What is a hippie? Are there any hippies around today? Can someone be under 50

[hedgehog]

and still be referred to as a hippie, or was it something that went away with the 60's?

[LakeSamish706]

1. You can only be a true hippy if you smoke weed, otherwise your outta here. lol Oh, and I forgot...

to mention the sex thing.... Freedom of sex with any partner... Forgot one other very import thing... You must have attended WoodStock as well... Definite requirement.

[HopeHoops]

2. I've been called a hippie since high school.

I'm currently sporting long hair, a long beard, and a mustache. I'm 46.

[Gman]

3. Besides long hair

being a hippy was a state of mind.

[POAS]

15. Correction---

Being a hippie IS a state of mind.

[Gman]

59. Of course

regardless of how old we get.

[Frank Booth]

4. The bums lost.

The bums will always lose.

[SpiralHawk]

53. "It ain't over till Uranus squares Pluto." - Ronald Reagan's Dead Republicon Astrologer*

"As all of us Republicon occultists know, the celestial signature of the Hippies was Uranus conjunct Pluto. The soon-to-come square of these two heavyweights will tell the tale. Consequently, since FEAR & FAIL are our Darkside Republicon stock in trade, we are trembling with the certain occult knowing that the Hippies will triumph with Love & Light and that OUR WIDE-STANCE, DIAPER-CLAD, HATE-FILLED DAYS OF RAGE & FAIL & PROPAGANDA ARE NUMBERED.

- Ronald Reagan's Dead Republicon Astrologer*



* Courageously channeled by the intrepid SpiralHawk from the vast netherworld of darkside Republicon occultism.

[provis99]

5. College towns are full of hippies, young and old.

Iowa City, Madison, Bloomington Indiana, even Oxford Mississippi all have large numbers of hippies.

[Honeycombe8]

6. No, Virginia. You cannot be under 50 and be properly called a hippie.

That's a term that was 1960's-era only.

If there is a comeback of that type of person, it would be called something else.

But of course, a hippie was a description of a persona that was unique to the 1960's, tied into the Vietnam War, a newfound sexual freedom for women because of The Pill, smoking pot, and experimenting with drugs that were mainly not as harmful as the "crack" that's around these days. There was also, I believe, more racial harmony then than now. This was, after all, during the birth of the Civil Rights movement, with MLK and all.

There is no Vietnam War anymore (no, Afghanistan doesn't compare..it's not the same), and the sexual freedom that was new then has definte frayed edges now. The drugs that are on the streets now are sometimes more harmful to others than to the user (crack, meth), and they're taken for different reasons now than then. Don't forget that a lot of the so-called hippies actually got college degrees while being hippies, so they weren't that wacked out on drugs.

[jkshaw]

7. They were still around in the 1970s.

My oldest daughter had a boyfriend who never got out of hippie-hood.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. Yes.

And beyond that, people can be called anything and everything. Language is funny that way.

[KittyWampus]

62. I found your answer to be quite profound- whether you intended it to be or not.

[depakid]

9. Visit Eugene, Oregon sometime

Missoula, Montana has a few as well.

[XemaSab]

42. Not to mention Arcata, California

:P

[depakid]

44. How could I forget!

;)

Ms. Depa very much wanted to see the redwoods again this last go round- but Montana took precedence. She'll have to settle for Karri trees from now on.

http://www.photoseek.com/04AUS-10723mod@Karri_Diamond_Tree_Fire_Lookout.jpg
--------



http://www.valleyofthegiants.com.au/index.html

Amazing place, this. Another wonder of the world (with the added bonus of exceptional Margaret River wines)

[walldude]

70. Man that's awesome...

I see those trees and for some reason I think Wookie!

[Neecy]

10. Probably not.

I have a 51 year old sister and she barely qualified for hippie-hood. I refer to her today as an aging hippie chick and she laughs.

I think for a true, full blown hippie 55+ is probably the cutoff.

[laughingliberal]

14. I'm 54 but I think I made the cut

Was quite precocious. Attended my 1st anti war protest at 13. Met with Stokely Carmichael and his group when I was 14 regarding setting up a chapter of the Weathermen in Memphis. Met MLK 2 days before he was killed (cheated on this one, attended a meeting he was at with my parents).

[onenote]

11. are there still any beatniks around? How about hep cats? Or "swells"?

[annabanana]

24. Well.. beatniks would have to be in their late 60's at the youngest.

all remaining Hep Cats are in their mid 80's and, alas, the swells have joined the Choir Celestial.

[Alameda]

68. Not really...the term hippy didn't come around til 1966

early 60's..........not late.......I know....I was one and I resented being called a Hippy.....the Beats came out of the arts....and had more discipline .........or seemed to....that was the time when people (Westerners) heard about and started trying to learn and practice of Zen....Yoga...

[immoderate]

75. The term hippie was around in the early 60s, but it meant something different.

Had a fraternity brother whose nickname was "hippie" because he so exemplified that image.

--imm

[annabanana]

78. interchangeable with hipster, maybe?

[immoderate]

79. Exactly!

Thanks, I didn't want to have to list the characteristics. :)

--imm

[silverweb]

12. I am and have always been...

...a hippie at heart.

These days, I'm identified more readily as a tree-hugging cat lady, I think, but that works, too.

[ruggerson]

13. Anyone who knows what "windowpane" means

n/t

[madrchsod]

18. good stuff.....

[Lochloosa]

69. +1

[silverweb]

19. Heh.

Thank goodness for Urban Dictionary. :D

[librechik]

30. wish I had some now

sigh

[Warpy]

31. Orange wedges, Owlsley, Mighty Quinn

I came in to the drug scene when the sugar cubes were going away in favor of well manufactured tabs about the size of a saccharine tablet.

I was long gone by the time the windowpanes, blotters, and other delivery methods arrived.

[Canuckistanian]

38. "Owlsley"

Your post just helped me find something out.

Frank Zappa did a song about hippies called "Who Needs the Peace Corps". In the lyrics there's a line about "sleeping on Owlsley's floor".

A quick trip to Wiki told me who he was.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley

Thanks!

[Blue_In_AK]

76. Orange sunshine...

Oh, my goodness...

[ohheckyeah]

48. Never tried it but I remember

friends taking it. Hash was my drug of choice back int he day.

[timtom]

55. Or Mr. Natural blotter

[bigtree]

58. purple microdot

orange barrel . . .

[hollowdweller]

16. I think the hippie culture survives.

I don't know what you call them.

I have pals who were at Woodstock, pals my age 49 and quite a few friends in their 20's and 30's that are all part of a similar culture.

People call me a hippie but I always tell them I'm too young to be one.
I think it's just because I have long hair and a beard, liberal and like to go to rallies for important political issues, love jam band music festival and bluegrass and live back up a hollow with a bunch of milk goats.

But to me hippie means somebody who was in their late teens or early 20's in the 60's.

[Warpy]

27. Oh, hell yeah. The politics are the same

although the country's turn to rabid conservatism has made us wary, to say the least. The politics of trying to live sustainably are still out there and we're the ones who drove 4 cylinder putt putts all through the SUV craze.

I still decorate by the hippie aesthetic: if you can't eat it or wear it, stick it up on the wall and call it art.

[madrchsod]

17. yup- there`s some of my daughter`s friends that are hippies

it`s a state of mind....:hippie:

[hedgehog]

20. I asked the question because my children in their twenties use the

term broadly to include anyone who follows a counter culture lifestyle. This may cover anything from simply dressing the part (long hair, facial hair, alternative clothing style) to various living arrangements. Thus, my daughter who lives in a co-op and is gainfully employed as are the other residents refers to herself as a hippie. I maintain that hippies were a very brief phenomenon and that not every long haired person was a hippie even in the 60's. I tend to think of hippies as living day to day and sponging off other people. My definition would exclude people who formed communes and worked like hell.

[Bluenorthwest]

60. Your definition is a prejudice, not a reality

The hippies I knew and know mostly made money. Sorry about that. All of them worked hard, all of them did things. Some sold many copies, etc. Some started communes that still exist.
Just because you 'tend to think' of any group of people in a certain way, that does not mean that THEY think of themselves that way. Republicans tend to think of Democrats as communists. They are incorrect.

For example, the most famous of the hippie traveling bus groups, the Merry Pranksters out of Eugene Oregon, were not 'sponging' off of other people. The group's leader, Ken Kesey, was a best selling author. Sponging if selling books and film rights is sponging. They are the ones who produced the famous Acid Tests, along with the Grateful Dead. The Dead, also hippies, also far from broke, far from sponging. Had you encountered them in their bus, with wild cloths, out to make a scene, you would probably not have thought, this is actually a book promotion tour. But in a way, it was just that. It was sure not funded by begging! So I really think you are way, way off in your understanding of what it was, and what it still is. If you think a person with a career can not be a hippie, you do not understand hippie and frankly, I think your view of money making is a bit stunted as well.
Here in Eugene, there is a square named after Kesey, and a statue of him there. Because he brought much good to this area. Good that continues to this day.

[hedgehog]

65. I think there are two defintions of hippie floating around. The first describes

a very small number of people who were/are drug users sponging off of other people. That definition might be further limited to those who lived in the 60's.

The second describes a much larger group of people, many of whom are very productive, marked by a respect for the Earth and people as individuals. Being productive doesn't necessarily mean making a lot of money, but providing themselves and others with food, shelter and clothing in a sustainable fashion. Thus, the hippie may live on a rural commune or be in a co-op rehabbing urban housing or even have a day job that is focused on service rather than big money.

The problem occurs when Conservatives take the term "hippie" as describing the spongers and apply it as a pejorative to anyone living a counterculture life.

[conscious evolution]

71. spongers = roaddogs

That is what we productive hippies call the moochers these days.Way to many bums and other ne'er-do-wells figured out that they can dress and act like hippies and use it as an excuse to ,well, be a bum and to scam unsuspecting people.
Real hippies can spot 'em a mile away.

[PJPhreak]

21. In the Sixties you were a "Hippie"...

In the Seventies you were a "Freak"

In the Eighties you were a "Deadhead"

I tend to fall in to the latter two groups....A "Freaky Deadhead"

[hedgehog]

23. I think your terms carry the implication of someone who is not a

contributor to society. (Sorry, but following a band around doesn't contribute much, IMO).

My kids insist on calling some people hippies even though they might be employed at various community development agencies and the like.

Can someone be a full time student getting good grades and still be a hippie?

[PJPhreak]

43. I fair to differ...

You very well can be a Deadhead or a Freak and still be a contributor to society,Many do and many are.

And believe me,most Deadheads did not or could not follow the band around the country,most at best took a few months off in the summer to do this...The rest of us were lucky to get to go see them when they came to where we lived as responsibility was like with most folk our first priority.

And a LOT of "Deadheads" are Teachers,Professors,work in Social Services (Both public and Private) Medical Fields of some sort,and so on....Hell Al Gore will tell you of the "Grate Time" he had attending Grateful Dead Concerts!

Gawd,I hate Stereotypes!

[Bluenorthwest]

61. That is simple ignorance on your part

I suggest a trip to Burning Man as step one of your cure.

[conscious evolution]

72. Yes quite a few members

of my Family have college degrees.Many have Masters and Phd's.
Two of our members are in their final year of med school.
A lot of hippies are in the health care professions.

Quite a few also go into teaching and education fields.One of my Sisters owns and operates a day care/after school center.There are also a few college professors in our family.
Music is also a popular field for hippies.Many make a living either playing proffessionally or by teaching music.

These are all fields that require good education.

[TheCowsCameHome]

22. Pseudo-hippies, maybe, but not the real thing.

You had to live in those times to know what real hippes were.

[StarfarerBill]

25. My last partner referred to me as a beatnik, which I found amusing;

I've never even read Kerouac, Ginsberg, or Burroughs, much less wore a beret or recited poetry in a coffeehouse...though I did have a goatee for a while, but that was before I knew her. ;)

[Warpy]

26. There are pockets of hippies all over the country

who eke out marginal livings selling crafts and food and exchanging services like car repairs and eating out of their gardens.

The local area that time forgot here in NM is Madrid, on the back road between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and some of the crafts there are quite good. All ages are represented there.

[LynzM]

28. I get called one all the time.

Mostly by my ex-military upstairs neighbor, who despite starting with a fundamentally different view of how conflict and frustration should be handled, has recently started noting that my "hippie bullshit" (;)) is rubbing off... (non-violence, respect for others, de-escalation of problems)

The :smoke: and the banjo-playing probably help, too... :rofl:

[hedgehog]

35. I find very often "hippie" is used in place of "liberal".

[LynzM]

47. Yep.

That, too. But I also tend toward eco-friendly and politically aware more than many I meet, so that probably contributes.

Still, where is the line between hippie/liberal? Is one purely politically leaning and the other more lifestyle?

[tonysam]

29. Try age 60

People 50 years old were only 8 when the Summer of Love happened.

[librechik]

32. some hippies moved in down the street from me a couple of months ago

and they were really young! I think the movement is starting up again. I hope.

[hedgehog]

33. What specifically marks your new neighbors as hippies?

[librechik]

49. first they hung out the prayer flags

then they hang out on the porch, the girls inn their long dresses and the boys all long haired and interesting looking.
They have a lot of yard sales and the stuff they are trying to sell, folk singer tapes and organic cooking books and spacy trinkets, all have a hip, nostalgic flavor.Incense, barefoot, beads etc/ Nice folks.

I'm one myself, so I can tell em when I see em.

[blues90]

34. I guess I still am one.

I am 61 . No matter if I cut my hair I was called woodstock at my last job and people still peg me as a hippie.

I think it has more to do with what you project than the look.

[immoderate]

74. Same boat here.

I have short to no hair. (I am legally bald.) I think it is attitude.

We had a classic definition: long hair, smokes dope, lay back attitude, opposed to the war. Yet I had friends who didn't do drugs. Some got high with meditation, or claimed to.

I get pegged as a hippie all the time. We called each other freaks, though. Interestingly, in the early sixties, the term hippie referred to a more mainstream type. Perhaps "hipster" would be evocative.

--imm

[onenote]

36. more people were labelled hippies by other people than called themselves hippies

I'm of the age to remember, and while there definitely were folks who called themselves hippies, there were a lot of folks that didn't label themselves, but were labelled by others because of their appearance.

[kristopher]

37. I've noticed that, as they approach middle age, a lot of people ...

tend to become a bit hippy.

[bobbolink]

39. Depends on what you mean by "hippie". There were two distinct groups during the 60s--

True "hippies" and the politicos.

Politicos were often called "hippies" by those who weren't paying that much attention, but rather than "dropping out", as the "hippies" were supposed to do, the politicos engaged at a deep level.

[Gemini Cat]

40. That was my observation as well. nt

[Gemini Cat]

41. dupe.

[omega minimo]

45. The real hippies are still there, doin what they do and aren't flamboyant about it.

[depakid]

46. The Rainbow Family's still around

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Family

[conscious evolution]

73. Yes we are!

[PJPhreak]

81. Thankfully!

Tho I find Gatherings a bit different than my first one (Usk Wa,'81)

Too many "Drainbros" not enough "Rainbows"

"Sigh"

[Cleita]

50. I can remember when hippie was cool.

It meant you could smoke weed and drop acid and you didn't have to have a job. Also once you became thirty you weren't to be trusted again. I remember when I turned thirty, my hippie and semi-hippie friends threw a party for me. They passed the weed and the wine and there was a lot of music (not records) with real guitars and singing. It was a really nice party and because they had accepted me even though I had a job, two in fact, and I didn't smoke weed or drop acid, but I did drink wine and we were still friends after I turned thirty.

[bridgit]

51. Whaa ~

:hippie:

[1]

52. i love that the old hippies here want to exclude the new hippies from the hippie club...

that is so hippie. not.

you old hippies are so exclusive. like a fucking republican country club.

:rofl:

[woo me with science]

54. LOL nt

[Echo In Light]

56. Well, I smoke weed, wear a full beard & have near waist-length hair

... but I was born in 69, so ...Born too late, I guess. I was very 'hippie' in the 80s when in some ways it was very un-cool in some circles. Then it circled back and became somewhat fashionable again in the "grunge/alternative" 90s

- although I've noticed the term is often applied scatter-shot these days, usually in a negative context

[ET Awful]

57. Can someone be OVER 30 and still be a hippie? What ever happened to the

"Never trust anyone over 30" mantra? (with thanks to Jerry Rubin of course) :).

[Odin2005]

63. I dunno, I've been called a hippy a few times and I have short hair and conservative clothing.

I also don't believe in New Age nonsense. :shrug:

[Cleita]

67. I've been called an elitist, right in front of my trailer too. n/t

[madokie]

64. I'm a 61 year old hippie and proud of it

smoked that ole devil weed for 40 years and still have as sharp of a mind as I ever did. Don't wear bell bottoms anymore and never wore tiedyes. Getting too old to care much for all the free love anymore though ;-)

[Thickasabrick]

66. I have always been a hippy - some days I am in disquise. nt

[old mark]

77. This is America - you can do anything you want. Its the law.

:hippie:

mark:hi:

[Fly by night]

80. If you're interested in hippies, you might enjoy this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2101172

It is entitled "We Hippies Are STILL Right -- a Tribute to 'Back to the Landers' Who Still Sustain"

I hope you enjoy. Now it's time to go put more wood in the stove and to go pick some turnip greens, radishes, broccoli and lettuce for dinner (from an organic Garden that has fed me for 40 years now).