Hippies Counterculture

Imagine a world without hippies, or hippies at heart. What a dull world it would be. Hippies were the counterculture of our world. Many people tend to think that the term hippies and hipsters are the same thing. In reality, A hippie and a hipster are absolutely two different things. The term “hip” was made during the jazz age. Hipster is a subculture, while hippies are a counterculture. Hipsters started during the 1960’s, just as hippies did which is why there is so much confusion between the two terms. Hipsters did not gain popularity until the 1990s. “Hipsters are a group of people that value independent thinking, appreciate art and are middle-class. Hipsters are linked with having a unique fashion sense and often reject mainstream clothing
styles.” (whoa magazine) Many people choose being a hipster over being a hippie, and the reason is because of the fashion. However, many people should choose being a hippie over hipster because hippies are more earth friendly, they make their own clothes, and believed in people.
Hippies are well known for taking their part on this beautiful earth and giving back by taking such good care of it. Hippies were tree-huggers and planters. If there was any way for the earth to be taken care of the hippies would do it. Many people do not know that the hippies established Earth Day in the seventies. Hippies were also known for their way of healthy living. This includes: recycling, organic foods, vegetarianism, and forest preservation. When researching a list for what hipsters give the world, one will find that there are more negative than good things. For instance, hipsters wear manufactured clothes which are made in a factory which pollute the air that we breathe. They are looked at as bad people, because of the way they portray themselves to individuals. “Hipsters have gotten a really bad rep[utation] for being pretentious, self-centered individuals that think way too highly of themselves.” (Atkins) Instead of going against the norm to start their own trends much like hippies did in a positive way, hipsters are known to say things like “I started doing that before it was even cool.” This creates a bad reputation for hipsters, because they create their own trends in a negative manner and most times look at society negatively.
Hipsters buy clothes that are way different than what one would imagine. Hipsters buy their clothes from stores such as: Vans, Levi’s, American Apparel, Pacsun, and Vintage. “These stores sell clothes that an average person would not usually wear on a day to day basis.” (Harris) These stores target hipsters for their different styles, and looks. The stores listed above as one may know are big time manufacturers. These chain clothing stores come from factories, which stated before cause pollution in the air. Hippies create and hand make their own “clothing line” if you will. This is one of many reasons why hippies help take care of the earth. They have their own materials that make their entire outfits. They do not store buy, they wore “hand-me-downs.” By doing this it helps keep the air cleaner and helps add to their wardrobe while doing so.
Who wants to be a friend of someone who does not have faith of believe in you?
Hipsters do just this. Hippies lived in a love people, care free world. They see the world as a place seeking help, and they did just this in any possible way while loving it all the same. Hipsters on the other hand view the world as a horrible place, and a dog eat dog world. They are attention seekers and do not show interest in the world besides a place to take a cool photo. Hippies stood for something. They stood up for what they believed in, and they fought for their rights. They were the starters of protesting which is so famous today. “Many people believe that hippies were against everything and did not really stand for anything. These people are the ones who confuse the difference in hippies and hipsters.” (Evich) Hippies believed in everything. They might not have agreed with everything, but they believed in absolutely everything. The things that they did not agree with were the things that they stood up and fought for until they won.
In conclusion, Hippies and hipsters are commonly confused because of their names. A hippie is not a hipster, and a hipster is not a hippie. One will find through research that hippies have a more positive image rather than a hipster. One should choose to have hippie-like characteristics rather than hipster-like characteristics, because they are earth friendly, they made their own clothes, and they believed in
everyone.