text: why were hippies once perceived as a threat to life as we know it? i mean in the 60s, when conformity was considered best and females, minorities and 'different' people were mocked, maligned and ignored. i have my own theories, but how could anybody think that a hippie was a begining of the end of society? in a group, you need everyone working toward the same goal.  so if you introduce an element that hinders the effectiveness of the group to function ... that element is to the detriment of the whole.  that's what hippies were and are.  at least in the 60s the hippies wanted to start their own communal societies.  we could handle that, they were not such a hindrance to the mainstream society.  but today's hippies are far worse.  now they want to stay within our mainstream society, enjoy the benefits of the group, but refuse to do anything productive themselves.