ANTI-HIPPIE DIATRIBE IS BEYOND BELIEF, MAN!

A major, major, correction needs to be made to Mr Rob Hemmen's letter
(GDN June 29).

To accuse the hippies of being immoral, anti-religious and all round
disgusting people, is surely a statement issued out of a total
ignorance of what the "hippie movement" was all about.

How Mr Hemmen can make such a broad, intolerant proclamation is beyond
belief. Where you at man?

This 'movement' if that is what we should call it, was born (for the
sake of this discussion) in the early 60s out of a complete
disillusionment with the current affairs of the time, and a
realisation of ourselves, our environment and the hypocrisy around
us.

People learned, it's true, about life, love, sex, drugs, (yes the
illegal ones, not the legal ones like tobacco and alcohol which are
responsible for more deaths than anything else) peace, activism,
freedom, co-operation, beauty, art, and music (disgusting isn't it?).

And I tell you man, the friends and enemies they had are written in
the history books, counted among the friends were Mahatma Gandhi,
Aldous Huxley, Martin Luther King, Jack Kerouac, (read On the Road)
and of course many outstanding musicians of our time, Lennon, Marley
and the greatest of all, Hendrix. (Are all these people disgusting to
Mr Hemmen tapping his feet at the watering hole ?)

The enemies are all there, and apparently reading Mr Hemmen's
diatribe, still are. Join the club with J Edgar Hoover, (read his
biography!) Agnew, Nixon, (Tricky Dicky) L B Johnson, and the list
goes on.

It was about peace and love Mr Hemmen, just because some kid didn't
want to go to South East Asia (read Iraq) and kill people for no good
reason, believed black people were equal, doesn't make him a
disgusting human being.

Anti-religious, are you joking? Peace and love man, Jesus loves
you.

Colin Henderson