In Central Park a crowd had gathered spontaneously for a silent vigil that kept growing and growing. The degree to which people were feeling genuine shock and dismay made an impression on me, even if the demonstration was plagued by all the inanities that also formed part of his era: joints were passed around, posters of gurus were held up in the crowd, and vague demands for peace were voiced—for what peace, where? A young woman wearing a paleo-hippie outfit held up a banner reading, “All he said is give peace a chance.”
