" The hippies at Woodstock weren't "peace and love" either "
I was soon to become a senior in high school ( in 1969 ) and hitched rides from CT to upstate NY and the festival with a buddy . We'd ordered tickets , but by the time we got to the site it had become FREE .
I would say that the vast majority of people there - hippies or otherwise , were peaceful and full of love for their brothers and sisters who were at the festival . People shared food , water , dry blankets , etc. with total strangers and there were very few incidents during the 3 days . Remember , there were around half a million young people there . Nobody was murdered or raped as far as I know . What major US city with a 500,000 population and only a modicum of police security could - even in 1969 - boast those stats ?
Sure there were a--holes in attendance , including Abbie Hoffman who , thankfully , got booted off the stage by The Who's Pete Townshend .
The bad vibes were also in abundance at the Isle of Wight festival and Altamont.
And there were deaths at Woodstock and several births as well (seems very irresponsible of the new parents).
I'm a big Who fan and one of my favorite "rarities" bits from their "Thirty Years of Maximum R&B" box set is the audio from the moment you mention. Hoffman is droning on in his arrogant, nasally voice about John Sinclair when you hear Pete loom up in the background "Get off me f---ing stage!!!" It never fails to bring a smile, I tell ya.