Abbie Hoffman

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Abbie Hoffman at a demonstration against the Vietnam War (around 1969)

Abbott "Abbie" Hoffman (* the thirtieth November 1936 in Worcester , Massachusetts ; † 12. April 1989 in New Hope , Pennsylvania ) was a political - and social - activist in the United States . He was a co-founder of the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and later a fugitive from the law who lived under an alias following a verdict on alleged cocaine trafficking. He became famous in the 1960s and remained a symbol of the youth rebellion of that decade.

Life

Hoffman graduated from Worcester Academy in 1955 and then from Brandeis University in 1959 . He studied with Herbert Marcuse , a leading (neo-Marxist) exponent of critical theory who was close to the Frankfurt School . Prior to his days as a Yippie, Hoffman participated in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and organized the Liberty House, which sold items to support the American civil rights movement in the southern United States .

During the Vietnam War he was an active opponent of the war. He deliberately used comedic and theatrical tactics, such as that of a mass demonstration in which over 50,000 people attempted to levitate the United States Department of Defense using psychokinesis . Hoffman also managed to politically activate many hippies .

One of his most popular protests took place on August 24, 1967. He led a group through the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) building to include a. to demonstrate against capitalism . From the gallery they threw handfuls of US dollar bills at the stock exchange traders below. They tried to get as many notes as possible into their possession. Hoffman's protest metaphorically highlighted what he thought the NYSE brokers were already doing. The NYSE then put barriers in place to prevent this type of protest in the future.

Hoffman was arrested on charges of conspiracy and contributing to a popular riot as a result of his involvement in protests that led to violent confrontations with the police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He was a member of the group that came to be known as the Chicago Seven . This group also included his yippie comrade Jerry Rubin and various other radical activists, including Tom Hayden . Abbie Hoffman's court antics regularly hit the headlines. At one point the defendants Hoffman and Rubin appeared in the courtroom in judicial robes. Another time he swore his oath as a witness, while turning his hand into a stinky finger . When the verdicts were pronounced, which were ultimately overturned, Hoffman recommended the judge to try LSD and offered to introduce him to a dealer .

At the Woodstock Festival in 1969, Hoffmann interrupted the performance of the British rock band The Who by attempting to deliver a protest speech against the capture of John Sinclair from the White Panther Party . Who guitarist Pete Townshend chased him off the stage; Townshend later said that he agreed with Hoffman on Sinclair's capture.

Hoffman remained an influential, radical journalist. His article in Playboy (October 1988), which outlined the connections in the October Surprise , first brought the alleged plot to widespread attention from the American readership.

Abbie Hoffman is the author of Steal This Book , a commercially successful guide to living outside the "established system." Other titles included Fuck the System , Revolution for the Hell of It , Woodstock Nation , his 1980 autobiography Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture , and his last book, published two years before his death, Steal This Urine Test . His life was staged in the movie Steal this Movie .

Hoffman was found dead on April 12, 1989. He died of a tablet overdose. The death was classified as a suicide .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Marty Jezer: Abbie Hoffman: American Rebel. Rutgers University Press, 1993.