Why were hippies once perceived as a threat to life as we know it?

Question

I mean in the 60s, when conformity was considered best and females, minorities and 'different' people were mocked, maligned and ignored. I have my own theories, but how could anybody think that a hippie was a begining of the end of society?

ProudCaucasian: If you knew they weren't going to fight, why did you post the question? False advertising? Hmmm? Oh, and it's nice to see you're spelling your name correctly. Please be very nice to the person who spelled it out for you.

Do you call all black people 'homeboy'? Why is this?

Answer 1

In a group, you need everyone working toward the same goal. So if you introduce an element that hinders the effectiveness of the group to function ... that element is to the detriment of the whole. That's what hippies were and are.

At least in the 60s the hippies wanted to start their own communal societies. We could handle that, they were not such a hindrance to the mainstream society. But today's hippies are far worse. Now they want to stay within our mainstream society, enjoy the benefits of the group, but refuse to do anything productive themselves.

Answer 2

The hippie kids (and I was one) were the antithesis of 50's conformity and security. They went against the status quo in ways that were terrifying for the "grownups".
1. Drugs. Our parents couldn't understand why we smoked pot and dropped acid. We were exploring our consiousness and exploring life itself. We were unsatisfied with our parent's lives and wanted more. For many drugs were the portal. Meditation was also popular as were Eastern religions
2. Dress and Hair. The wild outfits and hair were terrifying to the older generation. They thought that we looked like wild savages.
3.Free love. Well, we where talking about love and sex both. Love is the answer, but there was a whole lot of sexual experimentation going on, which really freaked people out. For our parents, anything other than straight monogomous sex could only be done in private as if it were a dirty secret and our open mindedess was terribly shocking to them.
3. Rock and Roll. . .devils music raised to an art form as far as they where concerned.
4.War protests. Part of the 50's ethic was blind governmental support and the Hippies wanted no part of that. We where all about Love not war.
All of this combined shook the foundations of society and brought about the perception that the hippies had hijacked the youth of America and that they where going to destroy the way of life as it was. Which in many people's minds would have ensured the destruction of society.
Thanks for asking

Answer 3

Some supported a communal life style, in which everyone was equal, everyone shared. It sounded like communist, and so soon after McCarthy and his communist witch hunt, it scared people. It was the age of bomb shelters in backyards, because the Russians might drop a nuclear bomb on us. We were fighting the communists then, in southeast Asia, and the hippies "make love not war" attitude was seen as anti-American. "How many times must a cannonball fly, before they're forever banned?' so says the song. Drug use and free sex were part of the lifestyle, both scandalized people, they thought their children were threatened. Remember how people dressed in the 60's? Women wore high heels, hose, girdles, hats, white gloves, a heavy duty bra. Hippies wore caftans, jeans, headbands, and little else. They had a natural lifestyle, bathing and deoderant were not necessary. They changed the music scene. Read up on Gary Lewis. He played rock music, sung songs about how everybody loves a clown and about used diamond rings, when he came home we were singing about inscence and peperment,living for today, and singing folk and protest songs. The world had changed, and he was out of work.
Hippies did not hold jobs, they practiced civil disobedience, they protested. Good Americans had jobs, went about their lives quietly, and would never think to get in the way of people trying to make a living. Logging, fishing, were among jobs the hippies protested. They were vegetarians, real Americans supported the workers in the meat industry. Anti-establishment describes them best. Does this support your theory?

Answer 4

lighthorse5 sounds like she was actually there. i would only add that contrary to popular belief, hippies were not just peace, drugs, and rock and roll, but it became that in the 70's as many people bought into that stereotype. many were well informed on current events in a time without 150 24 hour news channels or the internet, as well as being very well read. how many people do you know that can have an in depth conversation about gestalt psychology or the theory of solipsism?

Answer 5

old hippie here-we are the beginning of the end of society-society has changed so much since then people are much more tolerant than when i was a youth and i believe this country at least has gotten much better for it-long ways to go yet but i dont believe this cat is ever going back in the bag and the world is a much better place for it-keep the peace lots of love old hippie here

Answer 6

people are always afraid of what they don't understand...because of their free spirit they were considered a waste and who wants their kids to become a waste...they were also against the war and at the time patriotism was greater than it is now...and most of them smoked weed and well back in those days they thought weed would drive you crazy...the list goes on and on but it all boild down to fearing the unknown

i would love to live in a world run by hippies because that means peace no more fighting between countries and a healthy enviorment free of chemical polution and might i add no more high fashion or celebrities and lets not forget the added bonus of legal cannabis

some people call me a tree hugger or hippie and it's no insult to me...hippies should take over the world

Answer 7

It did end a lifestyle.Everything before hippieswas prim and proper except for a few individuals like beatniksEven in the 40's people were smoking pot but it was underground.The hippie movement brought everything to the open-free love,drugs and the stand against the government and society.Sort of like a peaceful anarchy.The free love and drugs stuck around to our detriment and the ideals of the hippies vanished.the anarchy is still here to but now its violent

Answer 8

The conformity had come from their parents' generation, mostly the GI generation who had been the most-uniformed generation of Americans ever. From the scouting to the Conservation Corps to WWII, even to the "Man in the Grey Flannel Suit" uniform of business in the 1950s, they built the structure of business and the military-industrial complex.

Their children, in turn, found these businesses to be soulless, and the M-I complex to be a killing factory. When hippies emerged, their hair, their clothes, their music,and their very lives were not only the opposite, but opposed to the structures the GI generation had strengthened and rebuilt coming out of The Depression and War.

The GI generation felt that they had rebuilt society. This new generation not only found grave fault in it, but was taking steps to dismantle its institutions: traditional gender roles and marriage were thrown out; they wanted to tune in, turn on, and drop out instead of continuing the paths that they were expected to follow; instead of individual ownership of a tract of land in the suburbs, they returned to the land in communal living situations.

That's how I think they were viewed as the beginning of the end.

Answer 9

Because the people that thought that came from the rat pack era, " Pour me another drink while your up hun " ! We fought against war and pollution and tried to use less water and energy but now people think they have to have showers that are rivers and trucks that are homes.Those that ran on the hippies are now buying their kids the same clothes and and letting them run their lives where our parents at least got some respect for the most part , but we weren't spoiled like kids are now.

Answer 10

The hippie's are a threat to life as we know it..
Look at the stupid hick loser monkey hippie in the white house!!
Him and his league of follower helper monkey hippies are ruining everything! They should all be packed in box and sent to their fantasy land (Iraq) where they can smoke dope and run around naked all day. Damn I hate hippies!!!