People tend to look for an alternative to many things, including outlooks on life. And if a person has the courage to declare to society that his worldview is something different from the generally accepted one, he immediately becomes a kind of outcast, a madman who dared to raise a “riot on the ship”. And if this person has like-minded people and joins him, this rebellion gradually turns into a kind of subculture or movement, where there are their own rules and laws, their goals, their way of life, etc.
One of these movements appeared in America in the 1960s. Its representatives called themselves nothing more than “children of flowers,” “children of spring.” Surely you already guessed what kind of subculture in question. Yes, it's a hippie. For the first time, this name was touched in a local television program in which hippies were referred to as unshaven long-haired young men in jeans and T-shirts who staged a protest against the Vietnam War. They marched along New York streets and shouted hippie slogans like “Yes love, no war!” and “Love is all you need!” They called for peace, for an end to this senseless war where people die; they did not want to obey the rules of society, which they considered unjust.
The bulk of people, not really understanding who the hippies are, frankly did not like the representatives of this movement. There was nothing strange in this, because the children of flowers actively promoted a lifestyle that they called free. The famous combination of the words “Sex, drugs and rock and roll” belongs to hippies. Yes, this movement cherished for free love, and even, despite the love of alcohol and drugs, for a healthy lifestyle. True, in this context, leading a healthy lifestyle meant being closer to the earth, to nature, not polluting the environment and loving every bush, every pebble and every living creature on the planet.
However, in order to fully understand who hippies are, you need to know about what else, besides all of the above, united these people. Of course, this music is a very elegant, but at the same time unrealistically powerful instrument of creation that has accompanied man at all times. And the most revolutionary discovery in the middle of the 20th century was rock and roll, which turned into a real symbol of a new subculture.
It was easy to recognize the children of flowers by their appearance: hippie clothes were very inexpensive, but extremely bright, decorated with all kinds of ethnic patterns. Obligatory detail of the wardrobe was flared jeans, and hands were always decorated with many baubles. Both women and men wore long hair and were a real phenomenon of a society that required change. And still few people know that t-shirts, miniskirts, shorts and ethnic dresses were not customary to wear before the hippies appeared.
Also among real hippies there are a lot of vegetarians and even vegans. And it cannot be otherwise, because it is precisely in the refusal to consume living beings for food, as well as clothing from their skins and skin that is love for all living things. But mentioning who the hippies are, it is worth noting that the representatives of this movement were also fond of numerous spiritual practices: yoga, meditation, Buddhism, qi-gun, holotropic breathing, and much more, which in their understanding was unusual.
Talking about who hippies are, it is worth mentioning that thanks to this subculture several more movements have appeared that even today struggle for the rights of children and women, for the rights of animals, and advocate for human rights. In addition, anti-war, anti-nuclear and environmental movements that still have followers around the world have been created. Actually, the whole hippie culture is supported by voluntary organizations that continue to call people for love, not for war.