I was not in San Fran at the the time but I was “there”. The way I remember it was I was protesting the possibility of being drafted and folks I knew were coming back seriously screwed up or dead. For a war in a place we didn’t understand and for reasons that weren’t real clear. At that age the threat of communism was not as clear as it is to me now. But agree with this much. I knew FAR more folks that were far more screwed up over amphetamine and heroin. Once I realized I wanted to actually accomplish something in life I put all that crap in the rear view and never looked back.
There was never an anti-war movement in the 60s. There WAS a I DON’T WANT TO GO movement that was prettied up with flowers and drugs. After the draft ended — so did all the “Anti-war” demonstrations despite the war continuing to a communist victory. In the terror that followed in Vietnam and Cambodia, the “left” never said a word. Cowardly hypocrites.
“Once I realized I wanted to actually accomplish something in life I put all that crap in the rear view and never looked back.”
i.e., you grew up and became an actual adult ...