FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
Came across a Wikipedia-article the other day that I wanted to share with you and ask for your opinion.



Some claim "Hippie is dead!" and that there are only "Hippys" left... some say that there are only "Hip-E's" these days... others claim that any person under the age of 60 can't really be a Hippie, but has to be a "Retro-Hippie" (i.e. "Hippy")...



Now I can't really get a clear picture in my head and have to ask you for the foglights...



Are these Hippies?

or also these?

Is this a Hippie-van, or this?



Is it enough to be called a Hippie, if I have Dreadlocks and just don't shower for a week? If I put "PEACE" or "Atomic Power is Bad" stickers all over the rusty holes of my Combi? Park it on Main beach in Byron Bay letting all the engine oil dribble onto the parking lot? Is it enough to have a sheesha painted on my dragster to get "hippielike"?



Do I have to do this, to be a hippie?



What does it take to be a Hippie? Is it a uniform one can wear, or does it come along with a certain state of mind? Could there ever be a Hippie in a Armani-suit? I mean, hey - some of the old Hippies from back then might actually sit in the board of Halliburton... eek



But here's the article for you:



Hippie (also hippy) is a term originally used to describe some of the rebellious youth of the 1960s and 1970s. The word hippie was popularized by the late San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen. Caen's articles were always written with the help of notes and letters from his San Francisco fan base. He is also credited as among the first to include the words beatnik and yuppie in his column. Though not a cohesive cultural movement with manifestos and leaders, some hippies expressed their desire for change with communal or nomadic lifestyles, by renouncing corporate influence, consumerism and the Vietnam War, by embracing aspects of non-Judeo-Christian religious cultures (including much Eastern philosophy), and with criticism of Western middle class values.



Such criticism included the views that the government was paternalistic, corporate industry was greedy and domineering, traditional morals were askew, and war was inhumane. The structures and institutions they rejected came to be called The Establishment.



Hippies of the time were interested in "tuning in to their inner minds" (with or without drugs, mystic meditation) and improving mainstream society. Influence in hippie culture is sometimes akin to Eastern religions, philosophies, and associations. Although mainstream culture is not associated with hippie ways, modern hippies nonetheless exist as made apparent on sites such as Hippyland and events such as Rainbow Family Gatherings.



Politics



Hippies often participated in peace movements, including peace marches such as the USA marches on Washington and civil rights marches, and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations including the 1968 Democratic Convention. Yippies represented a highly politically active sub-group.



By today's standards, they're prone to hedonism and pacifism.



The culture has also rapidly embraced postfeminist and mostly postmodern "principles" in wake of the twenty-first century.

Though hippies embodied a counterculture movement, early hippies were not particularly tolerant of homosexuality. Acceptance of homosexuality grew with the culture and by today's standards such "issues" are non-existent.



Hippie political expression also took the form of "dropping out" of society to implement the changes they sought. The back to the land movement, cooperative business enterprises, alternative energy, free press movement, and organic farming embraced by hippies were all political in nature at their start.



Drugs



Driven by the appeal of the Sixties "psychedelics guru", Harvard professor Timothy Leary, who advocated use of these drugs as a form of mind expansion, many hippies participated in recreational drug use, particularly marijuana (see cannabis, cannabis (drug), and hashish) and hallucinogens such as LSD (see both psychedelic and psychedelic drug) and psilocybin (see Psychedelic mushroom). Some hippies prize marijuana for its iconoclastic, illicit nature, as well as for its psychopharmaceutical effects. Although some hippies did not use drugs, drug use is a trait often ascribed to hippies. Some hippies used drugs to express their disaffection with societial norms.



Legacy



By 1970, much of the hippie style, but little of its substance, had passed into mainstream culture. The media lost interest in the subculture, as it went out of fashion with younger people and even became the target of their ridicule with the advent of punk rock. However, many hippies made, and continue to maintain, long-term commitments to the lifestyle. As of 2005, hippies are found in bohemian enclaves around the world or as wanderers following the bands they love. Since the early 1970s, many rendezvous annually at Rainbow Gatherings. Others gather at meetings and festivals, such as the Peace Fest.



In the United Kingdom the New age travellers movement revived many hippie traditions into the 1980s and 1990s.



Characteristics



Longer hair and fuller beards than current fashion. Many white people with curly or natty hair associated with the 1960s counterculture and civil rights movement wore their hair in afros in earnest imitation of African Americans. Some people find the longer hair offensive. They believe it is unhygienic, frivolous, or feminine; or offensive because it violates traditional cultural expectations. (When Hair moved from off-Broadway to a large Broadway theater in 1968, the hippie counterculture was already diversifying and fleeing traditional urban settings.)



Bright-colored clothing, and unusual styles, such as bell-bottom pants, tie-dyed garments, dashikis, peasant blouses, and non-Western inspired clothing. Much of their clothing was self-made in protest of Western consumer culture. Head scarves and long beaded necklaces, for both men and women, were also fashionable.



Listening to certain styles of music; psychedelic rock such as Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane, blues such as Janis Joplin, traditional Eastern music, particularly from India, or rock music with eastern influences, soulful funk like Sly & The Family Stone, jam bands like the Grateful Dead and folk Music Bob Dylan. Neo-Hippies are into the bluegrass music scene.



Performing music casually, often with guitars, in friends' homes, or for free at outdoor fairs such as San Francisco's legendary "Human Be-In" of January 1967, the Woodstock Festival of August 15, 16, 17, 1969, or contemporary gatherings like Burning Man festival.



The VW Bus is usually known as the counterculture/hippie symbol; a peace symbol is usually painted where the VW logo would otherwise be seen. Because of its low cost (during the late sixties), it was revered as a utilitarian vehicle. A majority of buses were usually repainted with graphics and/or custom paint jobs - this was the predecessor of the modern-day art car. Although not as common they did also use the Chevrolet Corvair cars and vans.



Free love (See also: Sexual revolution).



Communal living



Use of incense



Pejorative connotations



The term hippie has also been used in a derogatory sense to describe long-haired unkempt drug users. Among those of the Beat Generation, the flood of youngsters adopting Beatnik sensibilities appeared to be cheap, mass-produced imitations of the Beatnik artist community. By Beat standards, these newcomers were not "clever" enough to really be "hip". On the other hand, conservatives used the term hippie as an insult toward young adults who had leftist, liberal, and other progressive outlooks on life. Band members like the Beatles defied and baffled adults in adopting long, shaggy hair. Such showmanship of apathy to appearance is but one aspect hippies encompass in defiance of preconceived adult establishments.

Today, the term hippie is often used by more conservative or mainstream people with the pejorative connotation of irresponsibility and participation in recreational drug use.

A modern pop culture example of the word hippie as an insult is its use by the cartoon character Eric Cartman in the South Park series (see the "Die Hippie, Die" episode, excerpts from which can be viewed here).



Inadvertently, modern hippies prefer the term/spelling hippy, in opposition to the unfounded idealism first promoted in hippie culture. Hippy culture in its current construct generally has the views/tendencies of old hippies, with the knowledge that ultimate idealism is, to be blunt, stupid. Young hippies of todays are located at Hippyland and events/parties which promote a more hippie-like lifestyle.



Some critics of the hippy movement claim that people become hippies as a result of sociopathy and/or inferiority complex, but these claims have not been substantiated by psychological studies.



Hippy



Neo-hippies or simply hippy is a name given to turn of the 21st century youths who still believe in the hippie philosophy from back in the day. Dreadlocks — especially with beads sewn into them — remain popular amongst neo-hippies.



Much like their 1960s counterparts, the peace and justice theme continues, especially with antiwar demonstrations in the wake of the Gulf War II, and repealing Patriot Acts I and II.



The art car has replaced the VW Bus since these are sought-after by collectors. A few hippie-era buses remain. Also, a knack for environmentally-friendly technology like hybrid vehicles (not to include biodiesel and SVO/WVO technology) have also gained massive acceptance and promotion.



Vegetarianism and beliefs in animal rights are also evident.

Drug usage is just as prevalent as in the "original" hippie days.



peace



Wotyathink? wink

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere


Posted:
i'm an executive hippy

biggrin

Holistic Spinner (I hope)


SkulduggeryGOLD Member
Pirate Pixie Crew Captain
8,428 posts
Location: Wales


Posted:
I think we are all different and trying to put labels on people is a pointless waste of time. We should just accept individuals as they are and stop trying to pigeon hole them.

Feed me Chocolate!!! Feed me NOW!


FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
@skull: eek what happened to your face??? ubblol



well, we're certainly labelling, when we refer to "ravers", "hippies", "firespinners" or even "cops" in general - no?



But "in general" hug I agree smile

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
labeling is part of being human, it helps us understand/contemplate our environment

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
Written by: Skulduggery


I think we are all different and trying to put labels on people is a pointless waste of time. We should just accept individuals as they are and stop trying to pigeon hole them.




*Except for "Americans".

wink

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
I am called a hippy by most of my friends. So am I a hippy? Well, yes. I'd say I am. If that's how they want toi see me, i have no objections with it. So much of labelling is personal opinion, both your own and other peoples.

So if people want to see me as a hippy; suits me fine. I can work with that. But I'm drunk right now, so I don't know if anyone got their penny-worth out of this opinion.

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


jo_rhymesSILVER Member
Momma Bear
4,525 posts
Location: Telford, Shrops, United Kingdom


Posted:
you're only a true hippy if like me, you say "don't try and put me in a box, man. i'm not a category". tongue

Hoppers are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.


PeleBRONZE Member
the henna lady
6,193 posts
Location: WNY, USA


Posted:
Huh....

I've known a high end lawyer who when he came home at night would put on Jimi, smoke pot and talk about how the system is screwing people and he would complain about the kids now who claimed to be hippies but didn't really know what it meant to be one, or how to be one.
He is the most absolute hippie person I know, even in his armani suit.

I think to spell them differently is stupid. Hippy to me is someone with wide hips.

I don't think the modern hippie is at all about appearances. Anyone can don a broomstick skirt and peasant top. Anyone can have dreads and wear long beads. Clothes definately do not make the wo/man.

I think it is a thought process. A way of looking at the world.

I just find it somewhat ironic that the majority of the article bases what it means to be a hippy on the aesthetic-physical portion of it. How they look. What they own. What they do. And not as much about the ideals behind it.

*shrug* Just goes to show books really are judged by their cover.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK


Fine_Rabid_DogInternet Hate Machine
10,530 posts
Location: They seek him here, they seek him there...


Posted:
ditto



Totally what Pele said.



A HoPper said to me (I think it was Aimée) that I was a Hippie trapped in a public school boys body.



*shrug*



I don't think its what someone wears, drives (soon to be a porud owner of a Vdub bus though wink biggrin ) etc, but what be belive in etc



So yeah... definatley what Pele said.



I think there was a thread somewhat similar to this... something about Hippies, geeks and spinning... I'll go bump it... smile



-edit- Can't find it. Arse. Guess I imagined it.. confused
EDITED_BY: Fine_Rabid_Dog (1137870391)

The existance of flamethrowers says that someone, somewhere, at sometime said "I need to set that thing on fire, but it's too far away."


jo_rhymesSILVER Member
Momma Bear
4,525 posts
Location: Telford, Shrops, United Kingdom


Posted:
ubblol i love how you can spot a hippy:

*Longer hair and fuller beards than current fashion
*Bright-colored clothing
*Performing music casually, often with guitars
*vegetarianism and beliefs in animal rights are also evident.
*Drug usage

Ok, according to this, I am most definitely a hippy. However, as I said before, don't try and keep me in a box. I will not be confined! peace

Hoppers are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
Oh, and now that I'm not drunk (only hungover)

Wikipedia is good. But I think more sources are probably needed as the user input system can be highly flawed and biased.

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


EeraBRONZE Member
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia


Posted:
Wasn't it Reagan who said of them:

"Thinks they're Tarzan, looks like Jane, smells like Cheetah."

Made me laugh anyhoo...

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
And what the hippies said about him isn't suitable for a PG board wink

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


TinklePantsGOLD Member
Clique Infiltrator, Cunning Linguist and Master Debator
4,219 posts
Location: Edinburgh burgh burrrrrr, United Kingdom


Posted:
The plural of both is "Hippies" so does it really matter? ubblol

Always use "so's your face" and "only on Tuesdays" in as many conversations possible


newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
[Old link] wink

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....


pricklyleafSILVER Member
with added berries
1,365 posts
Location: Manchester, England (UK)


Posted:
I was thinking about this the other day, and I guess I'm kind of a hippie, even if I don't look like one. I don't try to be a hippie, I don't go out and think, oh, I must do this, because that is kind of hippieish and cool.



However, I'm a ceramics student, I do poi, and other object manipultation, but the main thing I don't follow other people, I only do things for my own reasons. For example, the fact that everyone else has an ipod means I don't want one (also I don't agree with the fact it's a mass marketing thing, making lots of money, when there are mp3 players that are better for cheaper, but not as branded). I don't have a TV as it means I have lots of spare time for reading, circus skills, learining the guitar, socialising, origami, learning to touch type, learning to speak swahili! etc, I could go on. It's amazing how much time you waste when you have a TV.



In many ways I don't act like a steriotypical hippie, I don't dress particularly like one, I'm a very organised, motivated and passionate person. However, I'm very philosophical about life, and my life choices that I have made, to do something that I love, rather than something academic that I could make lots of money out of, have led me down that path.



I think if you have to try to be a hippie, then thats more of a false pretence, trying ot be someone you're not. I think peope who try to be a hippie, just fall into the steriotype, which, to me is not what being a hippy is truely about. It's the mindset behind it that is important, not the look. I think the steriotype of the hippie, is why the term hippie is often now, used as a derogatory term.



This is just my idea of what a hippie is, everything depends on how you class hippies yourself.
EDITED_BY: pricklyleaf (1137934133)

Live like there is no tomorrow,
dance like nobody is watching
and hula hoop like wiggling will save the world.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson


Bender_the_OffenderGOLD Member
still can't believe it's not butter
6,978 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
hippy was the term given by conservative people about young opium smokers with a progressive attitude on life. often, they had to be turned around when lying down to smoke, at the hips, hence the derogatory term.

hippies are a simulacrum: there are many that fit the lifestyle, there is no one main archetype.

now enough with pigeon holes, i have a mud puddle to dive into!

Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always


DuncGOLD Member
playing the days away
7,263 posts
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: silly article

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen....is also credited as among the first to include the words beatnik




Yeeeeeah, of cooourse he was wink *taps hand and smiles sweetly*
All those beatniks and bohemians from the 1800/1900's didn't really exist till old Herb gave them a name rolleyes

I doubt many hippies exist anymore, I doubt many have ever existed in modern times but the common theme of peace to all men, freedom of the mind and prosperity through self sufficiency are values handed down through hundreds and thousands of generations of man all over the world. It's only when they're not conformist through religion or capitalism they're redicals and given a suitable label by "the man", a label that may or may not be accepted by the people to whom it was given.

Pele makes very good points about the physical appearence and material icons associated with hippies in the article, and that non of them in any way summise what a hippie attitude actually is or stands for.

And I think Bender hits it on the head with "there is no one main archetype"

Let's relight this forum ubblove


newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
Written by: Dunc



All those beatniks and bohemians from the 1800/1900's didn't really exist till old Herb gave them a name rolleyes






*Bohemian* was a name since the 19c but fair play, the term beatniks came about much later...April 2nd 1958 to be precise. The term Beat had been around earlier in the 50's for a subgroup associated with Jazz...somewhat like we'd say ravers...



Written by: Dunc



I doubt many hippies exist anymore,






Yes we do. We just look like mid 50s housewives with computers.

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....


FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
ubblol clap

nice one, newgabe biggrin

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


NucleopoiBRONZE Member
chemical attraction
1,097 posts
Location: Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England


Posted:
Hippy!

FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
*notifies mods* tongue wink

But it's true, no? A good number of those former Hippies are housewives and dads these days - maybe some youngster looks at and wouldn't even think about the likelyhood.

peace

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
My ex boyfriends parents were hippies...and they so still are! ubblol

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
Written by: FireTom


*notifies mods* tongue wink




eek Oh no am I in trouble again eek

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....


FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
where do you come from newgabe? are you nucleo's alter ego? umm find me confused...

@nucleo: being called a hippie is an insult, or a decoration?

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


DuncGOLD Member
playing the days away
7,263 posts
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: newgabe


Written by: Dunc


I doubt many hippies exist anymore,




Yes we do. We just look like mid 50s housewives with computers.




I didn't say Hippies don't exist, I said there aren't many. And I'm sure out of 6 billion or so people very few are "hippies"

I consider myself a hippie, I feel we're a limited breed in a world of cunsumption, greed, anger, ego and various other similarities completely unessential to our existence on this beautiful planet

*Goes back to looking like a house husband, with computers*

Let's relight this forum ubblove


CrazyHippyChickSILVER Member
errrrrr what?
198 posts
Location: cloud 9, United Kingdom


Posted:
being a hippy is a state of mind that cant be charcterised by physical appearances neither can you dictate what one should be like to be considered a hippy. in this day and age we may not be what traditionally considered essential to be "a hippy"
Each to their own different people make the world go round.
love peace and empathy oh and skin up!!! peace

I'll come back as fire and burn all the liars and leave a blanket of ashes on the ground.
I could write the new bridget jones diary only mine would be more bizarre, funnier, dirtier more unbelievabe and bloody true!



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