When did the Sixties end? Of course the literal answer is December 31, 1969 but that’s not what people are looking for when making this query. The end of the Sixties as a social and political movement, as a special feeling, as a phenomenon is what people are seeking. One common answer is at Woodstock in August of 1969 because it felt like the culmination of the movement. But to others Woodstock was a true manifestation of the Sixties, and the end came four months later at Altamont when the Hells Angels killed a man while the Rolling Stones performed on stage. I’m of the firm opinion that one can’t entertain any date before then. Others contend that the Sixties ended with Watergate. This begs the question: when exactly? On the night of the burglary? When the existence of the tapes were revealed? When it became obvious that Nixon was culpable? When Nixon resigned? For me, none of the above. Speaking of Nixon, did the Sixties end with his resounding re-election in November 1972? Or how about with the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, a war that did so much to define the Sixties? Some folks point to the break up of the Beatles, who can be credited as co-creators of the Sixties. This would place the end in April, 1970. A few scholars put forth 1973 as the year it ended citing not only the end of the Vietnam war but Watergate dominating the headlines, the Civil Rights movement winding down — appearing at the time to have been a resounding success — and finally there were the oil and energy crises. As for me I don’t ascribe a particular date, instead I see it as being when conservatives started wearing their hair long, people in the youth movement took nine to five jobs and all that was left of the protest movement was the Weather Underground bombings and the antics of the Symbionese Liberation Army. Okay I've changed my mind, the Sixties ended with the kidnapping of Patty Hearst by the SLA on February 4, 1974. That's when the spirit of the Sixties turned upside down.
How about this, less frequently posed question: When did the Sixties begin? Surely not simply on January 1, 1960. I’m going to make this one simple, I have three candidates: August 28, 1963 with the March on Washington, The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 and the start of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley on September 14, 1964. I’ll give the nod to the Beatles which means that for me the Sixties latest just five days short of ten years, from 2/9/64 to 2/4/74.
What is the definition of a hippie? This is a question for which the dictionary will not suffice. If you talk to fifty people you’ll get fifty different definitions. Let’s look at the myriad qualifications that some (not all) people have. Long hair, beards for men. Unshaven legs and armpits for women. Causal attire. Sandals. A reticence to bathe. The constant use of marijuana. The regular use of psychedelics. Hitch hiking or driving a van or hippie bus. Unemployment. Living hand to mouth. Living in a commune or cooperative house. Opposition to the Vietnam War. The use of slang terms such as far out, bummer, dig, mellow, spaced out etc. Not attending school. Eschewing organized sports in favor of throwing a frisbee. Liberal consumption of wine but less use of hard liquor. Wearing beads. Dancing freely and often. Not religious though perhaps having beliefs in the occult. Into meditation. Use of the word “into” as in the previous sentence. Disdain for the police in particular and authority figures in general. Advocating “free love” and thus not monogamous. A lover of nature. Feeling a kinship with Native American tribes. Tolerant and accepting of all races, colors and nationalities. Love of rock music and perhaps a devotee of the Grateful Dead. Gentle, non-violent people happy to share anything and everything. Very few people would have qualified on all the above accounts, but many would tick most boxes.
Are there hippies today? No. Hippies were a phenomenon particular to a time period. There are, admittedly people who adhere to many hippie practice, of course one has to agree on what those practices were and as previously noted, few people do.
What people symbolized the Sixties? That’s a long list so I’ll narrow it down to the most important figures. All four of the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Tom Hayden, Huey Newton, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Eldridge Cleaver, Mario Savio, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Angela Davis, Mick Jagger, Bill Graham, Joan Baez, Bernardine Dohrn, Muhammad Ali, Brian Wilson, Andy Warhol, Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara and Allen Ginsberg. There were also people who negatively informed the Sixties such as Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Richard Daly, Charles Manson, Lyndon Johnson, General William Westmoreland, Bull Connor and George Wallace.
Didn’t the Sixties ultimately fail to affect lasting change? On the contrary. Looking at the political scene in the years after we see the national victory of Regan brand conservatism, followed by GW Bush and invasion of Iraq and later Trump and the war on truth so the Sixties would appear to have failed -- badly. However the Sixties gave us: the environmental movement, the women’s right movement, gay liberation a softening of drug laws especially with the legalization of marijuana, more sensitivity to marginalized groups, greater inclusion, sensitivity in the language we use and how people are depicted and represented. The Civil Rights Movement was one of the seminal eras of U.S. history. However most of the positive changes coming out of the Sixties can be seen in our culture, fashions, music, films all changed dramatically during and in the immediate aftermath of the Sixties.
What was the "spirit of the Sixties?" A belief in the masses, that the people were inherently good and that institutions were not to be trusted. Beliefs in peace, racial equality and social justice. It was about anti-imperialism and fighting rapacious capitalistic practices. The Sixties were about individual expression, the group consciousness. Making love not war. An end to oppression and oppressive laws and regulations. Power being decimated among the people, not entrenched in governments and certainly not held by corporations and the super rich. It was about being true to yourself and accepting others. It was against consumerism, materialism and greed. It was about honoring all cultures. It was a grand and noble experiment that still lives within those of us who experienced it.
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