Posted on August 29, 2008 - Total Views 57391
Flower Power
The most lasting image from the last big march on the Pentagon, on October 21, 1967, survives in the collective memory as summing up an era. Carnations in gun barrels were the essence of Flower Power. “I knew I had a good picture,” says photographer Bernie Boston, 73, who took the photo for the Washington Star. His editors, not imagining the significance, buried it deep inside the A section.
What became of the young demonstrator? By most accounts, he was George Harris, about 18 years old, a young actor from New York. He was on his way to San Francisco, where he would come out of the closet, take the name Hibiscus, and co-found the flamboyant, psychedelic gay-themed drag troupe called the Cockettes, according to filmmaker David Weissman, who made a critically acclaimed documentary of the group in 2002. Harris died in the early 1980s of complications from AIDS, at the dawn of that epidemic.
Photo Suggested By : Fabiola Ramírez Woo
| Photographer : Year : More Info : |
Bernie Boston 1967 Wikipedia |
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Tags : 1967 • 1980s • Carnations • Cockettes • Collective Memory • David Weissman • Demonstrator • Epidemic • Filmmaker • Flower Power • George Harris • Gun Barrels • Hibiscus • Lasting Image • March On The Pentagon • Pentagon • Photo Editors • Photographer • Power Flower • Washington Star • Young Actor
August 30th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
clever hippie.
August 31st, 2008 at 2:44 pm
that student removing flowers from the soldiers rifles is clearly trying to provoke an angry response!
September 1st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
[...] Flower Power [...]
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I dont know how he expects those not to fall out when they shoot.
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:18 am
“on his way to San Francisco, where he would come out of the closet, take the name Hibiscus, and co-found the flamboyant, psychedelic ***-themed drag troupe called the Cockettes”
This sounds a bit surreal.
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:46 am
roxy rocks!!
September 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
******* hippie… and stupid *** soldier, why didn’t he shoot??…
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:13 pm
going threw mind of hippie incerting flower into gun (what’s the name of the end there in american againd?):
…
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
I always hated hippies.
September 6th, 2008 at 2:50 am
give peace a chance
September 6th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
those wont work as well as bullets
September 16th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
give peace a chance :-.)
September 16th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Have sex not war.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
this pic is so ***.
I can bet 10:1 this blondy gave his *** to all near soldiers.
Flower don’t build nations, guns do.
I don’t like wars, I don’t like kills, but we have do undestand they are need. Otherwise there would never be changes. The europe would be still ruled by kings as america.
Some kindhearted boy will not agree with me. But evebody knows it’s true. It’s sad, but it’s true.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Truth is the truth of one aspect only, and if ever taken absolutely, always leads to error. Didn’t yo’ mama ever tell you that?
September 30th, 2008 at 5:53 am
I will say that I personally prefer peace over war, but the many wars of the past have shaped the world in so many ways, both positive and negative, that it would be hard to imagine a world without conflict.
October 6th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Androloma is as *** as the guy from picture.
I hope you live happy in you *** world of flowers and dicks.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
most of you people are idiots. it sad to see still how uneducated most people still are. and if you say you have education beyond high school ( and trade schools don’t count, they’re a joke.) your money was sadly wasted.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
@peace
Maybe you live in other planet that is not Earth.
Do you think the world would be like it is because of peace?????
If you have the freedom in write this bullshit is because many people died in fights to you have this right.
If noboby fights some stupid tough guy (Kings, generals, corrupt presidents) would rule over a nation will.
Hittler would be a ruler of the world.
Stalin would be the General of all world.
The american continent would be ruled by european kings.
But maybe you wouldn’t be this fake-intelectual-***.
Sometimes guns scream louder than words and flowers.
This is the world and the human beeing.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
hey heartless…
you seem to be a little narrow-minded, how could there it be kings and Hitlers if there were no previous wars?
its difficult to imagine world with no war, and for that we should go back to fhe first civilizations, and neither you or me can talk or make any theory about that…there you have Hobbes, Locke and Rosseau with their different points of view about the human being in his natural enviroment.
what i’m sure is that world would be different to what we know, at least in a economic, politic and social point of view. and i think it would be a more friendly and unselfish world.
October 8th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Locke was a ******* racist.
The social contract of Hobbes is just bullshit as Russeau.
Probably if you south americans had not killed all your indians you shouldn´t have writing this utopical shit.
There is no point that the people think the same way. Some groups do, not the whole stuff. The way to put your ideals, your will, over a whole nation, isn´t just with the words.
It´s is beautiful the people respecting each other, without conflict, Marx saw that. But he was wrong.
Your home is a good place to live, mine either. But don´t think the whole world is.
When a ******* put a finger in your face and say what you should do with yourself and there is nobody to ask for help. Give him a flower, and let me know if he´ll change his mind.
October 12th, 2008 at 1:46 am
I love this picture.
PEACE
October 12th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Perhaps a world without war is naively idealistic… BUT, it is still something we should unwaveringly strive for. THAT’s the idea of the photo.
Heartless… before you belittle other people, please learn how to assemble coherent sentences. Your tirades are all over the place, and frankly, made me dizzy.
Oh and one more thing… While Stalin, (and the Soviet regime that followed him), was no doubt an evil dictator, it is widely acknowledged that the casualties suffered in Asia and Africa throughout the “Cold War” were both unnecessary and despicable. THAT’s the context of this picture… the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Movement. Change can be made peacefully… it just takes a lot more courage to stand up to the guns!
October 20th, 2008 at 5:44 am
I think it would do this site justice if this forum was closed. After seeing a beautifull picture like this it is a bit disturbing to read that so many people are too stupid to realize it’s significance. It is beyond me why all these people insist on spreading their negativeness on so many websites, with so little reason. I did not feel the need to discuss anything about this picture until I read the retarded comments. Luckily there are also ppl like Nic, whom I totally agree with. Appearantly we are not alone in understanding, we just seem to be pretty widely spread….
October 21st, 2008 at 12:53 pm
So you HP and Nic could give your *** each other and live happly in your *** world with roses and butterflies.
October 24th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Heartless, please remove yourself from the pool of self-proclaimed thinkers. Some can think, some can’t. You, sadly for my aura of well-being (It’s disheartening that I share a country with so many mediocre people), are material of the latter.
I’ve come to realize that people like yourself, the ignorant, unsympathetic, noticeably stupid bunch are simply this way because your feeble minds fail to trace to sequence of events that will ultimately lead to feelings of empathy. The higher the cognitive ability of one’s mind the more ways it can feel guilty, empathy, etc.. I’m sorry, Heartless, but you will never live as richly as some of us. Your narrow-mind can only take in so much, and what it does take in has to be small enough to fit in the measly opening of your mind’s corridor.
October 26th, 2008 at 1:32 am
All I can say is that this is what the 60s were all about…protesting war, peace, love, and yes, hippies….Who cares if the guy’s sweater makes him look ***, he WAS ***, so I doubt he cared…who cares if “guns build the country, not flowers”..that’s not the point he was trying to make….maybe he was simply saying war cant solve EVERY problem..sometimes peace works, as well…I’m not a hippy, but I am also not a gun-totin’ “Let’s kill the terrorists and ******** who go against America” type of person, either…I’m just saying, maybe there’s a different meaning to this picture than the one some of you seem to be seeing.
October 27th, 2008 at 3:28 am
Look, I’m all for peace and everyone getting along, but that’s not going to happen. Sadly there will always be ignorant, bull-headed people out there trying to force their ideals on others. And not just in America, but all over the world. Every country has citizens guilty of this. We need to realize that we are simply evolved from primitive mammals and we have their same basic instincts. The ‘Fight or Flight’ reaction. And don’t try and tell me that we are higher beings, because religion is just another very good reason of people forcing their ideals on others.
October 27th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
:):) perfect shot
October 31st, 2008 at 10:32 am
“Co-founded the flamboyant, psychedelic ***-themed drag troupe called the Cockettes”
It’s the word ‘psychedelic’ that disturbs me the most there.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:50 am
It’s funny. In the last photo (the one of the segregated drinking fountains), everyone was commenting on how they were thankful they were finally passed a time of such ignorance, yet a lot of the comments for this photo clearly show the world still has a long way to go.
What is the difference between comments such as “Androloma is as *** as the guy from picture.
I hope you live happy in you *** world of flowers and dicks.” or “this pic is so ***.
I can bet 10:1 this blondy gave his *** to all near soldiers.” and any racist comment that’s ever been made?
I’ll tell you now there is no difference. I wonder how many out of the people posting homophobic comments on this photo would say America’s racist past (and for some parts, present) was a sad, sad time.
Hopefully, some day, people will look back at homophobia as a sad, sad period in the world’s history.
(P.S.: THIS PHOTO IS ABOUT PEACE, NOT SEXUALITY, for all you dumbass homophobes who didn’t quite get the message.)
November 4th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I can bet that Briggite is *******. But I can understand her, ’cause ***** is the best thing in this world.
Don’t worry Briggite, you’re not alone. I understand you.
I cannot understand guys that like another guys. And I can’t respect something that I can’t understand, sorry.
You? I DO !!! ;*
P.S. (Such a prostitute name is ‘Briggite’ huh?)
November 4th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Ah, this is not about race.
It’s all about sexual option.
I really don’t care about skin colour. Everybody are the same.
P.S. (less the *** people)
November 5th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
the guy before me is a ******, obviously.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
cool!
November 6th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
@sam, he’s a ****** too.
November 6th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
at least they cant marry now.
November 10th, 2008 at 6:39 am
@dottie
As your father is.
November 12th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cockettes
A very reputable source. Not surreal at all, Roxy.
November 14th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
@heartless. ooohhh, and your mommy too! she like a licka snatch!
November 16th, 2008 at 11:50 am
i’ll bet that hippie went home that night and got assfucked by a shotgun then fisted by his *** lovers. hopefully he died of superaids a couple days later.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Staying away from all the posting drama…
The placement of everything in this picture is perfect. Even the border created by the helmets. I’d be damn proud of myself if I shot this.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
@dottie. Unfortunately I cannot say the same from your mom.
She loves dicks so much!!!! (less than your *** father)
Two days ago me and there black friends mine, fucked her for many hours that my penis bleed!!!
I was lucky in *** shoot her, ’cause there was so many dicks surroundin’ her I couldn’t get any closer!
Nice mommy you have!
November 19th, 2008 at 1:12 am
That kid is brave, brave, brave. I couldn’t look down the barrel of a gun and have the presence of mind, let alone the courage to stick flowers in them. That’s plucky!
November 20th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
these american good brave hero! Me love em !
November 20th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Those are’nt americans you stupid FAKE POOPOO! dont take my name.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Please forgive me i’m so stupid. MY MASTER IS POOPOO!!!
November 20th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
the americans once came to my village, they were so awesome, they had chocolate and other candy for us children, and they gave my Mommy nylons too! they have been my heroes for long time, not like fake real Poopoo.
November 22nd, 2008 at 12:07 am
you no poopoo, me poopoo, me like american ..not!
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 am
i just love it when americans **** me in the *** with their rifles. then they do a cleveland steamer on my chest and thats where i got the name poopoo. lolz!
December 6th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
this isn’t about homosexuality. Also, although conflict and war have shaped the world into what it is today, that doesn’t mean that peace cannot help to shape the world as well. this photo is simply about the peaceful protests of the anti-war activists against the vietnam war.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
this is stupid!!!!!!!!!
December 7th, 2008 at 6:49 am
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December 7th, 2008 at 7:29 am
these homosexual faggots should stay away from the military, the brave guys in there need someone who will watch their back, not their buttox.
December 13th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Heartless= *******
December 13th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
heartless=a*shole
December 13th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I reckon i could use a pardner like that ta ride tha range with! Saddle up boys, and move em out.
December 14th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Спасибо за информацию.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Спасибо за информацию.
December 18th, 2008 at 4:37 am
The best photo!! tears in my eyes. In Michael Jackson’s music- movie HEAL THE WORLD there area scene like this…where children are with flowers… !LOVE this photo!
December 18th, 2008 at 4:50 am
If he had a pack o smokes the whole thing woulda come out different…
December 18th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Статья помогла, спасибо!
December 18th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
благодарствую
December 19th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Интересно, конечно! Спасибо! Прочитал с удовольствием и вниманием.
December 19th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Хорошо пишете. Я бы конечно некоторые моменты оспорила, ну да ладно.
December 19th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Отлично…
December 19th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Спасибо за информацию.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
When I think of hippies I think of DDT
I think of how it saved millions of lives in Africa
I think of Rachel Carson and Silent Springs
I think of how the hippie movement led to the banning of DDT
in effect killing hundreds of Africans who contracted Malaria.
because they wouldn’t hear the birds sing anymore.
The DDT tests were preformed on cancer-prone lab rats, and the hippie movment, that know so well the dangers of being ignorant, still prevent it from saving lives today.
Flower Power!