Abbie Hoffman

Abbott "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936, Worcester, Massachusetts–April 12, 1989) was a social and political activist in the United States, co-founder of the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and, later, a fugitive from the law who lived under an alias following a conviction for dealing cocaine. He came to prominence in the 1960s, and has remained a symbol of the youth rebellion of that decade.

Hoffman was a 1959 graduate of Brandeis University where he studied under Herbert Marcuse, a leading Marxist theoretician. Prior to his days as a Yippie, Hoffman was involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and organised "Liberty House", which sold items to support the Civil Rights Movement in the southern United States.

During the Vietnam War, he was an anti-war activist who used deliberately comical and theatrical tactics, such as a mass demonstration in which over 50,000 people attempted to levitate The Pentagon using psychic energy.

One of his most clever protests was on August 24, 1967, when he led a group opposed to capitalism (and other things, including the Vietnam War) in the gallery of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). They threw fistfuls of dollar bills down to the traders below, who began to scramble frantically to grab money as fast as they could. Of course, Hoffman's protest was pointing out that, metaphorically, that's what NYSE traders were already doing. The NYSE installed barriers in the gallery to prevent this kind of protest from interfering with trading again.

Hoffman was arrested for conspiracy and inciting to riot as a result of his role in protests that led to violent confrontations with police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He was among the group that came to be known as the Chicago Seven, which also included fellow Yippie Jerry Rubin, and several other radical activists, including future senator Tom Hayden, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner and, for about a month, an eighth defendant, Black Panther activist Bobby Seale. The trial of the 'Chicago Eight' began on September 24, 1969 in the courtroom of Judge Julius Hoffman. Early in the course of the trial, Seale hurled bitter attacks at Judge Hoffman, calling him a "fascist dog," a "pig," and a "racist," among other things. The outraged judge ordered Seale bound and gagged in the courtroom. Ultimately Judge Hoffman severed Seale from the case and sentenced him to four years in prison for contempt. The Chicago Eight then became the Chicago Seven, where Hoffman and the rest of the defense frequently mocked courtroom decorum as the widely publicized trial itself became a focal point for a growing legion of protesters. The trial extended for months, with many celebrated figures from the American left and counterculture called to testify (including folksinger Arlo Guthrie, writer Norman Mailer, LSD advocate Timothy Leary and Reverend Jesse Jackson). Abbie Hoffman's courtroom antics frequently grabbed the headlines; one day, defendants Hoffman and Rubin appeared in court dressed in judicial robes. At sentencing (the convictions were ultimately overturned), Hoffman suggested the judge try LSD, and offered to set him up with a dealer he knew in Florida.

Abbie Hoffman is the author of Steal this Book, a commercially successful guide to living outside of the established system ("It's embarrassing when you try to overthrow the government and you wind up on the Best Seller's List."). Other titles include 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 2 years before his death, Steal This Urine Test. His life was fictionalized in the film Steal this Movie.

Hoffman suffered from bipolar disorder, and was found dead on April 12th, 1989. His death was recorded as a suicide. He left a note reading "It's too late. We can't win, they've gotten too powerful."

Abbie Hoffman

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