Flower power
Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence.[1] It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War.[2] The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to transform war protests into peaceful affirmative spectacles.[3][4][5] Hippies embraced the symbolism by dressing in clothing with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair, and distributing flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children.[6] The term later became generalized as a modern reference to the hippie movement and the so-called counterculture of drugs, psychedelic music, psychedelic art and social permissiveness.[7]
For other uses, see Flower power (disambiguation).Origin[edit]
The term "Flower Power" originated in Berkeley, California, as a symbolic action of protest against the Vietnam War. In a November 1965 essay titled How to Make a March/Spectacle, Beat poet Allen Ginsberg advocated that protesters should be provided with "masses of flowers" to hand out to policemen, press, politicians and spectators.[8] The use of props like flowers, toys, flags, candy and music were meant to turn anti-war rallies into a form of street theater thereby reducing the fear, anger and threat that is inherent within protests.[9] In particular, Ginsberg wanted to counter the "specter" of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang who supported the war, equated war protesters with communists and had threatened to violently disrupt planned anti-war demonstrations at the University of California, Berkeley.[10][11][12] Using Ginsberg's methods, the protest received positive attention and the use of "flower power" became an integral symbol in the counterculture movement.[13]
