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| Nostalgic For The '60s |
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Posted by CN Staff on May 06, 2002 at 07:55:35 PT By Harley Sorensen, Special to SF Gate Source: SF Gate 
It's a time in American life dead and gone for over a generation now, but I still miss the '60s. What a fantastic era that was! I feel sorry for people born after 1960 because they missed the most wonderous time of the 20th century and perhaps the most wonderous time ever in America. The "Sixties Generation" includes people born between 1945 and 1960, the so-called "baby boomers." During World War II, most young American men were in the military, so population growth stagnated. After they came home, they started making babies again, making up for lost time. Hence the "baby boom" and "baby boomers." The '60s brought us the Vietnam War, which seems to define the era, but it also brought us the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Movement, the Gay Rights Movement, hippies, flower children, Mohammad Ali, expansion of citizens' rights as defined by the Supreme Court, Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty and the Great Society, Black Power, riots in our cities accompanied by mass destruction, political assassinations, and, here in San Francisco, Haight-Ashbury. It also brought us music, with so many great groups and great individuals producing so much that it seemed like a new hit was released every week. Payola, the corruption of the music industry, was dead, at least for a while. Creativity bloomed. The '60s was a time of great excitement, great hope and great freedom. For the first time in memory, men were allowed to wear their hair long without criticism. Women could wear theirs short, without hearing slurs. That seems commonplace now, but in the '60s it was revolutionary. Sexual taboos were thrown away. The Pill had made it possible for women to be as licentious as men without dire consequences, and they didn't hesitate to take advantage of their new freedom. Drugs other than alcohol, caffeine and nicotine gained a certain amount of acceptance. For a while it was possible to use marijuana freely in many situations without fear of being busted. The era peaked, one might say, in 1967, the famous Summer of Love. The beginning of the end came the following year, when the criminals Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were elected on the strength of their promise to return "law and order" to America. Not everybody approved of the '60s. It was a liberal era, and many conservatives were appalled. The population was divided, roughly, between those who believed America could make good on its promise of freedom and justice for all, and those who believed the nation was good enough and ought to be left as it was. The mantra of the '60s was "Don't trust anyone over 30." I was over 30 at the time, and thought that made sense. Most of my comtemporaries, and those older than me, were afraid of change. We had been taught that sex acts were to be reserved for expressions of love only, that marijuana was the cause of "reefer madness," that black people were fine as long as they stayed "in their place," that women should stay home and raise children, that everything was fine with the courts and the police, that homosexual men were sinful and unnatural, that homosexual women barely existed, and that it was necessary for us to travel halfway around the world and kill a million peasants to save the world from "godless communism." So the '60s was mostly a young person's era. Most of us old folks (those over 30) were afraid of change. Even for those who approved of the era, not all was sweetness and light. A lot of the bloom left the rose with terrible murder of two hippies, Linda and Groovy, in New York's Lower East Side in 1967 (chronicled magnificently by J. Anthony Lukas in the New York Times). Women hitchhiked often in the early part of the era, but the beauty of that freedom was soon overtaken by the folly of it. It didn't take too many young bodies found by the side of the road to discourage that practice. The black ghetto riots, productive as they might have been in getting the white man's attention, were horrendous in their damage to property, and they cost lives. "Burn, baby, burn" was one of the slogans of the era, and it drove a lot of citizens to the polls to vote for Nixon. The '60s changed America, but perhaps not enough. People who say race relations between blacks and whites are worse than ever now just have lousy memories. It would have been absolutely unthinkable 40 years ago for any president, Democrat or Republican, to have a black secretary of state or a black woman as national security advisor. Nor could anyone imagine then that some day the majority of any supreme court would be women, as it is now in my home state of Minnesota. It's impossible for me to do justice to my feelings about the '60s. There was such great hope then. And now I live in an era ("The Zeroes"?) which is just about the opposite of the '60s. Now, instead of expanding the Constitution, we are shrinking it. Now, instead of hating war, we are embracing it with glee. Now, instead of trying to understand criminals and correct their behavior, we are locking up millions and throwing away the keys. And on and on and on. Our mantra today seems to be that repression is better than freedom. I miss the '60s. Even with its flaws, and they were many, it was a great era. I fear none of us will live long enough to see its like again. Pity. Harley Sorensen is a longtime journalist and iconoclast. His column appears Mondays. Source: SF Gate (CA) Related Articles - Harley Sorensen It's Time To Turn Tables On War On Drugs Medical Pot Crackdown Is Ike's Fault Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #12 posted by FoM on May 11, 2002 at 08:10:06 PT |
| Here's an article about fashion and pictures of the clothing styles. Thought it was a good article.
Inspired by patchwork and peasant tops from the Seventies, the summer look will be full of romance, says Julia Robson The year is 1970. There's a whiff of incense, patchouli oil - and could that be cannabis? - in the air. People are growing their hair long and curly to look like Art Garfunkel, whose 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy), recorded with Paul Simon, has become the anthem of summer. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by DdC on May 07, 2002 at 12:03:57 PT |
| Not a decade in the Christian Calander! As far as whomever said if you can't remember you probably weren't there didn't take Orange Sunshine his first trip. I remember every delicious and horrible minute. And the many times after. Though I've heard some horror stories before my time about STP, DMT and some of the early bathtub acid warping a few minds to the wingnut hutch. What I can't recall is the booze binges and downers that came in the aftermath of the Magical Mystery Tour. Sister Morphine and Cousin Cocaine and the plastic devil disco scene! When the ripoffs and junkies took over the Haight, after the now wealthy hippies moved to Marin. The Quaalude daze and that funny mescalito like substance called chocolate mesc. All inbetween Iron City beer and doobers rolled out of three finger lids. Hitchhiking around this huge country, finding out what it is all about. An entire chapter hangs out in my thoughts on the antiwar demonstrations. Beach Boys and Billy Clubs, being dragged out into the rain from the shelter of Lincoln's Memorial, reading the empty words behind him of equality, harumph! What a crock! It was also the reason I passed 12th grade Social Studies writing about it. In retrospect the Hippies died in 67, after the Summer of Love, even had a funeral. The original LSD 25 was about gone when I arrived in Frisco, as we called it then, though I did a cube in 69 and have found pure liquid at Dead Shows in the 70's. 80's and 90's. So much nicer than the harsh intense Orange or Purple barrels. I've heard the old acid was anywhere from 750 mik's to 1500 mik's. Todays is a consistant 100 microgram (milogram?) dose. I moved to Florida in the 70's and picked my share of shrooms in the cow pastures after a lite rain. Put into Kool aid or speghetti or just pop em in your mouth. The concerns for the environment are still here as the concerns of the "Ecologist" were then, even the environmental job protection rackets still shun hemps alternatives today as they did then. Still finding New Age hipsters shucking and jiving on Sundays, perpetuating the war on some drugs Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld don't sell. Writing about their acid days in metaphysical terms saying ganja is bad now that yuppydom's in charge of propaganda. Still stigmatizing ganja users the same as the racist fascism of Hearst and Anslinger. Keeeezeeeeee and most of the Pranksters are gone with ole Jer and Cassady and Ginsberg. Wavy Gravy's still aiding kids on the Hogfarm and Rainbows still gather every year, someplace. Ram Dass is doing what I do with the death and dying issues also not faced by the sheople burying their faces in Fauxnews rhetoric. And like before with this new old war on ganja, Vietnam didn't end till 75, long after the hippies and soccer moms joining the demonstrations left the cause. To spur on Gays and Women's rights, who also shun us, unless it has a bearing on their illnesses. Forgetaboutit! Like way back when, after it was no longer an issue of drafting kids, then the politico's stopped it. At least in SE Asia. If this herb is to be legal, it will come from the people not those politico's with vested ignorance maintaining dysfunction. Peace, Love and Liberty or the Merchants of D.E.A.th! DdC Furthurer! "The oppressed should rebel, and they will continue to rebel and raise disturbance until their civil rights are fully restored to them and all partial distinctions, exclusions and incapacitations are removed." Ephemera, Comics and Rip Off Press The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers from Rip Off Press The Freak Brothers Factory Store Underground Classics [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by JSM on May 07, 2002 at 08:01:41 PT |
| Be Here Now...it is great to be able to read that book again. It puts all of this into perspective. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on May 07, 2002 at 05:08:04 PT:
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| Having just been born in 1958, the 1960's were a blur which rapidly came into focus...a focus that seemed to encompass nothing but violence. My earliest political memory came when we were huddled around a decrepit TV set watching that nice young man people called The President talking about some place called "Kewber" that was going to try to do something bad to us. Everybody was real scared and kept saying we need to get outta here, right now. We didn't, of course. The next thing I remember about that decade was when we were let out of Catholic school after that same nice man everybody called the President was shot in a place called Dallas. Nobody could tell me why it happened. At least, not in a way that made sense. The rest of that decade seemed to follow suit; riots in California and across the nation; assassinations of MLK and Bobby Kennedy, Viet Nam, etc. all jumbled together between school and summer vacations and walking to the new 'mall', whatever that was. Too young to experience any of the 'fun' of those times, I guess. But I can see some major differences between those times and this; people weren't afraid to speak out. Government may not have liked it, but it knew better than to interfere with basic rights. And unless you were military, no one had to take piss tests. The contents of a sample bottle might have been hurled in the face of the collector, rather than sheepishly handed over. The 1960's represent to me the last time Americans tried to be Americans. As the old saying goes, if you remmeber the '60's, then you weren't 'there'. Evidently, I wasn't 'there' - in that sense. But I remember those times, alright.... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by p4me on May 07, 2002 at 02:04:07 PT |
| "We are enforcing the law and the courts are siding with us." He acts as if that is something to be proud of. Enforcing unjust laws and knowing it and then lying about it. The courts are a weapon against freedom. The courts and law enforcement are swimming with corruption. Same ol', same ol'. People should be crying. Maybe ignorance is bliss. The drug war is treason and someone needs to hang. Where is Nixon when you need him? VAAI [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by qqqq on May 06, 2002 at 19:40:39 PT |
| ...Avoid trying the RipOff Press link that DdC posted.You will end up in some Earthlink page...or maybe it just happened to me because I use Earthlink???? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by dddd on May 06, 2002 at 19:23:37 PT |
| ...Far Out man....those links will keep me busy for weeks...Thank you..you are even more hep than I thought.. I'm inspired ..I am listening to Electric Ladyland at high volume right now,then I will put on Disraeli Gears,,,and Cheap Thrills......I admit,,,,I feel kinda like I'd like to drop acid tonite...all this nostalgia brings a tear to my old Hippie eyes........I think most people look down on "hippies",as if they are all freaked out wasted stoners they remember from Cheech and Chong in 'Up In Smoke'....I'm a proud old Hippie...it wont be long till Hippies are extinct!...It is impossible to breed Hippies in captivity..You could not raise a child to be a Hippie ... True Hippies are limited to those who grew up in a special time.....I'm not saying that all Hippies are good..... Alot of Hippies were bad,and evil,,or misguided...many Hippies got too stoned and made asses of themselves,thereby giving Hippies a bad name,and besmirching the noble Honorable image,,and High calling of the endangered species that occupied a unique,and special social niche...Remember,,you cannot "become"a Hippie,,or take classes to learn to be a Hippie ... Be nice to Hippies.,,,they are kinda like California Condor Hendrix Panda Whale Bald Eagle Dolphins.... A world that never had the Beat/Hippie seasoning,,would be like a world that never had sugar or salt!.... If you dont like Hippies,,that's your problem!...I gotta go..it's time for me to get stoned.,and I'm proud to get stoned...I choose to get stoned....I enjoy getting stoned!.. and I have a right to get stoned!!!!..Put that in your pipe and smoke it!..................... ....Peace....dddd [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 06, 2002 at 18:13:48 PT |
| I still have my very first page I made. I'm a 60s hippie at heart and here's one I made for the people who were going to NORML's conference. My hair is very long too! LOL! http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/fomdex.htm http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/wish.htm [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by DdC on May 06, 2002 at 17:38:46 PT |
| Be Here Now http://remember.laading.net/thebook/index.htmWhen Smoke Gets in my Eyes http://www.cannabisculture.com/backissues/apr95/smoke_in_my_i.htmlShe asks me why I'm just a hairy guy I'm hairy noon and night Hair that's a fright I'm hairy high and low Don't ask me why Don't know It's not for lack of break Like the Grateful Dead DarlingAlan Watts http://www.alanwatts.com/Urantia http://www.spiritweb.org/Urantia/Gimme head with hair Long beautiful hair Shining, gleaming, Streaming, flaxen, waxen Chemical Manipulation of Consciousness http://www.trufax.org/menu/chem.htmlThe Tribe of the Rainbows http://www.welcomehome.org/Give me down to there hair Shoulder length or longer Here baby, there mama Everywhere daddy daddyThank God for Hippies http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionstuff.showMessage?topicID=3.topicThe 100th Monkey http://www.spiritual-endeavors.org/free/100monk-all.htmHair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair Flow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hairTim Leary http://www.leary.com/Norman Soloman http://www.north-coast-xpress.com/~doretk/ArchiveARCHIVE/Norman%20Soloman/norman.htmlLet it fly in the breeze And get caught in the trees Give a home to the fleas in my hair A home for fleas A hive for bees A nest for birds There ain't no words For the beauty, the splendor, the wonder Of my...A New Concept on Legalization http://www.groovyweb.com/adhi/toc.htm#REFERENCEBob Dylan's Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie http://www.haverford.edu/psych/mweingra/woody.htm Hai r, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hairFlow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hairThe Great Marijuana Hoax By Allen Ginsberg http://marijuana-uses.com/examples/ginsberg_mhoax.htmNovember Org THE NAZI COMPARISON http://www.november.org/NaziComp.html I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzySnaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty Oily, greasy, fleecy Shining, gleaming, streaming Flaxen, waxen Knotted, polka-dotted Twisted, beaded, braided Powdered, flowered, and confettied Bangled, tangled, spangled, and spaghettied![Voices of our ancestors] Listening To Native American Prophecies by Lissa Weinman http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionstuff.showMessage?topicID=89.topicFolk, Rock, 60/70's,oldies,showtunes... http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/3225/Dylan's Lyrics http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/index.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by DdC on May 06, 2002 at 17:37:42 PT |
| Grateful Dead http://arts.ucsc.edu/GDead/AGDL/#songsBob Marley http://www.bobmarley.com/songs/songs_bytitle.html#RBeatles http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/9773/lyrics.htmlOh say can you see My eyes if you can Then my hair's too shortAvalon Ballroom http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/34/34038.jpgMemorial http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/34/34041.jpg Do wn to hereDown to there Down to where It stops by itselfThe Merry Pranksters http://www.intrepidtrips.com KEN KESEY http://www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/kesey.htmlThey'll be ga ga at the go go When they see me in my toga My toga made of blond Brilliantined Biblical hairKesey Gets On The Bus With Movie http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5587.shtmlSites about Ken Kesey & the Merry Pranksters http://www.halcyon.com/colinp/kesey.htm My hair like Jesus wore itHallelujah I adore it Hallelujah Mary loved her son Why don't my mother love me?Key-Z Productions 755 Polk Street Eugene, OR 97402 Phone: (503) 484-4315 http://www.key-z.com Hair, ha ir, hair, hair, hair, hair, hairFlow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair Flow it, show it Long as God can grow it My hair To be just without being mad (and the madder you get the madder you get), to be peaceful without being stupid, to be interested without being compulsive, to be happy without being hysterical. . . . smoke grass."Ken Kesey I have always loved marijuana. It has been a source of joy and comfort to me for many years. And I still think of it as a basic staple of life, along with beer and ice and grapefruits - and millions of Americans agree with me." Hunter S. ThompsonHunter S. Thompson Links http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/8033/dontfreak/hunter.htmTHE GREAT THOMPSON HUNT http://www.gonzo.org/Berkeley Free Speech Movement Photography by Ron Enfield http://home.att.net/~enfield/fsmhist1.html Berkeley photo gallery, 1964-1965 Photography by Ron Enfield http://home.att.net/~enfield/fsm_gallery.htm Ron Enfield's Personal Web http://home.att.net/~enfield/index.htmlRip-Off Press http://www.jps.net/ripoff/ The American Museum of Beat Art http://www.beatmuseum.org/ Woodstock Nation http://www.woodstocknation.org/ Links http://www.woodstocknation.org/links.htm http://www.woodstocknation.org/ Woodstock Nation/SF Oracle http://www.woodstocknation.org/sforacle.htm religious freedom http://www.religious-freedom.org/welcome.html Secrets of American History http://www.woodstocknation.org/mud.htm "In a civilised society, it is the duty of all citizens to obey just laws. But at the same time it is the duty of all citizens to disobey unjust laws." - Martin Luther King Jr. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by dddd on May 06, 2002 at 13:30:52 PT |
| .......I was almost a little tardy ,to be able to fully experience the 60s....I was born in 56.....If you were there, and ya think back on the 60s,,you know what a unique time it was...I'll never forget when JFK was murdered.My third grade teacher Mrs Robinson started crying,and had to leave the room.....We still had civil defense drills that year.....I went to my first rock concert in 65...I asked my Dad to take me and my friend to see the BeachBoys,for my birthday...It was at the Seattle Center Coliseum,which was built in 62,right next to the Space Needle for Expo 62.....Back in those days,,concerts had alot of performers....this show had The BeachBoys,,Jan & Dean,,,The Kingsmen ,,,Sir Walter Raleigh and The Coupons,,Terry Black,,and many more!(I still have the program.)...yup,, There we were,,me and my friend Rick Bonanno,,and my Dad....lots of screaming girls in surfer shirts........................I could go on and on,but I will spare you,and myself........The 60s,,,if you were there,,you know...... .....Peace...dddd [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by DdC on May 06, 2002 at 12:57:27 PT |
| Date: Sun, 05 May 2002 14:55:55 -0700 From: "D. Paul Stanford" stanford@crrh.org Subject: SF Marijuana March - Agence France-Presse From: Dale Gieringer Agence France-Presse ran this story today on its worldwide newswire. Thousands of pro-marijuana protesters march in favor of legalization SAN FRANCISCO, May 4 (AFP) - Several thousand protesters here demonstrated Saturday against a US crackdown on the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, one day after a federal judge supported a US government lawsuit against five San Francisco area cannabis clubs. Organizers said the San Francisco Cannabis Freedom Day rally was one of some 200 such events which took place in 30 countries Saturday to mark the Fourth Annual Million Marijuana March. Many of those attending the San Francisco rally said they feared that federal authorities are poised to raid local cannabis clubs which have become the focal point of the US medical marijuana movement. "We've been told that the raids are imminent," said Michael Barbitta who works for the group Californians Helping Alleviate Medical Problems - -- CHAMP -- one of two San Francisco cannabis clubs which shut their doors Friday after the judgment was issued. "The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been waiting for this decision which they will use as ammunition to close the clubs," Barbitta said. DEA spokesman Richard Meyer declined to comment on future operations. "We are are taking into account what happens in court and will adjust our operational decisions accordingly," said Meyer. "Marijuana remains illegal," he said. "We are enforcing the law and the courts are siding with us." California's cannabis clubs serve an estimated 20,000 patients under Proposition 215, a 1996 state law permitting the use of medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. But federal authorities reject Proposition 215, and now are prosecuting at least twelve California medical cannabis patients under US narcotics laws. The US Supreme Court ruled last May that medical necessity was not a defense for those who distribute medical cannabis. "I'm very afraid. This is a life or death issue for me," said a medical marijuana patient at today's rally who identified himself as Brother Wayne. "I suffer from disabling AIDS neuropathy and medical marijuana is the only thing that helps me keep food down." Robert Raich, a lawyer for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative which was named in a US government lawsuit against five San Francisco area cannabis clubs, argued that the federal government exceeded its constitutional authority over interstate commerce by banning cannabis distribution within California. "We will appeal and we feel confident of a much more favorable ruling in the court of appeals," Raich said. [ Post Comment ] |
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