Haight-Ashbury

In the beginning of our reading their was a passage that stuck out to me. It is titled, "The Failure of Haight-Ashbury/Love Generation". I for whatever reason was intrigued by this passage. It is full of contradictory statements that all make sense in its own way. "Haight-Ashbury is a "new" reality. Yet it shuns reality." Meaning that these streets are creating a new world inside of a world that no one wants to live because of its realistic constraints of what life should be like.

If anything this passage reminded of me of a street in Philadelphia that is very popular due to all of its diversity and off track version of what life really should be. South Street. I'm sure every Philadelphian has been there at one point of their life or another, but if you haven't you should go and gain an experience like none other. As you walk down South Street you'll see all kinds of people: black, white, hippies, goths, preppies, punks etc., all of which are accepted. The passage says, "Haight-Ashbury is a rebellion from conformity...to conformity." Meaning that it is coming together as a rebellion against what is expected in the outside real life. Which I think is what South Street does. You have all these different kinds of people, all with different lifestyles, different types of views on life and yet, this on street in this big city allows people to act, do and say what they want and there be no constraints on it. But back in the "real world" outside of this area/street, people like this aren't accepted everywhere. Like if you were to have a gothic black guy walk down the street in my hometown, I can guarantee you people would stare and be like, "What the hell is that?" But on South Street that is just expected.

Althought Haight-Ashbury wasn't our modern day South Street, it was similar in that the hippies were conforming to freeness and openness. Anyone could do, say and be what they wanted. "Haight-Ashbury has fallen. Haight-Ashbury is a failure. May we have many more failure like it." Ultimately, I think there is one just like it right in our hometown of Philly. South Street, our own Haight-Ashbury.