The general decline in standards today

[TidiousTed]

1962 eh? :rofl:

I was a nice polite little lad of 9 in 1962 and the hippies didn't turn up before 1967 before that they were called beatnicks

 

[jamespowers]

I was a nice polite little lad of 9 in 1962 and the hippies didn't turn up before 1967 before that they were called beatnicks

:rofl: Just checking.

 

[C-dot]

I was a nice polite little lad of 9 in 1962 and the hippies didn't turn up before 1967 before that they were called beatnicks

But beatniks are cool!

 

[jamespowers]

But beatniks are cool!

I can agree with that:

 

[PoohBang]

and before that Jazz. They're the "hippies" of the golden era.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Was there a Betty and Veronica?

Indeed -- there were a lot more Veronicas than Betties though. And we had more than our share of Jugheads.

 

[C-dot]

and before that Jazz. They're the "hippies" of the golden era.

Not quite... You can draw some very unfavourable comparisons between the rock 'n' rollers of the 50s to hippies of the late 60s. Rock 'n' roll was shocking to the older generation because it was so different - It advanced music by leaps and bounds. Hippies believed in "free love" and smoked a lot of pot and lamented the "squares", but they didn't actually *do* anything, except kill the 60s.

Rock 'n' rollers were shocking then and are heroes today; Hippies were lowlifes then, and are a popular Hallowe'en costume today.

 

[jamespowers]

and before that Jazz. They're the "hippies" of the golden era.

They were no where near the same. Beatniks hated hippies. Jack Kerouac hated hippies. He hated Ed Sauders and his like. This is not the image many people today remember.
The beatniks didn’t have to have long hair or colorful clothing; they didn’t even use the word beatnik or say they belonged in a group. Many of them were writers and regular people.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Bravo, C-dot! Wonderfully put!

Not quite... You can draw some very unfavourable comparisons between the rock 'n' rollers of the 50s to hippies of the late 60s. Rock 'n' roll was shocking to the older generation because it was so different - It advanced music by leaps and bounds. Hippies believed in "free love" and smoked a lot of pot and lamented the "squares", but they didn't actually *do* anything, except kill the 60s.

Rock 'n' rollers were shocking then and are heroes today; Hippies were lowlifes then, and are a popular Hallowe'en costume today.

 

[C-dot]

The beatniks didn’t have to have long hair or colorful clothing; they didn’t even use the word beatnik or say they belonged in a group. Many of them were writers and regular people.

You're right. Beatniks were artists, poets, and philosophers, akin to a subculture. Hippies are considered counter-culture, and have carried such negative connotations ever since August 8, 1969.

 

[TidiousTed]

As a European this hippie/beatnicks discussion is hard to follow. We really had neither here in Europe, apart from visiting American ones. And Now a days the only real hippies you'll be likely to meet are to be found in the south of India and on Sri Lanka. I've met several there and it was not a happy meeting. There is something disgusting about Westerners trying to hit you for money in third world countries riddled with poverty.
Should I give money to someone there it certainly wouldn't be some white sod who had spent the last 30 years on a beach on the Indian continent lazying around getting stoned.

 

[jamespowers]

As a European this hippie/beatnicks discussion is hard to follow. We really had neither here in Europe, apart from visiting American ones. And Now a days the only real hippies you'll be likely to meet are to be found in the south of India and on Sri Lanka. I've met several there and it was not a happy meeting. There is something disgusting about Westerners trying to hit you for money in third world countries riddled with poverty.

:rofl: That's a hippie alright.

 

[TidiousTed]

As a European this hippie/beatnicks discussion is hard to follow. We really had neither here in Europe, apart from visiting American ones. And Now a days the only real hippies you'll be likely to meet are to be found in the south of India and on Sri Lanka. I've met several there and it was not a happy meeting. There is something disgusting about Westerners trying to hit you for money in third world countries riddled with poverty.
Should I give money to someone there it certainly wouldn't be some white sod who had spent the last 30 years on a beach on the Indian continent lazying around getting stoned.

Having said as mush, I am not all together opposed to the hippie philosophy as such. And I’ve met die hard hippies in India too, who hasn’t smoked a joint in their entire life and who had become valuable members of their local society helping out as best they could. The problem is that they are scarce on the ground.

 

[C-dot]

Having said as mush, I am not all together opposed to the hippie philosophy as such. And I’ve met die hard hippies in India too, who hasn’t smoked a joint in their entire life and who had become valuable members of their local society helping out as best they could. The problem is that they are scarce on the ground.

In the 60s, they would have been known as "activists."

 

[jamespowers]

Having said as mush, I am not all together opposed to the hippie philosophy as such. And I’ve met die hard hippies in India too, who hasn’t smoked a joint in their entire life and who had become valuable members of their local society helping out as best they could. The problem is that they are scarce on the ground.

You have met something I haven't here then at the Nexus of hippiedom. Years ago you could see the strung out junkies laying on the sidewalk or flopping together in a flat or house---twenty to a room. The smell is indescribable. They never worked or cared where they were---they were just concerned where their next fix of either dope or conjugal relations was going to come from.

 

[TidiousTed]

Hippies believed in "free love" and smoked a lot of pot and lamented the "squares", but they didn't actually *do* anything, except kill the 60s.

Evil deeds like that are unfortunately more the trademark of other people than the hippies, who if one can say something good about them at all is rather peaceful. The man that bombed our government quarters and killed more than 60 young people here in Norway is a white right wing christian

 

[PoohBang]

Not quite... You can draw some very unfavourable comparisons between the rock 'n' rollers of the 50s to hippies of the late 60s. Rock 'n' roll was shocking to the older generation because it was so different - It advanced music by leaps and bounds. Hippies believed in "free love" and smoked a lot of pot and lamented the "squares", but they didn't actually *do* anything, except kill the 60s.

Rock 'n' rollers were shocking then and are heroes today; Hippies were lowlifes then, and are a popular Hallowe'en costume today.

Jazz in the 20's was considered subversive and a threat to morals of the time. It had new looks in clothes, sex, attitudes and music. And yes, even pot as you point out.

Now if you only look at the hippies you see in films and TV as you would since you weren't around when the true "hippie" movement was going on, you'd know there there was more to it that just "free love" pot and lamenting the "squares".

It'd be like me saying all Canadians just watch hockey and say "eh" after every sentence. But we both know that not to be true. Sure there's probably many that do, but that's a small part of the group.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Well..I know exactly what hippies were since I graduated HS at 17 in '65. Grew up through the whole movement. It started out similar to "What are you rebelling against"..."whatta ya got"...but on downers and Psychedelics. A drug culture that seemed to desire and offer a dreamland Utopia of naivete. Oneness with the universe...turn on..drop out....but intitled. Intitled to what?..Intitled to 'whatever'! You can see the ramifications in society today if you look deep enough...no matter how this was hailed as a great revolution..it ain't pretty underneath. Good thing that there isn't any Hippies left to get offended. Oh wait..I guess they have tried to make a big comeback most recently......:noidea:

 

[jamespowers]

Well..I know exactly what hippies were since I graduated HS at 17 in '65. Grew up through the whole movement. It started out similar to "What are you rebelling against"..."whatta ya got"...but on downers and Psychedelics. A drug culture that seemed to desire and offer a dreamland Utopia of naivete. Oneness with the universe...turn on..drop out....but intitled. Intitled to what?..Intitled to 'whatever'! You can see the ramifications in society today if you look deep enough...no matter how this was hailed as a great revolution..it ain't pretty underneath. Good thing that there isn't any Hippies left to get offended. Oh wait..I guess they have tried to make a big comeback most recently......:noidea:

That is a pretty good synopsis. There are still plenty of hippies left though. Out here they cleaned up cut their hair and went job hunting after they graduated from places like Stanford and UC Berkeley. They even became professors of said institutions over time to further infect our youth, culture and society. They might not have the long hair but it grew inward.

 

[jamespowers]

white right wing christian

Where do you think hippies came from? Nine times out of ten that was their background. When is the last time you saw a Chinese hippie?