In the 1960s, the hippie movement appeared willing to offer an innovative world view and distant from the current dictates of the capitalist society . Most of them young, hippies abandoned their families and the comfort of their home to indulge in a life filled with sounds, hallucinogenic drugs and the search for other patterns of behavior. Over time, they would become known as the “peace and love” generation .
Whoever takes this shallow description of hippies, forgets that many of them did not simply behave like a bunch of hedonists, drugged and oblivious to what was happening around them. Throughout the 1960s, along with the black movement , the members of this generation discussed political issues of great importance and organized themselves to make public an opinion on various contemporary events.
By mobilizing a huge number of people, the hippies fought for the enlargement of civil rights and theend of wars that were happening at that moment. In several situations, the influence of the authorities on the media covered the discussion that developed, in order to reinforce the hippies' marginal behaviors. Not infrequently, the police force was called in to have these “troublemakers” removed from the public space.
Among the great confrontations of the hippie movement, we can highlight the mobilization made in the National Democratic Convention , which took place between August 26 and 29, 1968, in the city of Chicago . Under the leadership of Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin , the so-called “Festa da Vida” featured several episodes in which the North American political scenario was criticized. Among so many other acts of debauchery, the hippies launched a pig (called “Pigasus”) as a candidate for US president.
The atmosphere of tension between the police and the protesters soon heated up, and the beating took over the place. It is worth remembering that, shortly before the event, the deaths of Martin Luther King and Bob Kennedy the climate of tension between conservatives and liberals was already heating up. And that was just the beginning, as dissatisfaction would worsen with the election of Richard Nixon (1969 - 1974), a president with a clear conservative orientation.
On May 4, 1969, another great fight took place at Kent State University , in Ohio . This time, the hippies and other students mobilized to protest against the United States holding the Vietnam War and the recent US invasion ofCambodia . In this protest, the fury of the government authorities was amplified with the call-up of the National Guard to contain the event. At the end of the fight, there was the death of four people and nine others were injured.
Through these events, we can see that the challenge of the hippie movement was not isolated from the present world. Despite projecting another society and seeking new forms of perception, the hippies posed as an active voice against some political actions of the time. Undoubtedly, their inventiveness still serves as an example for many people who are concerned about the issues of their time and the guarantee of their rights.
By Rainer Sousa