The Role Of Hippies In The Canadian Counter Culture

Canadian Counter Culture: The 1960s-1970s refers specifically to an anti-establishment phenomenon that first emerged in the United Kingdom. The youth were the ones who started it all. Many people were influenced greatly by the counterculture. The unique way hippies lived and dressed was a major part of counter culture. It is interesting to learn how the counter culture began.

Hippies were supportive of peace, love, drugs, and equality and shunned materialism, war, and inequality. This is what the Counter culture was born. The peace sign was a prominent symbol of the counter-culture because hippies were non-violent. The Vietnam War was the catalyst for the formation of the hippie movement. The majority of them were young. They didn’t want the pressures of their parents and went to war. All they wanted was to be happy and to have fun. After this began, many people saw things differently. The 1960’s saw the birth of hippies. They wore jeans, tidie shirts, and beards. Hippies were able to create their own communities and listen to psychedelic rock. They also embraced the sexual revolution. Many hippies used marijuana, LSD, and other psychedelic drugs to achieve altered states. Most hippies were white middle-class people. The Bay Area was home to many of the first hippies. Many lived in Haight-Ashbury which is a San Francisco neighborhood that became well-known for being the hub of hippie culture.

Many famous festivals were attended by hippies who wanted to have fun and enjoy themselves. Woodstock music festival was the most famous. It was held on Yasgur’s dairy farm, Bethel. The 3-day concert featured lots of drugs, sex, rock n’ roll and a lot, oh, mud. Woodstock has been a symbol of counterculture.

Many people were inspired by Canada’s counterculture of the 1960s & 70s to put more emphasis on peace than war. The counter culture was basically the peace sign or hippies. Hippies focused only on freedom, drugs, and getting peace across the globe. After president Kennedy’s passing, the population of hippies grew. It was first spread from the United Kingdom to the United States. Many people were inspired by the counter culture to make a difference and do better than they were doing.