago that it was unrealistic though. It always seems like the past is better than the present. That's just the way of things. There's plenty of good in our own age, it's just harder to see sometimes because the bad stuff is usually so in your face. I mean, how long do you think hippies woulda hung around in the sixties if they coulda hopped forward 30 years in a time machine and had Es and skunk?

 

from what i've heard, skunk (and acid) was much better back then!!

peace and love
stardust
xxx

 

Are you a mother? If you are I am sure you are missing out. To a mother, there child is the world, its all that matters to them, with a lil imagination you could have noticed it was analogy

 

Yeah, that's what all the old people say! If that were so true, why aren't they just burned out husks, eh?

 

I guess that the original term "Hippy" was no more than a name for a fashion like any other youth fashion (mods, rockers, punks, teddy boys ... whatever) It was coupled with the anti war movement and grew into a phenomena that won't go away

But in order to fit into any youth fashion you have to conform to the ways of it.

The difference is that all the "hippydom" I've experienced is that the need to conform is no longer there. It isn't just about long hair, free love, drugs, psychedelic music, protest marches, dropping out or beads any more.

... unless of course that's what you want it to be.

In a way much of the fashion stuff that's carried on since the 70's seems symbolic rather than required ... I sometimes ask myself "Why exactly have I got flowers all over my old VW van?" what point am I trying to make by that little bit of attention grabbing I do?

To me though, it's more about being progressive. It's about learning new things and learning about ourselves, challenging our own set of values, being able to express ourselves no matter who we are and wanting to learn that there is more to this world than what we see at face value and being willing to accept that my place on this planet is a gift that I need to nurture. It's also about accepting that we'll never be perfect.

All this can be done without rebelling for the sake of it. Yeah if you want to look a bit different, wear flowers or smell of patchouli then cool, nobody should stop you ...

But if you want to wear a suit, drive a Merc and smoke cigars then that's cool too ... it's what's written inside that counts.

 

I think this might be a lenghty post. Here goes:

I don't think trying to re-create the 1960's environment would be a good idea. Although it was a time famous for the flowering of the hippy movement and a time from which most of my favourite music stems from (early Pink Floyd, Donovan, Incredible String Band, etc) it had more than it's pitfalls. Think of all the extra racism, sexism, homophobic discrimination that was around back then. Human rights were more scarce. There was the terrible Vietnam war and student activists were being shot dead.

Someone once said to me that I must wish I was back in the 60's but that is not true at all. I think they were implying that perhaps I could relate to more people back then because perhaps there were more people then who are on the same social/psychological path but I'm not convinced of that either because most the vast majority of the so-called hippies of that era were just going through phases. How many of those people carried their philosophies onto the 70s? 80s? 90s and beyond? How many of those people really took their interests in new age culture beyond a few garments purchased on the Kings Road or via a handful of LPs?

I believe that it was essential for the movement to progress from those days because otherwise it would be a complete contradiction of what hippism is about: Progressing, evolving society, anti-conservatism. But look at it this way, think of all of the manifestations which have taken place since the 60's. The enviromnental movemnet has grown very strong. The anti-war movement is far stronger and larger than it has ever been, and will continue to grow. Many forms of discrimination and prejudice which were much more widespread in the 'summer of love' are now in considerable decline. Those philosophies have as much rellevance to 2007 as they did in 1967, if not more.

Today, we have the privilage of having access to all the fruits of our time which the generation of the 60's simply didn't: Electronic games, cellphones, DVDs, and most certainly THE INTERNET, with which I am using to communicate to you now. Why on earth would I want to give this up for the 60's? Then of course there's the non-technological benefits which were absent from earlier periods.

I'd say there are 2, maybe 3 things which I am envious of that the 60's generation seemed to have more than us. The first I'd say is that the world population then was a lot lower than now (probably about 2 thirds of what it is now!!). This problem has certainly become more critical at this stage but at least we don't have to travel through time to solve it, but over-population is my second biggest concern in the world now. The first biggest, I'm about to illustrate. The second thing which was better in the 60's is that very few nations had nuclear weapons, but now dozens have them. That is very scary and in some ways draws us closer to the possibility of utter, global self-destruction. I'm not sure what the answer to this situation is but we need one fast. Thirdly, and I can't confirm this for sure of course but it seems to me that the 'rat race' I keep talking about at the moment was considerably less prominent. It would seem that (at least in most western, 'first world' countries) that our lifestyles are reaching an insanely fast pace and stress levels are increasing all over the place. I get the impression this wasn't so much the case in the 60's but if it is true that we're too much in the 'fast lane' then that only reinforces the tendency to draw towards a culture which is more peaceful and more realxed, enter the hippy culture!!

I'm of the opinion there is another spiritual revival brewing at the moment, but I do think it will be very different from the one of the 60's, otherwise it wouldn't represent a true progression would it? Like I said not long ago, how long before our car crashes? Or we do really sense the troubles facing us and seek out an alternative lifestyle.

 

I still belive in revolutions, maybe I'm just naive but I would rather be that that feeling hopeless. And I DON'T think that there are no more hippies around - by hippy I mean those of us who do still think we can make a difference and are willing to do something about it, and not be scared by todays society.

I agree that society has changed, and some of it for the better with all the progress of hippies in the past, but I DON'T think that I am dreaming when I think of changing it and that society is untouchable.

THERE ARE STILL THINGS IN THE WORLD WE NEED TO CHANGE such as racism, sexism, animal cruely, and war are just a few, and I know that we can do it in small numbers and we need to know that it can't just happen overnight, it takes a long time (eg. racism - has changed dramatically since the 60's but we are still fighting it).
Everybody who is thinking in the same way that Stardust is - that there is no hope - come out of your shell and come together!! The world needs you!!

Don't be shy! If you used to belive in world peace but think it's just a dream now REMEMBER the feeling that thinking about it gave you before!
Have you ever cried when you,looked at images of animals being treated with cruelty? or when watching the terrorists on the news and shy(for want of a better word) about it? I know I have and I plan to change that.
We need to start small and then we can start to make changes instead of daydreaming about huge rallies of people ending the war staright away - because it wont happen like that, and if you think it does then it will never happen at all!

Everyone who still has hope of changing the world we need to get started and get everyone together!

Peace (if you want it), Holly

 

That'd be because there's no point arguing with 12yr olds....

 

I felt really sad when I read your post...

I DO BELIEVE WE COULD CHANGE THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Part of the problem is that our society has become so fragmented... no one knows anyone anymore! We hide behind Things, Possessions, Locked Doors... I'm ready for the "woodstock" of our day... People just like me in ideals but different in unique ways coming together to celebrate life and the possibility that things could CHANGE!!!

Don't give up the fight.

As for free love-- maybe a redefined version... committed relationships have chosen to freely give their love to only one another... seems to me like free love exists outside of that all around... STDs have a way of putting damper on free love too.

I honestly do still think anything is possible... We need a leader... some brave souls who will step up and send the message to the miserable masses.

My heart felt really heavy reading your post, maybe I recognized a bit of truth in it that I don't want to/ am not ready to accept...

 

christ this is negative .. it is also a generisation .. heap us all into one and sum us all up. we have good and evil and there will always be the two and their degrees. You can't only have one or the other in my opinion you need both. If you didnt how would you know what you had left was good or evil. Bearing this in mind peace and love do work and always will. They are there in many forms. Life is about harmony.

Free love .. you seem to be confused about that one there .. its not aout cheating on partners but about polyamory. are you in a relationship with long term commitments or do you acept that you want to have lots of partners? .. either is ok if we are honest and open. Free love does work just not for everyone.

As for jobs ... work is work whether its be digging and planting your own garden for food or working at a factory to earn money to buy food. this we could go into in more detail if you really wanted to discuss it on a deeper level.

as for putting flowers in the end of guns why is it that people want the answer to the worlds problems to be found tomorrow ..

go and influence one person .. and together you will change the world by being one of millions doing the same .. the smallest ripples are the most important.

Life is about harmony and unfortunately there will always be those who suffer and starve. Do what you can. Go and influence one person .. and together you will change the world by being one of millions doing the same .. the smallest ripples are the most important.