In May 1994
Wired magazine published an article titled "Here Come the Zippies!". The cover of the magazine featured a kaleidoscopic image of a smiling young man with wild hair, a funny hat, and mechanical eyeglasses. Written by
Jules Marshall, the article announced an organized cultural response to
Thatcherism in the
British Isles. There's a new and rapidly spreading cultural virus ripping through the British Isles. The symptoms of those infected include attacks of optimism, strong feelings of community, and lowered stress levels. Will their gathering in August at the
Grand Canyon be the
Woodstock of the '90s? The article describes zippies, according to 50-year-old
Fraser Clark, as "Zen-Inspired Pronoia Professional", or "hippies with zip." The
UK media tried to pin various labels on the Y Generation such as "cyber-crusties", "
techno-hippies", and "post-ravers."
Fraser Clark espoused a philosophy known as
pronoia and embarked on an expedition to the
United States. This tour was dubbed the
Zippy Pronoia Tour to US. Other uses of the term are "Zen Inspired Peace Professional." These zippies were a
New Age kind of
hippie who embraced Chaos Theory,
Blakean revolt, modern mysteries such as New Age
Paganism,
trance music,
rave culture,
smart drinks,
free software, technology and
entrepreneurism in an effort to bring about a better world. A group called "The Zippies" were behind one of the first acts of
electronic civil disobedience with a
collective online action against the 1994 Criminal Justice Bill. ==2004==