Who were the yippies and political ideas
The Youth International Party, otherwise known as “Yippies” were a party during the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were part of the counterculture movement, and many embraced the ‘hippie’ lifestyle at first. The founding members of the Youth International Party was Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. The group started in the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Many believed in leftist or Liberal ideas. After the Youth International Party left the SDS they became more aggressive causing havoc to many people and other parties. They often used physical force and their own power to achieve political goals. To be in this group there was no official membership. Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman would organize large protests and sit-ins. Although they weren’t a strong political party, they gained a lot of media attention. The Yippies came into national spotlight when they decided to go across interstate lines to incite riots at the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention. They were strong advocates for the use of drugs and street violence. They believed that street violence was the only way to gain political power. Another way of gaining political power, and a media spotlight was threatening the whole city of Chicago. They said, “We will burn Chicago to the ground! We demand the Politics of ecstasy! Acid for all”- Hoffmann (Democracy is in the Streets, James Miller; SImon and Schuster, New York 1987: p.286) The Yippies claimed that they were going to put acid or illegal drugs in Chicago water if there was no reform or change of the government. Along with threats and street violence they would start riots. Most riots would start with dynamiting of a police memorial and threaten to tear chicago apart using clubs, chains and bricks. Next they would throw rocks, eggs and balloons filled with paint. One of the events that the Yippies are most known for is the “levitation of the Pentagon. In October of 1967, Abbie Hoffman organized a group of Yippies to start with a peace march to the Pentagon. THen they would try to levitate the Pentagon using mental force. Although it didn’t work, this gained a lot of media attention, which was another goal of theirs, to get as much publicity as possible. The Yippies were short lived, and in the end they were brutally handled by the police.
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