You are correct, of course. Not all Californians are that way...at some level I know there's Jim Robinson, for example...you, me, and many others, and our numbers are growing. BUT...
Back in the 70s, I lived in San Jose...a 4-bedroom tract house...my 2 daughters were born there...the teachers went on strike every year, demanding equal pay with babysitters (who made $1/hr. so teachers should get $1 times 30/hr.)...and I bought a hot tub for the backyard...in the middle of the redwood deck...
Women I barely knew would hop in that fiberglass pool of bubbly hot water...naked...without hesitation.
It was as though there were some sort of force field around the hot tub, where everything was okay...they certainly wouldn't do that in our living room...or guest room...or entry...
Some neighbors would grow marijuana for profit in their garages...using "Gro-Lights"...most would be stolen around harvest time...
They had Bongs displayed on their coffee tables, ready for use at a moment's notice...they seemed intent on showing me how the 'carburetor' worked...
Apartment dwelling friends often had marijuana plants growing openly on their balconies...
The Bee Gees could be heard singing 'Stayin' Alive' from the 100-Watt-per-channel stereo speakers...
The Symbionese Liberation Army marched on...
The SF Police went on strike...even though they were allowed to have hair bulging out from their uniform caps...so they wouldn't appear too "militaristic"...
Police Officer and SF City Supervisor, an associate of Dianne Feinstein, walked into Mayor Moscone's office and shot him dead...then went down the hall to plug Harvey Milk, Supervisor of the Gay District of San Francisco, where the Bath Houses were in full operation each night...men gathering together in pools of that hot, magical bubbly water to engage in "packin' fudge" with multiple partners...
Orgies and wife-swapping were common among the hetero crowd..."Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice"...the movie...remember?
And few were heard to criticize...after all, we had been "LIBERATED" here in the Hotel California!! The Baghwan was just beginning his move into Oregon....
Yup. And not just in California.
And please. I am not saying it was right. I am remembering the way it was.
I don't think most people gave two figs if bill clinton smoked pot back in the seventies. What garnered ridicule was his "didn't inhale" line.