As explained by Allan Cohen, co-founder of the San Francisco Oracle, the purpose of the rally was twofold — to draw attention to the fact that LSD had just been made illegal, and to demonstrate that people who used LSD were not criminals, nor were they mentally ill.
According to Cohen, those who took LSD were mostly idealistic people who wanted to learn more about themselves and their place in the universe, and they used LSD as an aid to meditation and to creative, artistic expression. Hippie action in the Haight centered around the Diggers, a guerrilla street theatre group that combined spontaneous street theatre, anarchistic action, and art happenings in their agenda to create a "free city.
The Diggers criticized the term 'hippie' with their October , 'Death of Hippie' event. The Death of Hippie event: In late September , many of the shops in the district began to display a stack of 4x5 cards on their counters proclaiming "Funeral Notice for Hippie".
The Monterey Pop Festival in June further cemented the status of psychedelic music as a part of mainstream culture and elevated local Haight bands such as the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Jefferson Airplane to national stardom. The Summer of Love attracted a wide range of people of various ages: teenagers and college students drawn by their peers and the allure of joining a cultural utopia; middle-class vacationers; and even partying military personnel from bases within driving distance.
The Haight-Ashbury could not accommodate this rapid influx of people, and the neighborhood scene quickly deteriorated.
Overcrowding, homelessness, hunger, drug problems, and crime afflicted the neighborhood. Many people simply left in the fall to resume their college studies. Jul 11, Neil Patrick. With the aftermath of The Depression and the 's proposal for a freeway to run through the neighborhood, the housing market took a plunge providing cheap rooms for rent and vacant properties.
Influenced by The Beat Generation; a literary group defying the social norms of the 's, the 's would bring an influx of hippies to the neighborhood. The colorful homes and cheap rent would attract young people from all over America, excited about the counterculture ideals of drugs and music.
Deemed "Hashbury" by Hunter S. Thompson in The New York Times, the area quickly became a mecca for the hippie community. The renowned Psychedelic Shop was opened in January of , providing the community with easy access to drugs by selling marijuana and LSD. Considered a community unifier, the Psychedelic Shop and neighboring coffee shop The Blue Unicorn brought together freaks, heads and hippies alike. This upgrade of the Haight-Ashbury district also resulted in attractive housing opportunities for new, high income inhabitants.
Whereas young hippies moved into Haight-Ashbury in the sixties, a new subculture has moved into the area in recent years: hipsters. Just like hippies were the dominant subculture in San Francisco during the sixties, hipsters seem to be the dominant subculture in the city today. Typical hipster shops and restaurants, such as specialty coffee roasters, vintage clothing shops and vegan eateries, can be found a lot in the district of Haight-Ashbury.
They are often a possible indication of gentrification, because they represent higher incomes, professional careers and wealth. Hipsters and the commodification of their lifestyle are often associated with gentrification and the displacement of longtime residents , working-class people, and communities of color.
Most houses in the area are nicely renovated and very well maintained, which can also be associated with gentrification. Shops, restaurants and tourists made the area thrive. However, many negative effects of gentrification can be found in the district of Haight-Ashbury as well. The main problem seems to be the loss of affordable housing in the area. Due to rent and price increases, many longtime residents have been displaced from their homes and became homeless.
As a result, a lot of homeless people live on the streets of Haight-Ashbury. High incomes and homeless people claim the same urban space and as a result rich and poor live closely together in the Haight-Ashbury district.
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