“WHO WERE THE FLOWER CHILDREN” (HIPPIES) ENCYCLOPEDIA
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The Hippies popularly known as the flower children is a countercultural group that did not comfort to the ordinary American life. It is traced back to the mid-1960s, progressing to the 70s and was prevalent in college people who advocated for anti-war measures. The nation witnessed an unprecedented cultural shift that spread to Canada and the U.K. The name is said to originate from the word “hip,” and “hipster” a slang commonly associated to the 1950 Beats from the likes of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, presumably the founders of hippie’s style. Despite the initial reason for its genesis as part of the opposition against the U.S’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the movement generally diverted to non-political aspects to more of socio-cultural perspectives. Therefore, the outright and vocal demand for civil rights amongst American citizens gave birth to this original and alternative form of activism.
Hippies felt out of place amongst the American middle-class society and sought to find an identity for themselves. They saw this class of people being driven by the desire for wealth and repression hence creating their own alternative style. Originally based at the Haight-Ashbury, a San Francisco district, these people developed their love for technicolor and extraordinary sense of fashion here, which remains alive to date. Their choice of clothing ranged from psychedelic colors that were somewhat unconventional but casual. Men wore long beards, while women adorned in granny dresses. Both wore sandals, beads, and rimless glasses. Their settlement choices were also different, whereby people preferred to live in corporate or communal arrangements. Also, they would shift together and retreat to the woods to get more in touch with Mother Nature. Similarly, their choice of food mainly comprised of a vegetarian diet from unprocessed food material. Visiting hospitals was not part of their way of life, and they opted for holistic medicine. Unlike any other activist group at the time, these people spoke a universal message of making peace and love instead of waging war, hence the “flower children,” making them unique in a time of political trifle.
For many of them, the 1968 publication of “The Whole Earth Catalog” served as a guide to how to carry out their daily living. They rejected the American culture, and their unique brand of rebellion heralded a new style, beliefs, and morals. These people were often associated with societal dropouts, refraining from regular jobs, and employment. However, some pursued small businesses that catered for other hippies. Consequently, they promoted tolerance and openness as better alternatives to restrictions governing the middle-class society. Seeking spiritual guidance grew as a common practice, especially learning about Buddhism and other religions from the east that were outside the confines of Judeo-Christian beliefs. At times they would combine different faiths and practice them. Similarly, astrology was a fast-growing practice with the people deeming the period as the era of Aquarius. Aside from that, they openly encouraged the use of hallucinogenic drugs, mostly marijuana and LSD, as part of expanding and clearing the consciousness to access a higher self. They also practiced heterosexual monogamy but would occasionally engage with other partners when they met to drink and party. Thus, they desired liberation from what they felt were restrictions that life did not need.
Rock and folk music formed an integral part of this newly-founded culture. Their association with such genres further opened up different literature and performances that resonated with their beliefs. John Philips, one of the members of the Mamas and Papas band, wrote the 1967 song “San Francisco (Don’t forget to wear flowers on your hair)” that became an anthem for hippies and flower power concept given its message. Its popularity reached the far sides of Europe and topped the U.K. charts. Other singers and bands such as Joan Baez, Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Jefferson Airplanes, among others, were identified as associates of this group. Broadway witnessed its first musical regarding this particular culture in 1968 from the performance of “Hair,” and the next year, a movie known as “Easy Rider” that both portrayed their values, lifestyle, and aesthetics. Ken Kesey, a renowned novelist, was the best literary spokesman for the movement at the time, never shy of sharing what their whole system looked like.
Any culture can create a counterculture, and the hippies were part of a long tradition of a culture shift. History is prone to experience a surge of people who practice some form of bohemianism, with people secretly acting on drugs, inter-relations, anarchism, and strange ideas as Allen Ginsberg puts it. And behind what grew to be hippies and their predecessors, the beat culture stood the black American culture. This was the earliest form of counterculture where the African Americans were vigilant against giving in the compromises of the white system. They already did all the things that hippies grew to practice, such as smoking marijuana, creating hip music long before the whites discovered it. Therefore it was no surprise the source of this hip transformation came from the black community who had been living between democracy and totalitarianism for over two centuries. When this new hippie came into existence, they were categorized into four groups, namely, the visionary, midnight hippies, freaks and head, and the plastic. The visionaries posed as utopians seeing an alternative living style. The freaks and heads were focused on substance abuse. They surrounded themselves with drugs in the name of searching for an out of body experience. The midnight hippies were slightly older people in their thirties who could not fully integrate into the system but sympathized with them and the plastic hippies who adorned the clothing styles as costumes.
Public gatherings were used as opportunities to express their culture to the rest of the world. Be it protests or festivals, every chance to meet in public was highly valued as a time to celebrate life. Michael Bowen, an artist, organized the first-ever Human Be-in event in 1967. The occasion, also known as the gathering of tribes, was held in San Francisco, and the participants were told to bring flowers, among other things. This occasion drew in over a hundred thousand people all over the world, who flocked this town, in search of carrying experience and value systems. They called this period the Summer of Love, and it became the beginning of a worldwide development of the sixties counterculture. They gathered around the Pentagon, aiming to make peaceful demonstrations but ended up in serious protests. A human barricade of about 2500 soldiers was there, and eventually, violence erupted whereby the more radical activists collided with the U.S. marshals. It took almost three days for normalcy to be restored. To further encourage this pacifist reason, some of the hippies kept flowers in the soldier’s gun barrels while others made flower chains.
Newly recruited children returned home at the end of summer, bringing new culture, practices, and ideas while spreading to other major cities in America and Europe. Another significant occasion was Woodstock, a three-day music festival held on one of the rural parts of New York in 1969. The turnout was nearly half a million, and these participants became synonymous with the movement. They also participated in several teach-ins at universities and colleges where they explained their reasons behind the opposition of the Vietnam War. They also attended anti-war protests and marches. In 1969, they joined the “moratorium,” a protest that was nationwide and had other members of different affiliations. They also participated in the formation of the Environmental movement and, in 1970, had the first Earth Day.
Nevertheless, the movement remained stable for most of the 60s and began dying out in the 70s. In the eighties, things were different, and the new generation comprised of young individuals who wanted to venture into business and make a career of themselves. External pressures and internal contradictions in their system contributed to the gradual breakdown of this social experiment. However, it is still recognized to date in most parts of the world.
Bibliography
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Hill, Richard A., 2019. “Counterculture of the 1960s.” Salem Press Encyclopedia.. http://libaccess.columbiabasin.edu:2052/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=89311757&site=eds-live&scope=site
Howard, John Robert. “The Flowering of the Hippie Movement.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 382, no. 1 (March 1969): 43–55. doi:10.1177/000271626938200106.
Kohn, Paul M., and G. W. Mercer. “Drug Use, Drug-Use Attitudes, and the Authoritarianism-Rebellion Dimension.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 12, no. 2 (1971): 125-31. Accessed May 1, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/2948519
Miller, Timothy S. The hippies and American values. Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2012.