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frazzled

(18,402 posts)
10. The beginning of the end, for me ...
Sat May 19, 2012, 10:51 AM
May 2012

were the events of 1968: the assassinations of King and Kennedy, even the shooting of Andy Warhol, the race riots that followed King's death ... and late in that year, the election of Richard M. Nixon. It was really hard to feel that peace, love, and understanding could prevail after that. Flower power felt like a weak weapon to wield against assassins and racial divisions. And of course, all things related to cultural styles must change.

Certainly, Woodstock would take place the next year, billed as a "Festival of Peace and Music"; and indeed it was the apotheosis of the "spirit of the 60s." We were at the very acme of the flower-power cultural moment. But apotheosis means that it's all downhill from there. By 1974, I remember that my husband cut his long hair. Maybe that marked the end of the 60s!

Disco. Tuesday Afternoon May 2012 #1
May 4, 1970 (Kent State U. massacre) - that's when youth coalition_unwilling May 2012 #2
Well said. dipsydoodle May 2012 #7
That's not what we learned that day. aquart May 2012 #17
Yes, in the immediate aftermath of Kent State, over 400 coalition_unwilling May 2012 #23
Stony Brook and Pratt Institute RENTED A TRAIN. aquart May 2012 #28
Which shows a certain lack of imagination and naive belief in white middle-class priviledge, FarCenter May 2012 #29
No argument here. No one should ever die from gunfire aimed at them by coalition_unwilling May 2012 #34
I agree. That only made us more determined. For me the end of our hopes came when RFK was jwirr May 2012 #38
Until I personally witnessed the Occupy Los Angeles encampment last fall, I coalition_unwilling May 2012 #59
I am watching them closely and still have hope that they will be able to pull us together. However, jwirr May 2012 #67
It had also happened in Calif..Reagan was in charge then...Bloody Thursday SoCalDem May 2012 #71
Don't even get me started on that union-busting red-baiting son of a bitch Reagan. Also, coalition_unwilling May 2012 #72
It hasn't ended. Anyone who tries to tell you differently is blind to the changes... Scuba May 2012 #3
agreed G_j May 2012 #5
People who wonder if protest works don't notice we got pretty much every damn thing we fought for. aquart May 2012 #18
Some say the Charles Manson murders ended the spirit of the 60s lunatica May 2012 #4
That's what I think, too Canuckistanian May 2012 #47
November 8, 1980 NOLALady May 2012 #6
Yup. nt XanaDUer May 2012 #36
Well said. Louisiana1976 May 2012 #46
That's my thought as well. Throughout the 70s you could at least kid yourself that things would HiPointDem May 2012 #62
Even after all of the assassinations, NOLALady May 2012 #78
Wasn't that when yuppies joined the corporate culture? loyalsister May 2012 #81
Beat me to it. craigmatic May 2012 #83
Wait. The 60's ended? Why wasn't I informed? HopeHoops May 2012 #8
I left a note ... but you used it to roll your joint ... zbdent May 2012 #9
The beginning of the end, for me ... frazzled May 2012 #10
Two words: Ronald Reagan erinlough May 2012 #11
Three more words: and the Yuppies. GeorgeGist May 2012 #14
the Reagan era was also notable for floods of cocaine G_j May 2012 #41
for one thing, the movement was so very powerful that G_j May 2012 #12
The fact that in todays America "Dirty Fucking" most always precedes "Hippie"... stlsaxman May 2012 #19
The day the music died - John Lennon (RIP, Dec. 8, 1980). leveymg May 2012 #13
Three Words: "Up With People!" stlsaxman May 2012 #15
Those people took off their orange jumpers, smoked reefer, and had sex with each other, leveymg May 2012 #21
+100 Taverner May 2012 #73
November 4, 1980 KansDem May 2012 #16
or shortly thereafter.... stlsaxman May 2012 #25
Ah, yes. Reminds of a quote I read recently on DU... KansDem May 2012 #26
August, 1969... kentuck May 2012 #20
Which '60s do you mean? FarCenter May 2012 #22
Excellent point. The period was certainly not a monolith. But do you think coalition_unwilling May 2012 #24
A "60's spirit" is mostly a media fiction FarCenter May 2012 #27
Fair enough. There is a school of historians who coalition_unwilling May 2012 #30
It's important because of the coming of age of a large cohort of the dominant socioeconomic group FarCenter May 2012 #57
Yeah, I totally get what you're saying. I still can't help feeling it as an coalition_unwilling May 2012 #58
Or the 60s IN Vietnam? Or the 60s in Africa - the one experienced by Patrice Lumbumba? Taverner May 2012 #74
When The Military Draft Ended. (n/t) Paladin May 2012 #31
Ronald Reagan n/t Greybnk48 May 2012 #32
K & R MoreGOPoop May 2012 #33
Altamont WilliamPitt May 2012 #35
Some of us have been keeping the flame burning. Zorra May 2012 #37
Hunter S. Thompson wrote this in 1971. Swede May 2012 #39
This message was self-deleted by its author ozone_man May 2012 #60
I wasn't there but I've got a little anecdote. pa28 May 2012 #40
When the Baby Boomers elected Ronald Reagan. FSogol May 2012 #42
When someone supplied the brown acid. n/t johnnie May 2012 #43
I'm still in the 60's... Sancho May 2012 #44
This message was self-deleted by its author Warren DeMontague May 2012 #45
1967 is where I put it. braddy May 2012 #48
Evolution killed the 60's, the natural passage of time Raine May 2012 #49
I was actually at Altamont, Blue_In_AK May 2012 #50
I don't think it ended...it went dormant...after so much tragedy of our leaders KoKo May 2012 #51
there are also some interesting comments at the link G_j May 2012 #79
With the election of Reagan -that was it for me bhikkhu May 2012 #52
The day the Music died RobertEarl May 2012 #53
The Day The Music Died was February 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa. Stinky The Clown May 2012 #54
Bull, my ipod is fully charged and plays many kinds of tunes on a daily basis nolabels May 2012 #63
People that are older than 60 today are the most conservative voters. bluestate10 May 2012 #55
I disagree lunatica May 2012 #65
Precisely correct Stinky The Clown May 2012 #68
yep G_j May 2012 #80
March 8, 1971 -- the Fight of the Century fishwax May 2012 #56
A few important dates: ozone_man May 2012 #61
From April 4 to June 6, 1968. The finest visionaries of that generation had their brains blown out. Selatius May 2012 #64
You're right. They were the wind under our wings lunatica May 2012 #66
Bobby Kennedy is the best example of how things and people evolve. IIRC, RFK started out with coalition_unwilling May 2012 #75
Great story! lunatica May 2012 #77
December 6, 1969 slackmaster May 2012 #69
I Graduated College in 1975 On the Road May 2012 #70
I thinkthat there H2O Man May 2012 #76
June, 1969. The Students for a Democratic Society convention in Chicago. former9thward May 2012 #82
Late 70's for me marlakay May 2012 #84
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