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Flower power

Flower power was a slogan used by the American counterculture moyęment during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passiye resistance and non-violence ideology.^m It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War/²¹ The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to transform war protests into peaceful affirmatiye spectaclesT³®² Hippies embraced the symbolism by dressing in clothing with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair, and distdbuting flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children,¹⁶¹ The term later became generalized as a modem reference to the hippie movement and a culture of drugs, psychedelic musie, psychedelic art and social permissiyeness.¹²¹

Origin

Flower Power originated in Berkeley Califbmia as a symbolic action of protest against the Vietnam War. In his Noyember 1965 essay titled How to Make a March/Spectacle, Ginsberg adyocated that protesters should be proyided with "masses of flowers" to hand out to policemen, press, politicians and spectators.¹^ The use of props like flowers, toys, flags, candy and musie were meant to tum anti-war rallies into a form of Street theater thereby reducing the fear, anger and threat that is inherent within protests.¹²¹ In particular, Ginsberg wanted to counter the "specter" of the Helis Angels motorcycle gang who supported the war and had threatened to yiolently disrupt planned anti-war demonstrations at the Universitv of Califomia. Berkeley J^²¹ Using Ginsberg's methods, the protest receiyed positiye attention and the use of "flower power" became an integral symbol in the counter-culture moyement.¹¹¹¹

Moyement

"The ery of 'Flower Power' echoes through the land. We shall not wilt. Let a thousand flowers bloom."

— Abbie Hoffman. Workshop in Violen.ee, May 1967

By late 1966, the Flower Power method of guerilla theater had spread from Califomia to other parts of the United States. The Bread and Puppet Theater in New York City staged numerous protests which including handing out balloons and flowers with their anti-war literaturę.¹¹²¹ Workshop in Nonviolence (WIN), a magazine published by New York actiyists, encouraged the use of Flower Power. In May 1967, Abbie Hoffman organized the Flower Brigade as an official contingent of a New York City paradę honoring the soldiers in Vietnam. News coverage captured Flower Brigade participants, who carried flowers, flags and pink posters imprinted with LOVE, being attacked and beaten by bystanders.¹¹²¹ In response to the yiolence, Hoffman wrote in WIN magazine, "Plans are being madę to minę the East River with daffodils. Dandelion chains are being wrapped around induction centers.... The ery of Flower Power’ echoes through the land. We shall not wilt."

On the following Sunday in May 1967, WIN actiyists declared the Armed Forces Dav as "Flower Power Day" and held a rally in Central Park to counter the traditional paradę. Tumout was Iow and, according to Hoffman, the rally was ineffective because guerilla theater needed to be morę confrontational ,^ri21f131