When I do some surfing at internet I sometimes find the statement: "-You are not a Hippie just because you are going barefoot". It makes me think. Well, barefooting are not just for Hippies, there are no monopoly for Hippies of going barefoot. I my opinion that´s open for everybody to do. Do any Hippie mind if somebody else are barefoot? But I think what do people in the US think are so bad with being a Hippie?
Hi barefootswede . I Live In Australia So I Can't Answer For The US..But What Has Being A Hippie Got To Do With Barefooting???..Yes Hippies Myself Included Went Barefoot.(dont ask how many years ago ...sob) .But "A BAREFOOTER IS A BAREFOOTER" Regardless Of Which Era You Were Born Into......Barefooting Is A Seriously Cool Way To Go Through Life........DON'T ASK WHY...JUST ENJOY IT....Cheers Glen.
I doubt it... Hippies are pretty open-minded usually, it's the mundane, mainstream folks who like to put everyone in their own little box & get upset if someone doesn't fit. Well, apart from being barefoot, stereotypical hippies are also said to be lazy bums who smoke pot all the time & don't work... and of course there are many people who don't like any counterculture or alternative folks, they're not just anti hippie, they're anti everything-different.
Well I can't speak to the initial intent of these forums, having come into them only a couple years ago, but I never got the impression that they were for hippies ONLY. I mean, I'm about as far from being a hippie as anyone - yet no one has ever said that I don't belong on these forums. Hippies in this country got a bad rap in the 60's, and unfortunately the image still clings in many people's minds of the long-haired, shoeless, drugged out peace-nik sitting on street corners singing anti-war songs. The free-love attitude that resulted in sexual liberation has, in the realm of public opinion, also suffered from the rise of HIV and other negative consequences that are made more possible with unprotected sex among many partners. I think their image has become a bit more accepted recently, with some of the focus on the environmental issues regarding climate change becoming amore of a part of the political landscape (most people I know closely associate "hippies" and "Tree-huggers"). But I do still think that there is some negative feeling associated with the word, and the image of hippies that many people have in their mind.
Those who claim to be the only real hippies aren't. Those who claim that they used to be hippies never were. Hippies are not judgemental and would love to see anyone enjoying themselves by freeing their feet. Attitudes in the US are determined by the media. The US media has never really put forth a positive image of hippies per se, hence the general derision in which we're held in that country. Likewise with bare feet, be they attached to a hippie or not; they're still far too often associated with poverty or ignorance in the popular media. The best way to counter negative stereotypes is to provide overwhelmingly powerful positive ones. Wavy Gravy is an excellent example of this with his tireless work with the Seva Foundation and Camp Winarainbow.
