The word "Flower child" was given because the participants would themselves be covered in fake and real flowers whether it be their head or clothing and pass out flowers to passersby, promoting an idea of peace and to bring the world together. The slogan "Flower power" may be one that we are more familiar with but was created from the Flower children to promote love and peace and oppose the Vietnam War.
The idea of using flowers for peace is not a completely original concept; Allen Ginsberg, a poet, and counterculture leader wrote an essay called "Demonstration or Spectacle as Example, As Communication or How to Make a March/Spectacle" that highlighted the use of flower power. In the essay, a prominent line explains "change war psychology and surpass, go over, the habit-image-reaction of fear/violence". College students at UC Berkeley felt the most impacted by Ginsberg's words and reacted to it, setting off a chain that would spread steadily. Ginsberg mentions flower power briefly: "Masses of flowers -- a visual spectacle -- especially concentrated in the front lines" which insinuated that people hand bouquets to their opposition consisting of policemen, the press, Hells Angels and the general public.
Flower power was central to California, the hippies of Haight Ashbury here in San Francisco the poster child for what we consider to be hippies but the movement steadily started o spread such as New York City and Chicago. Social activist Abbot Hoffman organized the Flower Brigade that honored the fallen and fighting in Vietnam. Protestors carried signs with encouragements such as "LOVE" or "PEACE", handing out flowers to passersby. The result was violent and the parade was broken after the participants were started to become beaten.
The flower children and flower power are still very central to American history and American life. Their core values remain the same with a focus on peace, love and universal freedom from fear. The tactics relate very much to notable civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior but their impact was great to some extent by instilling awareness and understanding in the American public.
Sources:
https://people.howstuffworks.com/flower-power1.htm
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/allen-ginsberg-about-allen-ginsberg/613/
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/07/22/flower-children-of-san-francisco-18-photos-of-haight-street-hippies-san-francisco-in-1967/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Flower-Children-2101574
https://1965book.com/2014/11/05/november-19-the-berkeley-barb-publishes-allen-ginsbergs-essay-demonstration-or-spectacle-as-example-as-communication-or-how-to-make-a-marchspectacle-which-extols-the-use-of-flowers-in-pro/
Thanks Madison! Your post does a good job explaining how the counterculture produced such iconic concepts like, "flower power" or "flower children." The truth is that the counterculture had a huge influence on popular culture. Not only are some of those phrases common knowledge today (after all, who hasn't heard, "Make Love Not War"?), but the hippie movement also brought alternative types of music into the mainstream. We can thank hippies for Woodstock, Janis Joplin, and some of the Beatles more creative (and psychedelic) work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this Madison! I really enjoyed how you explained the origins of the symbols of the hippie movement -- specifically the flower for peace. I had heard the name Allen Ginsberg mentioned with the Hippie movement, but your post helped clarify his involvement. While I was researching Allen Ginsberg, I learned that he was friends with Bob Dylan and was a frequent user of LSD. As a poet and activist, he wrote CIA Dope Calypso; he was one of the first to write about CIA involvement in international drug trafficking. His life was unbelievable -- both in his actions and the impact he had on the Hippie Movement.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.poemhunter.com/poem/cia-dope-calypso/
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/allen-ginsberg
I like your post a lot and how you explain a funny and playful name some people gave the hippies because previously I had not know this. The political activists and protesters at Berkeley were very important to America as you say in the post and sometimes we forget how much influence the youth has on politicians who are so much older than us. We are the future and its important for people to have a voice especially in this time in our country where students lives can be taken just like that. We need more love and peace in our world and these flower children were spreading those important ideas
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