Do Hippies have a High Mortality Rate?

This might seem like a dumb question. The first answer that comes to mind is, "Of course they have a high mortality rate! Hippies do drugs!" But it’s not that simple.

Why do I ask such a morbid question? Having read various threads in the Old Hippies and Flashbacks forums, I’ve noticed when talking about people they knew back then, one thing that occasionally popped up was, "He’s dead….she’s dead….etc." Then I thought about my hometown where I hung out and got high during the late 60s and early 70s, and it occurred to me that quite a few of the people I knew, people most would consider hippies, are no longer with us.

First, let’s put aside the ongoing debate about what makes a hippie a hippie, who really is and who really isn’t a hippie, how you hate to assign labels such as calling someone a hippie and just speak of hippies in general. Hell, let’s stereotype. Long-haired, drug-taking, work-avoiding, idealistic devotees of peace, love, flowers and sunshine hippies dancing in the park to the rhythms of the Grateful Dead.

Then think about the ways people die before they get old. Drug overdoses is a given among hippies, but what about suicide, murder, accidents and chronic health problems? Do those happen more often among hippies than in the general population? Or is it only among the stoner-type hippies? What about hippies who do drugs in moderation or not at all, who live "healthy organic lifestyles"? Do they tend to live longer than most people, thus balancing it out?

Could it be that the hippie lifestyle tends to attract those among the life fast, die young crowd? Is self-destructiveness common among hippies?

The more I think about it the more complex it seems. I hate to dwell on it but still I’d like to get some input from others who have been there and seen that. Among those you’ve known who have left us too soon, is there a common thread?

 

Very high mortality rate....

100% mortality
eventually.

 

Hippies have been hunted for years for their shiny pelt.

 

Gotta be in season though!

 

Does anyone have any real thoughts on this issue?

 

well there aint no way of collating a survey, as there is no definition of hippie

 

As I said, let's put aside the debate of what makes a hippie a hippie!

 

I will converse with you on the ACTUAL subject...

I haven't really thought about it actually. But I think that by looking at hippie celebreties, not really a WHOLE lot of hippie rockstars and stuff died early, witht he exception of a few (I think that Janis Jim and Jimi weere all killed as a governmental plot though...) and there were of course a few others. But think about how many heavy metal stars die from drugs and murders and stuff. Also, think about the Grunge thing from the early-mid 90's, man! I mean, look at their mortality rate. One or more guys from Nirvana, Alice In Chains, (I think) Mudhoney, and almost all the really big name bands, exception of Pearl Jam, are dead by now.

Also look at Woodstock. 500,000 people on 600 acres for 3 days, and only like, 2 or 3 mortalities (One was a heroin overdose, and the other guy was run ove buy a truck. I think there was another, but I don't know how they died.) But for that many people, that is a small number of fatalities (also considering people were living outside and had no REAL hospital or anything like that). I think that the Hip hop, grunge and metal sub cultures have far more fatalities than the hippies reasons being:
Hip-Hop: Gangs, cultures encouragement of violence and guns, "hard" drugs like coke, meth and heroin usually associated.
Grunge: A lot of the kids into Grunge were depressed (hence the lyrics) and commited suicide and stuff. Use of "Hard" drugs like Heroin, coke and meth.
Metal: Generally a pretty violent subculture, also encourages a lot of alchohol abuse, and once again the hard drugs.

The differance between these and hippies is that: Hippies drugs are usually for recreational use only, if taken at all and a lot of them will try to abstain from junkie drugs. The culture is against violence. A lot of hippies do not drink. The hippie lifestyle is generally positive as far as outlook on life ("Hey this is screwed up! BUT we can change it!" type of deal) so depression especially to the point of suicide is uncommon.

Just a few thoughts. Also consider that a lot of the people who lived in the 60's 70's are dying ANYWAY whether from drugs or that lifestyle or not. A lot of cancer has been going down with that generation, exposure to asbestos, differant things like that.

What are your thoughts?

 

only two people died at woodstock

 

It's funny that this came up...I was just thinking about it the other day...

It seems like a lot of the more famous hippies are dying prematurely...Jerry, Linda McCartney (not to mention George harrison, and John was murdered, so I don't know if he counts in this discussion), and I hear a lot about older hippies dying pretty frequently of hep C and Cancer (a friend of mine suggested that it was because of all the drugs they took and the affects the drugs had on their bodies...that certainly is a debatable subject!!! Not sure if I agree or disagree.) It does make me sad though when I hear of another of the 60's generation that has gone on...what a wonderful, society-changing generation...a generation whose members should not be lost so soon.

 

I think this has more to do with the ravages of age than anything else. Think about it, most hippies were in thier teens and twenties in the late 60's and early 70's. That was 30-40 years ago, a man who was 18 in 1966 would be 58 today. I am 42 and I have already attended 2 funerals of people I graduated from high school with in 1982, not many people make it 58 without a few of thier friends dying.

 

Granted, the hippies have reached the age where those with chronic health problems, whether genetic or acquired, start dying off. Drug use sure doesn't help. Among those I know have died, one guy died of a heart attack in his early 50s, he was known for drinking and for doing almost any drug except heroin. A couple guys died in work-related accidents, they sometimes came to work high. A couple others died in car crashes, they might have been driving drunk or high. One gal died of cirrhosis of the liver, she couldn't quit drinking even after she'd had hepatitis. A few died of AIDS and there were a couple suicides among those who couldn't seem to accept that the 60s were over.

Apparently it's lifestyle related, and the hippie lifestyle with its casual sex and drug use is bound to produce some casualties. It was pointed out that only two people died at Woodstock, but it would be interesting if there were some way to find out how many of those 400,000 people are still with us 37 years later.

 

yah, no kidding that would be pretty damn interesting to know.

 

After thinking on it further I realize there is no easy answer to this question as there are so many factors, and the term hippie can encompass a wide variety of people. It ranges from hippies who don't do drugs to hippies who became addicts, from those who practice safe monogomous sex to those who jump on anything with 2 legs, from those who are at peace with the world to those who are mad at it, and finally, from those who left the hippie life behind them as they grew older to those who have barely changed.

Maybe a safe answer is, when taken as a whole, hippies have a life expectancy that's a little lower than average. Yes? No?

 

I think you're just thinking and stretching too far.

I think it's just your friends were/are hippies...therefor you see more hippies dying than other people.

 

Haven't thought about this in any great depth but I'll throw a couple of ideas in the air.

I do believe there was a generally common denominator of drug use. I would also combine this with a certain naivete (sp?).

The naivete came from a somewhat misplaced trust in the use of the drugs - how much you could take, what you could combine those drugs with, and whether they could solve problems for you.

I guess the "hippies" didn't know what we do now (partly in thanks to the many drug-related deaths from that period) about the dangers.

In those days therapy and other psychological treatments were not as widespread as they are now so some people turned to drink and drugs to solve their problems, or at least forget about them. Jim Morrison and Pigpen drank themselves to death. There must have been some sort of self-destructive aspect within them. I must confess I don't know anything about Pigpen's background but I know Jim Morrison had deep-seated family problems.

 

Good thing to bring up drumminmama... There was this one lady my parents knew or knew someone who knew her or something, and she wasn't really a hippie but she had put a lot of faith into I think am Amish doctor. But she had cancer and by the time they talked her into going into the doctor, well one with a degree, it was too advanced and she died. She would have survived if she went earlier. I beleive in holistic stuff to a point, but there is also a point where one should accept some of western medicine.

 

True, there can't be a free clinic everywhere.

I also wonder if the suicide rate among hippies is any higher. Many who join the movement aren't so much into the hippie philosophy as they're just looking for acceptance. We do preach accepting people the way they are, and that appeals to those who have found only scorn and rejection in mainstream society. If they don't find the peace of mind they're seeking then some would turn to suicide.

Let me say this though, I know many hippies did in fact find peace, and are better off for it. I certainly am. The last thing I want to accomplish with this thread is to discourage anyone.

 

how you gonna find out the mortality rate of hippies when a lot of them may be buried out yonder in cow pasture to save on burial costs? lol