Missed the First Wave: Notes from a Subculture in Fragments

More about Missed the First Wave: Notes from a Subculture in Fragments

This is how I come up with a cartoon. I am an American who has lived in Canada for 30 years. I know for a fact that Canadians have little awareness of subcultures. My subculture is hippie. Because of a broadly progressive culture, “hippie” doesn’t mean much here, as Canadians already unconsciously identify with it. But what they don’t realize is that there are many subcultures within hippies. Mine is the kind that missed the first wave—the flash-in-the-pan of the Summer of Love.

I was influenced more by Motown than by rock ’n’ roll. I miss disco. I hitchhiked after Charles Manson, and it was really hard. Personal things shaped me, too—especially my attitude toward romance. I’ve been a romantic all my life, so “free love” always felt shallow; that was probably one of my handicaps.

By the early ’80s, most communes had broken up. In the mid-’80s there was a kind of hippie revival, but it didn’t carry the hallmarks of enlightenment, communal living, or a real understanding of progressive values. Everything felt a bit artificial. Because I came to it early, people often assumed I was “New Age,” but much of my metaphysical interest predates that.

To be exact, I lived in community, then as an anarchist, and eventually became a hermit. I was part of the punk occult movement, which I followed for 20 years. What many people in the hippie movement didn’t know was that H. P. Lovecraft was very popular in the early scene. I belonged to a Lovecraft group for two decades. I was also very interested in Aleister Crowley, who was influential among early hippies. “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” echoed the “do your thing” ethos.

I lost interest in Crowley after reading large amounts of his work, including his magical journals. They documented minor infractions with overwhelming intensity. That was a turning point for me; it led me to step away from it entirely. Now I carry knowledge I sometimes wish I’d never acquired.

Another interesting point: groups that seem huge often turn out, on closer study, to number only around 150 people. That’s true of the darker sides of cult movements and many others. Within the hippie movement, there are “clear lighters” and people like myself, who are critical of what can feel like a darker undercurrent.

All of this—being part of a hippie subculture in the United States—often comes down to survival. It’s similar to duck-hunting rednecks in the Deep South: small, distinct groups existing within larger identities. You’ll find micro-communities of every kind—each with its own codes and culture.

Subcultures are fascinating. Someone should really do a serious sociological study and present it at a major Canadian university, to shed light on what’s actually happening south of the border—below the 49th parallel.