--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For several months they'd been drifting…" description: "\"“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geogra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/hunter-s-thompson-278_bay-area_for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting_40182.jpg" --- # For several months they'd been drifting toward political… ![“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical proximity to Berkeley, the citadel of West Coast radicalism. Berkeley is right next door to Oakland, with nothing between them but a line on…” quote by Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/hunter-s-thompson-278_bay-area_for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting_40182.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/hunter-s-thompson-278_bay-area_for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting_40182.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/hunter-s-thompson-278_bay-area_for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting_40182.jpg) > ““For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical proximity to Berkeley, the citadel of West Coast radicalism. Berkeley is right next door to Oakland, with nothing between them but a line on the map and a few street signs, but in many ways they are as different as Manhattan and the Bronx. Berkeley is a college town and, like Manhattan, a magnet for intellectual transients. Oakland is a magnet for people who want hour-wage jobs and cheap housing, who can't afford to live in Berkeley, San Francisco or any of the middle-class Bay Area suburbs. \[10\] It is a noisy, ugly, mean-spirited place, with the sort of charm that Chicago had for Sandburg. It is also a natural environment for hoodlums, brawlers, teenage gangs and racial tensions. The Hell's Angels' massive publicity -- coming hard on the heels of the widely publicized student rebellion in Berkeley -- was interpreted in liberal-radical-intellectual circles as the signal for a natural alliance. Beyond that, the Angels' aggressive, antisocial stance -- their alienation, as it were -- had a tremendous appeal for the more aesthetic Berkeley temperament. Students who could barely get up the nerve to sign a petition or to shoplift a candy bar were fascinated by tales of the Hell's Angels ripping up towns and taking whatever they wanted. Most important, the Angels had a reputation for defying police, for successfully bucking authority, and to the frustrated student radical this was a powerful image indeed. The Angels didn't masturbate, they raped. They didn't come on with theories and songs and quotations, but with noise and muscle and sheer balls.”” [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes how the proximity of Berkeley’s radical student culture to Oakland’s gritty, working‑class environment created a volatile mix, with the Hell’s Angels embodying a rebellious, anti‑authority image that appealed to disaffected students seeking a more visceral form of protest. **In simple terms:** Berkeley‑Oakland juxtaposition fuels radical allure of outlaw bikers. Key Takeaway Outlaw biker mythos amplified student radicalism. Themes radicalism urban geography counterculture authority defiance social class identity formation Mood defiant gritty disillusioned Type historical observation sociopolitical commentary When to use this quote - college protests - street gang tensions - political activism - media sensationalism Key Concepts Berkeley as intellectual hub Oakland as working‑class enclave Hell’s Angels as anti‑establishment symbol student frustration Practical Applications - analyzing radical movements - studying urban cultural spillover Questions to Reflect On - How does proximity to a contrasting community shape political identity? - What risks arise when radical groups romanticize violence? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bay area](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bay-area/) [Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berkeley/) [Berkeley Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berkeley-right-453617/) [Bronx Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronx-berkeley-453616/) [Candy bar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candy-bar/) [Natural environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-environment/) [Next door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-door/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Radicalism Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radicalism-berkeley-453614/) [Rebellion Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion-berkeley-453615/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [West coast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-coast/) ## Related quotes > [“Nine times out of ten, people pick the wrong food. No, it’s not the sugar (GI = 68), it’s not the candy bar (GI…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/nine-times-out-of-ten-people-pick-the-wrong-food-no-it-s-not-the/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [“I picked up a lot of my arguing-with-Mom techniques from Mimsy. She always says if you state the facts, Mom won't argue with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-turk/i-picked-up-a-lot-of-my-arguing-with-mom-techniques-from-mimsy-she/) [Courtney Turk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-turk/) > [I like it when you reach into a vending machine to grab your candy bar, and that flap goes up to block you from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-like-it-when-you-reach-into-a-vending-machine-to-grab-your-candy/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [“She didn't want the medi-techs. She wanted a fucking a candy bar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/she-didn-t-want-the-medi-techs-she-wanted-a-fucking-a-candy-bar/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [“Things I Used to Get Hit For: Talking back. Being smart. Acting stupid. Not listening. Not answering the first time. Not doing what I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-thurber/things-i-used-to-get-hit-for-talking-back-being-smart-acting-stupid/) [Bob Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-thurber/) > [“So Where’s the Chocolate Group? As we have said, we’re not going to pull a fast one. There are no forbidden foods, because deprivation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-tribole-elyse-resch/so-where-s-the-chocolate-group-as-we-have-said-we-re-not-going-to/) [Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-tribole-elyse-resch/) > [America is becoming a drug infested nation. Drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars. We are not going to let it happen any longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/america-is-becoming-a-drug-infested-nation-drugs-are-becoming-cheaper/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“She narrowed her eyes at him. She wanted to tell him that it was his fault, that she would never have tripped if he’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/she-narrowed-her-eyes-at-him-she-wanted-to-tell-him-that-it-was-his/) [Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/) > [“My first and last name is like a candy bar in your mouth that you can chew on as you say it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/my-first-and-last-name-is-like-a-candy-bar-in-your-mouth-that-you-can/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [If you eat one less candy bar or donut a day, you're doing your body some good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/if-you-eat-one-less-candy-bar-or-donut-a-day-you-re-doing-your-body/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [In fact, two slices of whole wheat bread increase blood sugar to a higher level than a candy bar does. And then, after about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/in-fact-two-slices-of-whole-wheat-bread-increase-blood-sugar-to-a/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [“Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel when I’m around you: confused, but still satisfied.' I freeze, trying to figure out how to cancel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-lothlorien/yeah-that-s-exactly-how-i-feel-when-i-m-around-you-confused-but-still/) [Elle Lothlorien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-lothlorien/) > [I like crazy, childlike, candy bar-filled cakes with gooey caramel, chocolate-covered nuts, marshmallows, and the like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-ben-israel/i-like-crazy-childlike-candy-bar-filled-cakes-with-gooey-caramel/) [Ron Ben-Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-ben-israel/) > [“I tell Dylan I have to go to the bathroom. I shut the door and try to pee, but my dick's already sticking straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kacvinsky/i-tell-dylan-i-have-to-go-to-the-bathroom-i-shut-the-door-and-try-to/) [Katie Kacvinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kacvinsky/) > [“According to the Kind & Knox Web site, other products made with cow-bone-and-pigskin-based gelatin include marshmallows, nougat-type candy bar fillings, liquorice, Gummi Bears, caramels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/according-to-the-kind-knox-web-site-other-products-made-with-cow-bone/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## More by Hunter S. Thompson > [“There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was — as Khrushchev said of Nixon —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-was-also-the-fact-that-sending-a-penniless-writer-to-get-135/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Cases of champagne and scotch lay broken in the street, and everyone I saw had a bottle. They were screaming and dancing, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/cases-of-champagne-and-scotch-lay-broken-in-the-street-and-everyone-i/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No music + Bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-music-bad-tv-bad-mood-no-pages/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The person who doesn't scatter the morning dew will not comb grey hairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-person-who-doesn-t-scatter-the-morning-dew-will-not-comb-grey/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/hope-rises-and-dreams-flicker-and-die-love-plans-for-tomorrow-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [If we get chased out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, that will be the fifth consecutive Third-world country with no hint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-we-get-chased-out-of-iraq-with-our-tail-between-our-legs-that-will/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/paranoia-is-just-another-mask-for-ignorance-the-truth-when-you/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“No doubt they all Got What Was Coming To Them. All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-doubt-they-all-got-what-was-coming-to-them-all-those-pathetically/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-wandered-into-the-newsroom-and-asked-for-a-job-the-same-way-he-d/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There's no point in getting into politics at all unless you plan to lash things around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-no-point-in-getting-into-politics-at-all-unless-you-plan-to/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There’s a lot of things wrong with this country, but one of the few things still right with it is that a man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-a-lot-of-things-wrong-with-this-country-but-one-of-the-few/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“...if that Watergate case ever gets into court, he might get very nervous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-that-watergate-case-ever-gets-into-court-he-might-get-very-nervous/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) [Explore all 765 Hunter S. Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More Bay area quotes > [Most of the time, I get around perfectly well on my bike and public transportation, even in spite of the Bay Area's almost comically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/most-of-the-time-i-get-around-perfectly-well-on-my-bike-and-public/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [I like beating the Bay Area traffic by getting into the office early, plus I get at least an hour most mornings to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baiju-bhatt/i-like-beating-the-bay-area-traffic-by-getting-into-the-office-early/) [Baiju Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baiju-bhatt/) > [The Bay Area is so beautiful, I hesitate to preach about heaven while I'm here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-bay-area-is-so-beautiful-i-hesitate-to-preach-about-heaven-while/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The teams in the Bay Area have created a culture of winning, but the Cubs and Metsneed to learn how to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-byrnes/the-teams-in-the-bay-area-have-created-a-culture-of-winning-but-the/) [Eric Byrnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-byrnes/) > [I have been interested in the dialogue of abstraction and modernist painting - and the rich history of the grid. I also think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-beal/i-have-been-interested-in-the-dialogue-of-abstraction-and-modernist/) [Stephen Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-beal/) > [I'm going to go back to the Bay Area, this is my thing, and I'm just going to open my own school of baseball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bonds/i-m-going-to-go-back-to-the-bay-area-this-is-my-thing-and-i-m-just/) [Barry Bonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-bonds/) > [I love the Bay Area and I'm excited to play there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bosa/i-love-the-bay-area-and-i-m-excited-to-play-there/) [Nick Bosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bosa/) > [From the small town in Iowa where I grew up, to Chapel Hill where I went to college, to the Bay Area and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-barnes/from-the-small-town-in-iowa-where-i-grew-up-to-chapel-hill-where-i/) [Harrison Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-barnes/) > [Caen's San Francisco may not be the city we remember, but it is the city we want to remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-brown/caen-s-san-francisco-may-not-be-the-city-we-remember-but-it-is-the/) [Willie Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-brown/) > [I was at Stanford University up in the West Coast Bay Area, so the biggest song of my freshman year was 'I Got 5…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-k-brown/i-was-at-stanford-university-up-in-the-west-coast-bay-area-so-the/) [Sterling K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/) > [“McDonald's, meanwhile, continues busily to harass small shopkeepers and restaurateurs of Scottish descent for that nationality's uncompetitive predisposition toward the Mc prefix on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/mcdonald-s-meanwhile-continues-busily-to-harass-small-shopkeepers-and/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [San Francisco has only one drawback—‘tis hard to leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/san-francisco-has-only-one-drawback-tis-hard-to-leave/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Sometimes you hear about people who can't wait to leave their hometown. I did not have that feeling at all. I love San Jose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelah-johnson/sometimes-you-hear-about-people-who-can-t-wait-to-leave-their/) [Anjelah Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelah-johnson/) > [For 30 years I wrote for newspapers and magazines, wrote books on the Dallas Cowboys' dynasties of the '70s and '90s, wrote about Michael…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skip-bayless/for-30-years-i-wrote-for-newspapers-and-magazines-wrote-books-on-the/) [Skip Bayless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skip-bayless/) > [I think co-working spaces, incubators, and accelerators outside of the Bay Area do a lot to foster a local startup scene - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-seibel/i-think-co-working-spaces-incubators-and-accelerators-outside-of-the/) [Michael Seibel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-seibel/) [Browse all 167 Bay area quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bay-area/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical proximity to Berkeley, the citadel of West Coast radicalism. Berkeley is right next door to Oakland, with nothing between them but a line on the map and a few street signs, but in many ways they are as different as Manhattan and the Bronx. Berkeley is a college town and, like Manhattan, a magnet for intellectual transients. Oakland is a magnet for people who want hour-wage jobs and cheap housing, who can't afford to live in Berkeley, San Francisco or any of the middle-class Bay Area suburbs. [10] It is a noisy, ugly, mean-spirited place, with the sort of charm that Chicago had for Sandburg. It is also a natural environment for hoodlums, brawlers, teenage gangs and racial tensions. The Hell's Angels' massive publicity -- coming hard on the heels of the widely publicized student rebellion in Berkeley -- was interpreted in liberal-radical-intellectual circles as the signal for a natural alliance. Beyond that, the Angels' aggressive, antisocial stance -- their alienation, as it were -- had a tremendous appeal for the more aesthetic Berkeley temperament. Students who could barely get up the nerve to sign a petition or to shoplift a candy bar were fascinated by tales of the Hell's Angels ripping up towns and taking whatever they wanted. Most important, the Angels had a reputation for defying police, for successfully bucking authority, and to the frustrated student radical this was a powerful image indeed. The Angels didn't masturbate, they raped. They didn't come on with theories and songs and quotations, but with noise and muscle and sheer balls.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hunter S. Thompson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bay area" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/hunter-s-thompson-278_bay-area_for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting_40182.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/hunter-s-thompson-278_bay-area_for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting_40182.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/hunter-s-thompson-278_bay-area_for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting_40182.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of…” — Hunter S. 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