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Just a shot away
Sep. 25th, 2006 02:50 am1969 was the "Summer of Love". Culminating in Woodstock , the hippie culture found expression in peace and harmony and music.
On December 6, 1969, the culture found an entirely different expression at Altamont. The Altamont Speedway concert started with as much promise as any of the free concert events that had gone on that summer. In the end, 850 were injured and 4 lay dead, including the young black man shown murdered in the 1970 film "Gimme Shelter".
How does a movement known for peace and love explode into such violence? Many place blame at the feet of the Hell's Angels hired to run security, who were drunk and stoned and far too out of control themselves to maintain order. Others simply say it was the drugs (though Woodstock was far from a clean and sober event).
The root of the problem at Altamont was something far deeper than either of those. While preaching love and peace, that love did not extend outside the movement. The reason Hell's Angels were brought in for security was the general hatred for regular or "establishment" security persons. Police were hated. The military was despised.
It is easy to love those that agree with you. It is not so easy to offer the same love to people who are certain not to return it.
At ceremony the other night, someone asked, "Why do they want to kill us?" The answer to that question is that it is wrong thinking. When it becomes a matter of "they" and "us", individual human beings are factored out of the equation and we begin to think only in stereotypes. It is easy to hate "them". It is not so easy to hate "Mother", "Father" or "Baby". I watched a wonderful little video on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
altrus site about a man giving free hugs in Sidney. At one point, the police call a halt to it. In the comments was an entry that said, "I hate the cops for shutting down Free Hugs." It was a wonder that the person could watch the film and miss the concept so completely.
Perhaps the most difficult proposition of all is finding it within our hearts not to hate the ones that frustrate us the most. While we disagree with him most strongly, while we believe that Mr. Bush is guilty of crimes against humanity, it would be a crime on our part to hate him.
On December 6, 1969, the culture found an entirely different expression at Altamont. The Altamont Speedway concert started with as much promise as any of the free concert events that had gone on that summer. In the end, 850 were injured and 4 lay dead, including the young black man shown murdered in the 1970 film "Gimme Shelter".
How does a movement known for peace and love explode into such violence? Many place blame at the feet of the Hell's Angels hired to run security, who were drunk and stoned and far too out of control themselves to maintain order. Others simply say it was the drugs (though Woodstock was far from a clean and sober event).
The root of the problem at Altamont was something far deeper than either of those. While preaching love and peace, that love did not extend outside the movement. The reason Hell's Angels were brought in for security was the general hatred for regular or "establishment" security persons. Police were hated. The military was despised.
It is easy to love those that agree with you. It is not so easy to offer the same love to people who are certain not to return it.
At ceremony the other night, someone asked, "Why do they want to kill us?" The answer to that question is that it is wrong thinking. When it becomes a matter of "they" and "us", individual human beings are factored out of the equation and we begin to think only in stereotypes. It is easy to hate "them". It is not so easy to hate "Mother", "Father" or "Baby". I watched a wonderful little video on
altrus site about a man giving free hugs in Sidney. At one point, the police call a halt to it. In the comments was an entry that said, "I hate the cops for shutting down Free Hugs." It was a wonder that the person could watch the film and miss the concept so completely.Perhaps the most difficult proposition of all is finding it within our hearts not to hate the ones that frustrate us the most. While we disagree with him most strongly, while we believe that Mr. Bush is guilty of crimes against humanity, it would be a crime on our part to hate him.
