"Homeless" and "Hippie"

Dear readers!

Please do not panic! If you are a little patient, I will explain the meaning of both words. First, I will share with you a feeling that YOUTH carries within itself like a secret, or rather, a longing for REBELLION. You might ask if this is so important. Do not be surprised if I tell you that this feeling of rebellion is one of the fundamental factors that has determined and continues to determine the fate of humanity. Atomic bombs, rockets, tanks, and many other weapons of war remain insignificant and harmless compared to this hidden feeling of REBELLION.

Most of us think of this feeling of rebellion only as a memory from our early youth. However, even after we get married and settle into family life, this REBELLION remains suppressed within us. In short, all of us carry this "homeless" and "hippie" idea and philosophy of life within us, in different dimensions and styles. So, what do you say to getting to know the "atomic bomb" we carry within us?

In 1967, America was grappling with the Vietnam War on one hand, and the legacy of centuries of Black-White discrimination on the other. A philosophy or a way of life emerged against both the war and discrimination. This movement, called Hippie, quickly gained significant momentum. First, a meeting attended by 30,000 people was held in Golden Gate Park. Soon after, hundreds of thousands of young people flocked to San Francisco. Black and White students were together and side-by-side at these meetings for the first time, lying on the grass together, using LSD (acid/semi-synthetic psychoactive hallucinogen) on one hand, and assuming "free love and making love" as their natural right on the other. What was the goal? The goal was to challenge established societal values and to oppose authority (state/family). "I am a free individual. I live as I wish. I don't have to participate in your wars and be enslaved by your values!"

I went to America in 1991. I became a student at Berkeley University, near San Francisco, the popular city in California. One day, while walking on the university campus with an American friend, my friend pointed to a distant park:

"This park is called People's Park. This area, which was previously university-owned grassland, was forcibly taken over by the Hippie movement in April 1969. They fenced it off and turned it into a park. It became the meeting place for the Hippie movement. In those years, Ronald Reagan was the Governor of California. Soon, young people from Europe also joined the movement. The use of LSD and the philosophy of free love suddenly took on the character of a social rebellion. So much so that Ronald Reagan mobilized the National Security forces and occupied the city of Berkeley for three days. The youth did not remain silent; they organized a serious resistance. Violence was used for the first time. The youth insisted on disobedience. Books by socialist thinkers began to circulate from hand to hand.

European youth were very impressed by what they saw. As soon as they returned to their countries, student protests, especially in France, swept through Paris. The only difference was that while the youth in America adopted the slogan of 'individual freedom,' the French and other national youth in Europe brought 'Communist and Anarchist' slogans to the forefront."

Dear readers! Soon after, the youth movement, which gained strength especially in France and challenged the state, spread to Turkey. The left-wing youth, who had innocently and quietly gathered in associations, suddenly took to the streets. The killing of Taylan Özgür became a turning point. Names like Deniz Gezmiş, Mahir Çayan, Sinan Cemgil, İbrahim Kaypakkaya, who had been in a corner of our minds for years, marched at the forefront of these actions. They occupied universities and initiated the civil disobedience movement. Their writings and speeches contained the word "socialism," but in their souls, they carried a rebellion against authority (state/university/family). They received military training in Palestinian camps. In marches, they supported the Vietnam War by chanting "Ho Ho Chi Minh." The Hippie movement's ideas, especially on "free sex," subtly found a place among the left-wing youth in Turkey. Although slogans like "Socialist Turkey" were chanted in published magazines and speeches, the real goal was not to establish a socialist Turkey. The real goal was for the youth, who had been suffocated under the pressure of family, tribe, state, and university for years, to recognize themselves and gain the freedom to express themselves. Deniz Gezmiş is today a symbol of "Youth Freedom." The Argentinian Che Guevara, who ignited the same spirit in a different way, globally, was also influenced by the Hippie movement and gave it a new form. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a portrait of Che Guevara hanging in every young person's room.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF HOMELESS

The literal meaning of the word "homeless" is "without a home or shelter." For the last 4-5 years, interestingly, in California, especially in San Francisco and Los Angeles, those who get their hands on a small camping tent have been setting up their tents along the streets, occupying the sidewalks. This movement, referred to as "homeless" in the media, is gaining strength, attracting people just like the Hippie movement did. A foreigner who does not know the internal dynamics of American society, upon seeing this scene, might think, "Poor Americans! We thought they were rich, but look, they are living a miserable life in small tents on the streets."

If you wish, let's set aside the foreigners' assessment and take a look at the internal dynamics of this movement:

With the collapse of socialism, the Hippie movement changed form. There are no longer books by Che Guevara or socialist thinkers in their hands. In a sense, the Hippie movement melted away and disappeared like a candle. Today, instead of the Hippie movement, the "Homeless" movement, a form of Anarchism, is emerging and rapidly gaining strength. In the Homeless philosophy, there is no state, no taxes, no military service, no police, no laws, no ethnic or religious identity, and ultimately, no society. There is only the individual. Youth, tired and fed up with family pressure and societal expectations, are looking for an escape. Some are constantly clashing with their families, some take up arms and go to the mountains, and some long to go to distant countries and disappear from sight. For those who cannot achieve these, the thought of suicide secretly continues to exist in their minds. Education, university, career, family are no longer their priority. They no longer care about being unemployed. They are thinking not of tomorrow, but of today and the moment they are living. Drug use is becoming widespread. It seems that very soon, the Homeless movement, just like the Hippie movement, will spread to Europe and Turkey. Do not be surprised if you see me and Akay Hoca in a small camping tent on a corner of Iğdır Cumhuriyet Street very soon!