The term, "hipster," referred to someone associated with jazz and swing music in the 1940's and 1950's. A term coined to describe the defiant youth of the 1960's and 1970's was "hippie or hippy." San Francisco Chronicle writer, Herb Caen popularized this term along with "beatnik" and "yuppie." The term, "flower child," was derived because many hippies wore flowers in their hair and gave flowers to people on the street.

Many youth at this time abandoned consumerism, rejected the Vietnam War, turned their backs on corporate influence and Judeo-Christian values. The word, "establishment," referred to government and institutions that tried to enforce rules, morals, or traditional thought patterns on others. During the 1960's the music changed from jazz to rock and roll. Some young people were called, "hippies" after staging a sit-in to oppose the Vietnam War, by the NYPD. The police battled the protesters with batons and arrests were made that day.

The term, hippy, brings to mind Woodstock, fringed vests, painted Volkswagen vans, peace sign, communal living and nomadic lifestyles. To be "hip" meant "to be in the know." Many youth that were "in the know" flocked to Greenwich Village to participate in the counterculture movement. The Los Angeles beat scene centered around Venice and the coffeehouses and was the center of the protest referred to in Buffalo Springfield's early hippy song, "For What Its Worth," in 1966.

Peace movements and marches with liberal views were often at the center of the counterculture movement. Marches on Washington, civil rights marches, demonstrations, draft card burning and politically active hippy groups were not uncommon. Suprisingly, the hippy movement was not tolerant of homosexuality. Communal back to the land movements, alternative energy and organic farming were embraced by many hippies.

The hippy movement was not just about illegal drugs and free love. However, today much of the substance of the hippy lifestyle have been forgotten. Today's generation associates the hippy legacy with terms such as painted Volkswagen vans, Woodstock, flower wearing, communal living, free love and drugs. In 2011, many hippies continue to remain true to the commitment of this lifestyle.

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