Some help for a paper Im writing on Hippies and those who participated in the 60's

Hello my name is Michelle and I am taking a Youth Cultures class and will be writing a paper on the Hippy Subculture and would just like the help of older Hippies who participated in the subculture in the 1960's. Below I posted a survey and would greatly appreciate if you could answer if not all then partial. You don't need to write alot just a few sentences to get your point across. Below I will put what my paper will be exploring with the survey proceeding:

For my paper I will be looking at the Hippie subculture from the 60's and analyzing how it was resistant against mainstream culture through the outlets of drugs and sex. I will also show the evolution of the subculture through the more modern neo-hippies (one specific group being the Rainbow Family) and how the new age hippies have shifted ways to resist mainstream by not putting alot of emphasis on drugs and sex but the environment and gatherings. I will conduct my research by going through older newspapers to find how the media portrayed hippies as bad because of their resistance to society by using drugs and promoting sexual exploration and I will also use academic articles and books to analyze how hippies used drugs and sex. I will post a survey on the website hippy.com and get the opinions (young and old) about the use of drugs and sex back in the 60's and also see what the people on the site know about neo-hippies and whether they think the neo-hippies have evolved away from the original hippies.

SURVEY

Name:

Age:

Where you reside:

What attracted you to the Hippy subculture?

How old were you when you started to become involved in the movement?

Do you think drugs and sex were used as forms of resistance, if so how (and what was your personal involvement- i.e what drugs did you take and how did experimentation affect you)?

Back in the 1960’s how do you think the media portrayed Hippies (was it a fair portrayal)?

Did you attend Woodstock and if so what were some highlights for you?

How do people react when they learn you are (or were) a Hippy- have you ever felt like people generalized and simplified the subculture?

How much do you know about neo-hippies (new age hippies) and do you even think they are still active?

Do you think that new age Hippies have shifted their focus and if so how?

Finally, how has the Hippy subculture impacted your life? (any regrets?)

If you have any questions just let me know! Thank you to anyone who can help.

 

Name: Shale Stone

Age: 65

Where you reside: Miami Beach

What attracted you to the Hippy subculture?

A lot of young guys were letting their hair grow long, setting new styles of casual dress and I knew they were smoking dope - something I had not yet tried. I saw them thru the open doors of the Sphinx Coffee house on Decatur St. in New Orleans 1968 as I drove my police cruiser down the street. I was intrigued by the alternative lifestyle.

How old were you when you started to become involved in the movement?
24

Do you think drugs and sex were used as forms of resistance, if so how (and what was your personal involvement- i.e what drugs did you take and how did experimentation affect you)?

Curiousity mainly. I had gotten righteously black out drunk before, and that was the only altered consciousness I knew of. Ppl were smoking dope on the levee all the time on my beat, it was just a matter of time before I tried it. No resistance feelings, just curiousity and the usual daring of youth to risk breaking the law (felony at the time) to try something that was proving to be more harmless than the authorities were making it out to be. First stone on MJ proved that alcohol is much more dangerous.

Sex may have been a resistance, but it is a natural inclination and the only resistance was to do it against the constraints of the uptight culture in which I was raised. It felt good and we did it. Forgot the propriety bullshit about one partner for life.

Back in the 1960’s how do you think the media portrayed Hippies (was it a fair portrayal)?

I didn't watch or read the news much at the time. I read Playboy magazine and it was pretty supportive of the liberal lifestyle if not the complete laid back communal philosophy of much of the counter culture.

Did you attend Woodstock and if so what were some highlights for you?

I missed Woodstock - I was a cop at the time. I did attend the Atlanta Pop Festival in July 1970 and from the movie Woodstock it was pretty much a sequel. I and my brothers and sister who came from New Orleans really got off on the gathering of the tribes. Dope was being sold right in from of the cops of this small town - we outnumbered them a bit with a quarter million of us an much fewer of them.

How do people react when they learn you are (or were) a Hippy- have you ever felt like people generalized and simplified the subculture?

It's history now. I still dress casually. Cutoff shorts actually and a T-shirt and flip flops. My hair is short but have kept a beard. Ppl know of my history with free-love and drugs but I don't do drugs any more. Don't smoke anything and don't even like getting drunk.

How much do you know about neo-hippies (new age hippies) and do you even think they are still active?

None personally. Just the young ppl on this site.

Do you think that new age Hippies have shifted their focus and if so how?

We of the subcultures were not all just about drugs and free luv. That was fun, but we had spiritual focus, ecology focus, (whatever happened to ZPG?) a sense of world brotherhood. We lived simply as the best way for the planet. Those things got overlooked because free luv and dope make for more interesting stories.

Finally, how has the Hippy subculture impacted your life? (any regrets?)

I became a part of it, or it became a part of me. After a couple of years as a mendicant I settled into steady work, family life and I guess for all appearances a respectable citizen. But I have retained a lot of the lifestyle philosophy that I fell into in 1970 and imparted some of that on my stepdaughter and perhaps others I have come to know.

If you have any questions just let me know! Thank you to anyone who can help.

 

Name:tanasi clay

Age:55

Where do you reside:woodstock nation

What attracted you to the hippy subculture?freedom

How old were you when you started to becomes invovled in the movement?
15

Do you think drugs and sex were used as a forms of resistance,if so how(and what was your personal involvement-i.e what drugs did you take and how did the experimentation affect you)?
No, not a form of resistance, a form of expansion of ones own limits.
I would only do organics because I viewed chems to be brain burners.
As for the sex, well I didn't resist.

Back in the 1960's how do you think the media portrayed Hippies( was it a fair portrayal)?
If one would consider the portrayal of the American indian by the media in the 1960's,the answer is evident.
No, it was not fair. Then or now.

Did you attend Woodstock and if so what were some of the highlights for you?
I live in Woodstock.
As for the music festival in New York, well I missed it by (-) that much.I toked a smoke and jumped a train in 69 at 15 years old and headed to the fest, turned out the train went the wrong damned way. So instead of jammin with Joplin in N.Y. I toked with the tides in florida.

How do people react when they learn you are(or were)a Hippie- have you ever felt like people generalized and simplified the subculture?
I was refused service in a resturant in 69 because I was a "God Damned long haired hippie freak" and in 2009 not allowed to rent an apartment(cash in hand) because "The likes of you couldn't afford the rent anyway", So ya might say that some of them are against the idea,generalized and simplified,huh?

How much do you know about neo-hippies(new age hippies)and do you even think they are still active?
I don't know about tags such as neo or new age. The rainbow phamily are great and I love them. They truly attempt to walk in freedom and with great success.

Do you think the new age Hippies have shifted their focus and if so how?
I'll speak on the phamily(because i know them),They have not changed their focus,they have expanded their horizons.

Finally,how has the Hippie subculture impacted your life?( any regrets)?
I walked away from the mainstream in 1969 and never looked back.I attempt everyday to walk with the nature of mother earth, instead of altering her magnificence or exploiting her virtues.
Yes I have one regret, I regret that many of my brothers and sisters can't remember to treat our mother with respect.

 

Sounds like a cool assignment, I can't wait for collage

 

Instantly recognizable by the tattered Tibetan prayer flags fluttering in the rigging, the Super Hippie cruises on a minute budget and is therefore usually hungry. Offer them some texturized vegetable protein, and in return you may receive a thermos of homemade yogurt, or a lovely macrame watch cap. Super Hippies invariably respond well to the statement "Dude, Monsanto is the devil." Unfortunately, they're often too healthy to drink.