Fake Modern Hippies

Lately I've been feeling annoyed with this stuff. In a beggining, when I heard that hippie-inspired outfits would be part of this year's tendency I felt glad, but it didn't last too much until I saw the truth of it. I'm studying in a big High School and sometimes it makes me angry to see some using the peace sign or headbands and stuff like that. Once, just for curiosity, we went with a girl dressed completely in the style, and asked her what was her favorite band of the 60's or 70's, and didn't know the name of any. ANY!!! Not even the Beatles!
And once other one, who also dressed as a hippie and claimed to be one, asked me who Janis Joplin was. Dear! That's too much!
They don't even know what the ideas and icons of this were and they say they're part of it. I don't want to label or damage anyone, but this is something that bugs me too much. Haven't you experienced something like that?

 

Well,,having LIVED the life,,commune, drugs, music, seen Hendrix, Joplin, etc..

I think there's only so far we can go in demanding, or expecting "genuineness" from others.

Back when I was "on the road", before settling down with a wife/kids/job/home, etc.,,

I even looked at myself, deep within, as a wannabe, though I lived in the Haight, did all the things, etc..just because I was from a middle/upper class background, with parents that were professional opera singers. I was a street person in practice, but in a sense, I felt it was more of a "choice", or a "portrayal", then something that was my lot through life's circumstances. I saw people around me for whom there really was NO CHOICE. It was "hippie", or nada. Get it?

The ones I thought were real, came from poor backgrounds, or rode Harleys and joined motorcyle clubs. They didn't just suddenly leave their privileged, comfortable lives to make an artistic statement, as I had. Surely I loved being AMONGST the people of the street, and still hate elitism (which can be found ANYWHERE,,even amongst "the oh so hip"), which my older sister seems to revel in. It's a kind of natural outcome of having opera stars for parents, I suppose, at least for her.

I grew up shunning that which she embraced. I grew up having a spot in my heart for the common people, the underpriveleged, the downtrodden,,etc. I learned the blues, both figuratively and literally. I chose a life of turning down opportunities that I felt compromised my sense of genuineness. Sometimes I wish I hadn't, for the sake of my relatively underpriveleged children. The big bucks COULD have been theirs, if I'd have done enough compromising. Money isn't evil. It's the LOVE of money,,

Anyhoo,,,I wouldn't be too hard on those who consider "hippieism" as an art form, or a style of garb. Who cares? What are we trying to prove? Maybe the real "hippie" is wearing a suit and tie, covertly waving his freedom flag, sowing insurrection wherever he goes,,?

 

Arthur - I think everyone sometimes get the feeling that they're faking. But I agree with you 100%.
Beatle Girl - You can't judging these people just because they don't fit into your hippie cookie cutter is no way to be either. Maybe the first person just likes the style. Maybe the second person knows very little and is trying to learn more. I consider myself a hippie and I ask tons of questions of fellow hip folks. Mr. Kite is giving me a crash course in music as we speak. Maybe instead of finding the ways that these girls are wrong, you should find out what causes them to embrace this small portion of the world that you so love. You may find some commonality.

 

Yea, but the "neo-hippie" chicks are hot.

 

Why does a hippie have to listen to music of the 60's and 70's in order to be a hippie?

 

Why would one ever be concerned of being labeled a hippie or a fake hippie?

 

yea, that was my exact thought but this person beat me to it. Thats bs. Don't judge them based on their musical tastes. 'Hippieness' isn't a scene, musical genre, way of dressing, it's a way of life and a general attitude towards it.

 

people have to start somewhere.....be patient grasshopper

 

the hippie "trend" has resurfaced several times since the 60's - you can spend your time getting annoyed with trendy peeps during these periods, or you can just go stock your wardrobe for the next six years or so - i think the latter choice is more personally gratifying to me

 

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you can be too, just start shopping for the latest hip threads, hahaha

 

Im happy because when I was in High school I was the only kid doing the hippy thing, then 4 years later, every kid in that damn high school is dressed like a hippy..

Thats mostly a high school thing though, once youre an adult, that stuff doesnt matter, because you just are who you are, and if you spend your time caring what everybody else thinks, you waste a lot of time

 

lol You just described my old roommate perfectly. She was a self-proclaimed hippie yet only listened to R.E.M. and knew nothing about the culture, history, etc...

 

Lmao lunarverse awesome sig! I could tell it was Voodoo Chile right away. Made me laugh.

 

It's true... But I still think the absolute sexiest people have stains on their clothes and holes in their shoes.

There's something that's always been unbearably attractive to me about [my idea of] The Real Thing. The people that travel the world, and never succumb to the conveniences of capitalist waste.

I suppose it's what I've always wanted for myself which makes it such a high standard to me.

Girls and boys that wear tie-dye and flip-flop and hemp bags and gear, sometimes patchouli and dreds... They LOOK good, pretty, eye-candy.

I hold the real thing in a higher plane in my head.

 

I would love to (and choose to) believe that the peace sign and the general sixties "look" is coming into style partly because of the natural cycle of fashion, but mostly because the general consciousness has called for it to be so. I have heard from the older generation a lot of disappointment and disgust with people my age, and to an extent I can understand that reaction. We do appear to be more self absorbed and less passionate of a generation and, yes, it does seem like the fashion of today is nothing but a shallow trend.

However, I believe in a wider social consciousness. People sneer at the fact that "going green" has become a fad, but I believe that it's popular for a reason and if it is only through fashion that we manage to make a positive environmental impact, than going green can be as fashionable as it likes. I believe that the peace signs re-emergence and the rise in the unpopularity of the war are not just strange coincidences, but must be correlated.

I believe that pushing instant negativity on a person because of their fashion, taste of music, or even lack of knowledge does nothing good. It does not change minds, it does not educate, it doesn't even change the fashion statement that you dislike. The only purpose it serves is to show your personal distaste with someone, to separate the "them" from "you". Instead of picking out some random girl and quizzing her about her musical knowledge, why not try and befriend her and introduce her to the music or, better yet, ask her about her ideas on equality, environmentalism, pickacauseism. What good did othering her do?

Of course, I have shallow reasons for liking the reemergence of sixties style clothing as well. My body can rock a peasant blouse. The 80s style slim fit everything? Not so much. So, well, bring on the sixties fashion (except for the high waisted jeans, which is no woman's friend).

 

there are so many variations on what a hippie is, why use the label at all? if people like the stereotypical "hippie" style they should wear what they want but not try to claim to be something they just arent. although i dont think it is mandatory to like certain bands to be a hippie- there arent any restrictions in my opinion beside the fact that you should be a free spirit and your own person to call yourself so. either way i dont really go around proclaiming myself a hippie in the first place. its just a word.

 

We shouldn't be judging based on music and appearances. If a person is for peace, love, and happiness, then they should be welcomed with open arms to the hippie community, regardless of musical tastes and knowledge.

One Love

 

Live and let live, embrace peace, be nice to others, love the planet, live outside the box, be hippie like, there are worse things to embrace. peace love sex and tube rides forever baby

 

They're not fake hippies, they just wear the clothes you associate with hippies. And if they really were modern hippies I don't see why they should know about the hippie culture and 60' music. Yes, I agree it does sounds logical to be into those things, but technically being a hippie doesn't necessarily mean you're interested in hip culture and music. Just like some people who are heavily into 60's music aren't necessarily hippies. Some might say focussing on the past is not hippie at all
But perhaps they're not hippie at all, which shouldn't matter at all neither since they're still human like you.