The New Age has aged significantly since the 1980’s, when I joined the New Age Network in Fort Lauderdale for the parties and the wild women. Went to the annual weekend expo on Saturday to catch Fantuzzi, the oldest living hippie still making a living at it. We’ve intermingled for almost as long in Hippie World, which I joined in the 70’s. First met him at a Rainbow Gathering in the 80’s. Hippies share Venn Diagram overlaps with New Age. Mainly partying, women and crystals.
I’ve dabbled in dozens of New Age expos and events over the decades, same with Hippie World. Not for the crystals. Nothing is too outlandish for the New Age, yet it’s cleaner and better organized than Rainbow Gatherings. The sheer variety of deviance from the norm, and casual acceptance of crazy are refreshing.
Checked out the catalog for something besides Fantuzzi’s show to make the drive worth while. Alix Mayer’s Weaponized Architecture warning about Vaxxports caught my eye, from among Ascendance Rising, Alien Unveilings, Beyond the Veil Messaging, Gorilla Marketing, Miracle Health offerings and Mary Magdalene Divine Feminism classes.
The Free Lecture by the Chairman of the Free Now Foundation was worth it. She’s informed and doing something, rather than just writing about it like me. Technically, writing is doing, but I get the point. That’s why this is the Ultimate Free Press. Even my ebooks are Free to subscribers.
The Foundation was formerly the California chapter of Children’s Health Defense, and has been cease and desist letter bombing municipalities and school districts that imposed vaxx or mask mandates. They are raising funds to sue California to reinstate medical exemptions for childhood vaccine mandates knocked out in 2019, with plans to restore philosophical and religious exemptions for parents of school children obliterated in 2015. Only a gadfly now, better than a tsetse fly.
About a dozen preaching to the choir attended. Alix graciously suggested we hold off pontificating until the Q and A, so she could get through her slide show. She mentioned RFK jr and the woman behind me shouted “He’s a Zionist, just like Biden and Trump.” No one disagreed, there were slides to go. Her elevator pitch: Wake Up! We are being herded blindly, like Templed Cattle to the Killing Chute.
Afterward, a lively debate ensued. The 5G not a virus woman vs my covid biolab release position, had been at the same 2021 New Year’s Freedom Party I’d gone to in a 5G free zone with vegan kitchen. Nevertheless, forty of us came down with something more than “a bad cold.” Infected my family separately. Not proof of contagion causation for her, merely correlation. Kinda like vaccine injuries to the pro-vaxxers.
She gave me her card listing Ancient Persian Body Wisdom. “In an incomprehensible world, the masses believe everything and nothing. Propagandists discovered that the masses did not object to being deceived because every message was a lie, anyhow.” Hannah Ahrendt more or less wrote in The Origins of Totalitarianism, (which wasn’t on sale). I prefer to think of an open mind as an inoculation against propaganda, immunity enhancing.
It’s still a big tent with room for all in Huckster Hall. The Wellness Guru from the Himalayas chanting mantras next to scalar energy devices. Channelers of Ancient Entities. Massage and Detox stations. A burly lumberjack with a banner of a Lone Loblolly behind him was selling Pine Essence. One drop under the tongue was like gargling Pine-Sol. Nextdooor’s Korean Artisanal Salt neutralized it, good for the gums.
Crystals galore. Chinese Christians across from a Wiccan Bookstore. Superfoods, aura reading, immune improvement, infra-red detoxing, anti-aging elixirs, EMF protection, sound healing, plant-based body care. The usual assortment of clashing faiths and world views. Gives hope for a peaceful Holy Land with abysses crossed in one step.
Even an RFK jr booth with The Real Anthony Fauci displayed, along with California campaign materials. Neither New Age nor Hippie World are particularly political. Shanahan’s touch every base promise at her VP acceptance speech was truly chasing the fringe.
I sat down to chat with a volunteer who’d been in Alix’s talk, when an old hippie strode up. Wearing Guatamelan striped drawstring pants fashionable in 90’s Hippie World. A business up front, party behind mullet hairstyle. Announced he’d read half the book and “He is the most dangerous man in America!”
“Fauci?”
“No, RFK jr.” he sneered and marched away before we could question his sanity. Actually that’s verboten in the New Age, the price you pay to not have yours challenged. When even hippies are provaxxers, no point in pamphletting the Rainbow Gathering. Seemed unlikely he was a DNC paid anti-Bobby shill, not worth targeting the aging freak electorate. Besides, Biden’s Team is only hiring the homeless, (unhoused). Their young volunteers deserted in droves over genocide.
The Free Now Foundation table was offering copies of The Real Fauci and Naomi Wolf’s The End of America for a donation to the cause. Alix was holding court after the session about their legal challenge to the 2019 California law that eviscerated medical exemptions for school children and adult mandates. Claimed there was a federal route through the legal maze of state hobbling doctor’s privilege.
She became a Medical Freedom advocate after a Hep B vaccine disabled her in the 90’s. Derailed her high powered career. Most antivaxxer’s come to Jesus after personal injury or death of a loved one. I followed the informed consent route, the more informed I became the less I consented. Now I just dissent.
Genuflected Namaste to Fantuzzi, the oldest hippie, when I left before his evening show. He still doesn’t remember my name, even my Hippie Name. I’d aged with the New Age, while Hippies were Sundowners.
By all accounts you had a most enjoyable day, with your aura well-shielded by crystal energies.
As a surviver from the parties and wild women in Fort Lauderdale, we can learn a lot from you.
Did you attend the Mary Magdalene Divine Feminism classes? If so, what was Mary's message?
Did she, by chance, teach a technique for resolving the 'Naomi' dilemma?
I would have found the Ancient Persian Body Wisdom hard to pass up.
We have New-Age type festivals in Australia. Perhaps, not as in-depth as you have in USA.
My friend, from Sydney participates with her Tarot Cards and Crystal Ball, setting up a stand.
She dresses for the occasion in black, with long black hair, wearing a heavy metal tee shirt and appropriate nose jewellery. Kinda looks 'Witchey' The look gives the impression that she has
specific knowledge of future events, particularly in the uncertain world of relationships.
The queue for her 'readings' extend far and long, proving the right Image pays-off.
By the way, Mullet hairstyles are back in fashion here - I am unsure if they ever went away.
Some of the anti-vaxxers (but only this vax) are trying to pick a fight with China in my view.
This essay of yours I figure could be subtitled ‘the last of the hippies'