1969: The Hippie Apocalypse

Photo: eventective.com

The 1960’s. A time of peace, love, sex, drugs, rock and roll, and do not forget the ever so popular hippies. Rob Kirkpatrick reexamines American culture during the year 1969. After reading the chapter entitled, “The Hippie Apocalypse,” I realized that 1969 was not such a peaceful and fun year as everyone expects it to be.

The author begins the chapter by describing a gruesome incident that occurred in Napa Valley. Two young students decided to spend the day near a lake. The young friends wanted to spend a few moments together because one of them was transferring to a different college. In the early hours of the evening, a strange man appears and viciously attacks the two individuals. The murderer escaped from prison in Montana, and killed a prison guard. The man stole the young man’s wallet, and asked the man’s friend to tie him up. After, the murderer tied the young woman and eventually brutally stabbed both individuals. The man called himself the “Zodiac” killer and informed the police of his crimes. The killer gave the police the wrong information, but the young man that was stabbed survived and served as an eyewitness to the police. The “Zodiac” killer continued to wreck havoc in northern California.

The author continues to describe the violent events that struck California during this time period. He mentions the Manson murders, and states, “Once people found out that hippies were killing people, it was a whole different thing.  The Manson murders changed the idea that hippies were safe, that hippies were harmless and could inflict no harm on anybody,”(Kirkpatrick 250).  After reading this statement, I was in complete awe. Many people have the misconception that the sixties was just a time filled with peace and love, but there was also violence. Many people protested the Vietnam War, and race riots were typical in the sixties. However, it never crossed my mind that gruesome murders also occurred during the sixties. When you think about hippies, peaceful, happy, and pleasure seeking people comes to mind. Some hippies were very free and open to new sexual practices, and for the first time, they introduced the idea that sex should be pleasurable. However, Kirkpatrick points out that murderers like Manson and the “Zodiac” killer were also part of this decade.   It is possible that this "Zodiac" killer viewed pleasure in a different manner, and killing people gave him gratification. The “Zodiac” killer even states that he gets headaches if he does not kill someone. The “Zodiac” killer claims that in order to relieve pain and seek pleasure, he must commit heinous crimes to pacify a physical pain.

The author leaves readers wondering about any more crimes that the “Zodiac” killer committed, and says that the police never figured out the identity of the killer. He starts to discuss the music revolution that occurred during 1969. The Beatles were popular, and there was a rumor that Paul McCartney had actually died. People started playing some of the Beatles’ greatest hits backwards to find clues in the songs about McCartney’s death. Eventually, the rumors vanished after McCartney and he wife appeared on the cover of a magazine and proved that he was in fact alive.

The author talks about the popularity and musical peaks of the Rolling Stones. He goes into great detail describing the outdoor concert that took place in Altamont in December. The Stones and Mick Jagger were some of the performers the concert. Unlike the Woodstock, Altamont was such a stark contrast.  The group of infamous rebels, known as Hell’s Angels, got into an altercation with one African American man named Meredith Hunter. Eventually, Hunter had a gun and was about to start shooting. A young member from the Hell’s Angels group ended up stabbing Hunter. Hunter along with several other individuals died at the event. The Rolling Stones had no idea what had happened and continued performing their songs. 

Woodstock was no more peaceful than Altamont, and Kirkpatrick alludes that this type of violence was expected. The  “bikers, lovers, radicals, and psychedelic stoners,” (Kirkpatrick 265) were expected to riot against each other at one point. At one point in time, everyone formed an alliance with each other, however as Kirkpatrick states, “the people would never be all one ever again.”(Kirkpatrick 250). 1969 was a troubling year during this decade. The popular misconception is that hippies were nonviolent and always looked to engage in pleasurable activities like sex and recreational drugs. Woodstock had violence, and people engaged in displeasurable activities, but people still think Woodstock was such a fun, and peace loving concert. At first, people like myself who are unfamilar with Altamont may believe that there is a stark contrast between Altamont and Woodstock. Nevertheless, it is apparent that two concerts were really both important turning points of this decade, and have more similarities. The year 1969 proves to be a defining moment that shows how the peace and love era would eventually take an ugly turn.

-Nidhi