Hippie Lifestyle in the 60’s

Hippies felt alienated from middle-class society, which they saw as dominated by materialism and repression, and they developed their own distinctive lifestyle. They favored long hair and casual, often unconventional, dress, sometimes in “psychedelic” colors. Many males grew beards, and both genders wore sandals and beads. Long flowing granny dresses were popular for women, and rimless granny glasses with both men and women. Hippies often lived in one place together, and they often adopted vegetarian diets based on unprocessed foods and practiced holistic medicine. For many The Whole Earth Catalog, which first appeared in 1968, became a source for the necessities of life. Hippies tended to be dropouts from society, forgoing regular jobs and careers, although some developed small businesses that catered to other hippies.

Hippies were nonviolence and love, a phrase often said was “Make love, not war,” they were often called “flower children.” They promoted openness and tolerance as alternatives to the restrictions and regimentation they saw in middle-class society. Hippies often practiced open sexual relationships and lived in various types of family groups. They sought spiritual guidance from sources outside the Christian tradition, particularly Buddhism and other Eastern religions, and sometimes in various combinations. Both folk and rock music were a part of the hippie culture. Singers such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and groups such as the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Rolling Stones were among those most closely identified with the movement. The musical Hair, a celebration of the hippie lifestyle.

Kit-Kat was only 16 she became pregnant and did not know the father, she ended up telling her mom about it and her mom was being nice about it and they waited until her father got home to tell him. He did not take it the right way he screamed at her and technically disowned her. She ran away that night and went to live with some of her “hippie” friends, she lived with them through her whole pregnancy.

Example of things the hippies made change. (Hippies participated in peace movements, including peace marches such as the USA marches on Washington and civil rights marches, and anti-Vietnam war. They combated racism. They liberated sexual stereotypes, encouraged change, individual pride, and self-confidence. They questioned robot materialism. In four years, they managed to stop the Vietnam War. They got marijuana decriminalized in fourteen states during the Carter Administration. Hippie political expression often took the form of dropping out of society to implement the changes they sought. The back to the land movement, cooperative business enterprises, alternative energy, free press movement, and organic farming were all political in nature at their start.

The Yippies also known as The Youth International Party. They would do street protests they were protesting against the war not the soldiers. Abbie Hoffman as an American political and social activist, anarchist, and revolutionary who co-founded the Youth International Party. He was a little mental in his head. The Yippies wanted to promote medical procedures. Yippies were founded on December, 31st,1967. The headquarters was in New York city. The Yippies also like to listen to folk music, like how the hippies did.

Research about Vietnam (Military was fight south to north. Government was not telling why they were at “war” with Vietnam they just were. During the “war” estimated 200,000 and 250,000 soldiers lost their life’s. To this day they don’t count it as a war they count it as a conflict. 31% came back with PTSD this “war” was really mentally damaging. They weren’t ready for this war they didn’t know how it was going to be they weren’t prepared for “rotting” feet. Many died out in the forest due to when your feet rot you can not walk.

Bryan is Kit-Kats brother, he was an athlete in school. He didn’t end up getting the scholarship he needed. He ended up getting drunk and he enlisted in to military. He wanted to do more with his life and he thought do this would be the way. He was going to be sent to Vietnam he did not know what they were fighting for though. He came back with PTSD he was so scared form the whole situation. He ended up drinking and “partying” a lot to try and get rid of it.

Results of Vietnam The war killed an estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians, 1.1 million North Vietnamese troops, 200,000 South Vietnamese troops, and 58,000 U.S. troops. A result of the Vietnam War was the government lost credibility in the eyes of the American people. Americans had generally believed what the government was telling them was true. During the Vietnam War, it was clear to many Americans that the government was not telling them the truth about events in Vietnam and how the war was going. To this day, people don’t believe the government is being honest with the public. This feeling started during the Vietnam War.

Another result of the war was Congress tried to get back some of its powers it gave to the president during the war with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Congress passed the War Powers Act to limit for how long the president could commit our troops to other countries without the approval of Congress. It also established a time line for informing Congress when such actions would occur. While this law had good intentions, it hasn’t been very effective. Many presidents have ignored this law since there are no penalties mentioned for not following it.

The civil rights had a lot of things from the black panthers to Malcom X. The Watts riot raged for six days it ended up with more than 40 million dollars’ worth of property damage. It was one of the largest urban rebellion of the civil rights. It all started because an African American man was pulled over for drunk driving and a group of “onlookers” gathered at the scene it started tension. It started a “rage” a then large-scale riot started in commercial areas. For several days, rioters overturned and burned automobiles and looted and damaged grocery stores, liquor stores, department stores, and pawnshops. Over the course of the six-day riot, over 14,000 California National Guard troops were mobilized in South Los Angeles and a curfew zone encompassing over forty-five miles was established in an attempt to restore public order.

Jim Crow law it was a horrible thing to discriminate against people of color. There were many “laws” or rules they had to follow. From how much they could work to how much they got from working, couldn’t vote, where they could live, and take their children for labor purposes. They then added water fountains, restrooms, building entrances, elevators, cemeteries, even amusement-park cashier windows that only the “colored” could use. Laws forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods. Segregation was enforced for public pools, phone booths, hospitals, asylums, jails and residential homes for the elderly and handicapped. Some states required separate textbooks black and white students. New Orleans mandated the segregation of prostitutes according to race. In Atlanta, African Americans in court were given a different Bible from whites to swear on. Marriage and cohabitation between whites and blacks was strictly forbidden in most southern states. It was not uncommon to see signs posted at town and city limits warning African Americans that they were not welcome there. This was a very messed up law it hurt a lot of people.

The Civil rights movement changed a lot of things and made the world a “better” place. It ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. If the civil rights did not change those the world today would be a completely different world. It would be full of hate and discrimination against people of color. The world has came so far from that there is still a little discrimination but it has gotten a lot better.

I connect with both the Hippie and the Yippies in two different ways. I connected with the hippies because I believe the whole “make love not war” I believe we should all love one another and not want to start conflict. But I also agree with the Yippies on the “We are not against the soldiers we are against the war” I do not believe war should be a thing I would much rather have peace. I know that will not happen but in my perfect world that’s my vision