Leslie Tate Author PoetLeslie Tate

Abbie Hoffman

Abbie Hoffman was an anti-war activist, who used deliberately comical and theatrical tactics, such as organizing a mass demonstration in which over 50,000 people attempted to use psychic energy to levitate The Pentagon. As a result of being encircled, the building was expected to turn orange and begin to vibrate, at which time the war in Vietnam would end. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/Abbie_hoffman_steal_this_book.jpg

Hoffman wrote The Yippie manual, Steal this Book, which included  advice on growing marijuana, starting a pirate radio station, living in a commune, stealing food, shoplifting, stealing credit cards, preparing a legal defence, making pipe bombs, and obtaining a free buffalo from the US Department of the Interior.

On the success of Steal This Book, Hoffman was quoted as saying, “It’s embarrassing when you set out to overthrow the government and you wind up on The Best Sellers List.” It discussed various tactics of fighting as well as giving a detailed list of easy, affordable ways to find weapons and armour for use against the police. The book advocated rebelling against authority in all forms, governmental and corporate.

In the book, Hoffman recommended stealing from the American Empire, referred to as the "Pig Empire"; in fact, Hoffman wrote, it was immoral not to do so. The term was picked up by the Yippie crowd, and was widely used by what became known as the "Woodstock Nation."

Another of Hoffman's well-known protests was on August 24, 1967, when he led Yippie members to the New York Stock Exchange gallery. The protesters threw fistfuls of dollars down to the traders below, some of whom booed, while others began to scramble frantically to grab the money as fast as they could. Hoffman claimed to be pointing out, metaphorically, that was what the traders "were already doing."

Hoffman was arrested and tried for conspiracy and inciting to riot as a result of his role in anti-Vietnam War protests, which were met by a violent police response during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He and leading Yippie Jerry Rubin appeared in court dressed in judicial robes, mocked the judge repeatedly, and gave the finger while swearing in.

Later, in the 80s, Rubin became a successful businessman. Hoffman, who by then had amassed an FBI file 13,262 pages long, died of an overdose on April 12th 1989.

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