By David Rose
Last week my 15-year-old son asked me what the difference was between Beatniks and Hippies. Most of his questions are school related and revolve around algebraic equations, free electrons and dangling participles. Finally, here was a question I could answer. In fact, having spent time in both camps made me uniquely qualified to field this one.
Being born and raised in Woodstock, NY, it was natural for me to become a Hippie in the 1960’s, but it wasn’t always that way. My first ambition was to be a Beatnik. I was inspired to that goal by The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, a TV show that ran from 1959-63. It introduced us to Warren Beatty, Tuesday Weld, Michael J Pollard, and most importantly, Bob Denver as Maynard G. Krebs, Dobie’s beatnik friend.
I embraced Maynard wholeheartedly, wore old sweatshirts, chino pants and even had a barrette. I tried to like Jazz and went so far as to buy an Al Hirt album. Reading poetry in coffee shops was a big part of the being a Beatnik. Unfortunately, I was too young for coffee and my taste for poetry never evolved beyond the Limerick.
I told my son that the principal difference was that Hippies became politically active. The beatniks were a curiosity and source of amusement. The Hippies were as well, but when they took to the streets, they also became a threat to the status quo. This brought the Hippies into the cross hairs.
I expected a follow-up question and got one – Could I name three characteristics of Rock & Roll? I didn’t see the connection, but was happy to have another one I could answer. 1) Rock & Roll never forgets. 2) We built this city on Rock & Roll. 3) Rock & Roll is here to stay. Suddenly it dawned on my what was going on. He was doing his history homework. I felt old and defeated.
