Yippie flag

The Youth International Party was a highly theatrical and anti-authoritarian political party established in the United States in 1967. Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to Authoritarianism, which is defined as a "political doctrine advocating the principle of absolute rule absolutism autocracy despotism A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. An offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s, the Yippies presented a more radically youth-oriented and countercultural alternative to those movements. The Free Speech Movement (FSM was a Student protest which took place during the 1964-1965 school year on the campus of the University of California Berkeley under The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 Counterculture (also " counter-culture " is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a Cultural group, or They employed theatrical gestures—such as advancing a pig ("Pigasus the Immortal") as a candidate for President in 1968—to mock the social status quo. Pigasus was a Pig and was a satiric candidate for President of the United States for the Youth International Party ( Yippies. ^[1] They have been described as a highly theatrical youth movement of “symbolic politics. ”^[2]

Since they were better known for street theatre and politically-themed pranks, many of the "old school" political left either ignored or denounced them. One Communist newspaper in the USA derisively referred to them as "Groucho Marxists".

Background

The Yippies had no formal membership or hierarchy: Abbie Hoffman, Anita Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Nancy Kurshan, and Paul Krassner were among the founders of the Yippies (according to his own account, Krassner coined the name). Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30 1936 &ndash April 12 1989 was a radical social and political activist in the United States who co-founded the Anita Hoffman ( March 16, 1942 – December 27, 1998) was born Anita Kushner and was a Yippie Activist, Jerry Rubin ( July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was a high-profile left-wing American social activist during the 1960s and Nancy Kurshan was born in Brooklyn NY on February 4 1944 was raised as a “ Red diaper baby ” and is best known for being a founder of the of the Youth International Party Paul Krassner (born April 9, 1932) was the founder editor and a frequent contributor to the Freethought magazine The Realist, first Other activists associated with the Yippies (though not all called themselves 'Yippies') include Stew Albert, Allen Ginsberg, Ed Sanders, Phil Ochs, William Kunstler, Jonah Raskin, Steve Conliff, Dana Beal, David Peel, and Judy Collins (6 months before the August 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago Judy Collins sang at the first press conference of the Yippies. Stewart Edward "Stew" Albert ( December 4, 1939 – January 30, 2006) was a co-founder of the Yippies, an anti-Vietnam War Irwin Allen Ginsberg (ˈgɪnzbɝg (June 3 1926 &ndash April 5 1997 was an American Poet. Ed Sanders (born August 17 1939 is an American Poet, Singer, Social activist, Environmentalist, Author and Publisher Philip David Ochs ( December 19 1940 – April 9 1976) was a U William Moses Kunstler ( July 7, 1919 - September 4, 1995) was an American self-described "radical lawyer" and Civil rights Jonah Raskin (born January 3, 1942) an American writer who left an East Coast university teaching position to participate in the 1970s radical counterculture Dana Beal (born January 9, 1947 in Ravenna Ohio) is an American social and Political activist, best known for his efforts to David Peel is a New York -based musician who first recorded in the Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939 in Seattle, Washington) is an American folk and standards Singer Chicago Convention redirects here for the Convention on International Civil Aviation for the event also referred to by this name Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939 in Seattle, Washington) is an American folk and standards Singer )^[3]

A Yippie flag was frequently seen at anti-war demonstrations. The flag had a black background with a five pointed red star in the center, and a green cannabis leaf superimposed over it. While anarchists have historically largely denied the importance of Symbols to political movement anarchists have embraced certain symbols for their cause The five-pointed red star, a Pentagram without the inner Pentagon, is a symbol of Communism as well as broader Socialism in general Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: गांजा gānjā hemp) is a This flag is also mentioned in Hoffman's Steal This Book. Steal This Book is a book written by Abbie Hoffman in 1970 and published in 1971

Origins

YIP poster advertising 1968 Party Convention, Chicago

The term Yippie was thought up by Krassner and Hoffman on New Year's Eve 1967. Anita Hoffman liked the word, but felt the New York Times and other "strait-laced types" needed a more formal name to take the movement seriously. That same night she came up with Youth International Party, because it symbolized the movement and made for a good play on words.

Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin became the most famous Yippies — and best-selling authors — in part due to publicity surrounding the five-month Chicago Seven Conspiracy trial of 1969. The Chicago Seven were seven (originally eight known as the Chicago Eight) defendants charged with conspiracy inciting to Riot, and other charges related Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hoffman and Rubin were arguably the most colorful of the seven defendants accused of criminal conspiracy and inciting to riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Chicago Convention redirects here for the Convention on International Civil Aviation for the event also referred to by this name Hoffman and Rubin used the trial as a platform for Yippie antics—at one point, they showed up in court attired in judicial robes.

The New Nation concept

The Yippie "New Nation" concept called for the creation of alternative, counterculture institutions (food co-ops, underground newspapers, free clinics, etc. ). Yippies believed these cooperative institutions and a radicalized hippie culture would spread until they supplanted the existing system.

"We are a people. We are a new nation," YIP's New Nation Statement said of the burgeoning hippie movement. The Hippie Subculture was originally a Youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world "We want everyone to control their own life and to care for one another. . . We cannot tolerate attitudes, institutions, and machines whose purpose is the destruction of life, the accumulation of profit. "^[4]

The goal was a decentralized, collective, anarchistic nation rooted in the borderless hippie counterculture and its communal ethos. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Abbie Hoffman wrote: "We shall not defeat Amerika by organizing a political party. We shall do it by building a new nation — a nation as rugged as the marijuana leaf. "^[5][6]

YIP culture and activism

See also: Counterculture of the 1960s

The Yippies often paid tribute to rock 'n' roll and irreverent pop-culture figures such as the Marx Brothers, James Dean and Lenny Bruce. The Counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s refers to a period between 1960 and 1973 that began in the United States as a reaction against ^[7] Many Yippies used nicknames which contained Baby Boomer television or pop references, such as Pogo or Gumby. Pogo was the title and central character of a long-running (1948-75 daily Comic strip created Gumby is a dark green Clay humanoid figure who was the subject of a 233-episode series of American Television which spanned over a 35-year period Pogo is famous for creating the chant "No More Mindless Chants" in the mid-70s. At demonstrations and parades, Yippies often wore face paint or colorful bandannas to keep from being identified in photographs. Other Yippies reveled in the spotlight, allowing their stealthier comrades the anonymity they needed for their pranks.

One cultural intervention that misfired was at Woodstock, with Abbie Hoffman's attempt to use the stage as a soapbox immediately prior to a performance by The Who. Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30 1936 &ndash April 12 1989 was a radical social and political activist in the United States who co-founded the The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend Guitarist Pete Townshend used his guitar to bat Hoffman off the stage. Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (born 19 May 1945 in Chiswick, London) is an English rock Guitarist, Singer, [2]

Yippies were famous for their sense of humor. Many direct actions were elaborate pranks or put-ons, like the time they applied for a permit to levitate the Pentagon. The most famous prank was a guerrilla theater event in New York City. Abbie Hoffman and a group of Yippies managed to get into a tour of the New York Stock Exchange. The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City. They threw hundreds of dollar bills from the balcony of the visitors' gallery to the floor below. The stock exchange shut down as wealthy men in suits trampled each other to get dollar bills. The visitors' gallery was closed until a glass barrier could be installed, to ensure that it never happened again.

When they feel enthusiastic about a speaker or performer, Yippies howl "yip yip yip YIPEEEE!" like coyotes. They identify with the coyote as archetypal trickster, adding yet another layer to the elaborate pun that is YIP.

The Yippies were the first on the left to make a point of understanding mass media. ^[8] Colorful, theatrical Yippie actions were tailored to attract media coverage, and also to provide a stage where people could express their own free-spirited inner Yippie. "We believe every nonyippie is a repressed yippie," Jerry Rubin wrote in Do it! "We try to bring out the yippie in everybody. "^[9]

There was a clash with police on 22 March 1968, where a large group of countercultural youths led by the Yippies descended into Grand Central Station, where some caused more intimidating havoc than anticipated. Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The night erupted into a violent clash with police that Don McNeill of The Village Voice christened a “pointless confrontation in a box canyon. ”^[10]

House Un-American Activities Committee

The House Un-American Activities Committee subpoenaed Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman of the Yippies in 1967, and again in the aftermath of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The House Committee on Un-American Activities ( HUAC or HCUA 1938–1975 was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. Jerry Rubin ( July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was a high-profile left-wing American social activist during the 1960s and Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30 1936 &ndash April 12 1989 was a radical social and political activist in the United States who co-founded the Chicago Convention redirects here for the Convention on International Civil Aviation for the event also referred to by this name The Yippies neither respected nor feared the committee, and used media attention to make a mockery of the proceedings. Rubin came to one session dressed as an American Revolutionary War soldier, and passed out copies of the United States Declaration of Independence to people in attendance. The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4 1776 announcing that the thirteen American colonies then Then Rubin "blew giant gum bubbles while his co-witnesses taunted the committee with Nazi salutes. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German "^[11] Rubin also attended a session dressed as Santa Claus. Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply " Santa " is the On another occasion, police stopped Hoffman at the building entrance and arrested him for wearing an American flag. Hoffman quipped for the press, "I regret that I have but one shirt to give for my country," paraphrasing the last words of revolutionary patriot Nathan Hale; meanwhile Rubin, who was wearing a matching Viet Cong flag, shouted that the police were communists for not arresting him also. Nathan Hale ( June 6, 1755 &ndash September 22, 1776) was an officer for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary ^[12]

According to The Harvard Crimson:

"In the fifties, the most effective sanction was terror. The Harvard Crimson, the daily Student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873 Almost any publicity from HUAC meant the 'blacklist. ' Without a chance to clear his name, a witness would suddenly find himself without friends and without a job. But it is not easy to see how in 1969 a HUAC blacklist could terrorize an SDS activist. Students for a Democratic Society ( SDS) was historically a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations Witnesses like Jerry Rubin have openly boasted of their contempt for American institutions. A subpoena from HUAC would be unlikely to scandalize Abbie Hoffman or his friends. "^[13]

Chicago '68

Yippie theatrics culminated at the 1968 Democratic Party Convention in Chicago. YIP planned a six-day Festival of Life, a celebration of the counterculture and a protest against the state of the nation. This was supposed to counter the 'Convention of Death. '^[14] This promised to be "the blending of pot and politics into a political grass leaves movement — a cross-fertilization of the hippie and New Left philosophies. " Yippies' sensational statements before the convention were part of the theatrics, including a tongue-in-cheek threat to put LSD in Chicago's water supply. "We will fuck on the beaches! . . . We demand the Politics of Ecstasy! . . . Abandon the Creeping Meatball! . . . And all the time 'Yippie! Chicago — August 25-30. '"^[15] First on a list of Yippie demands: "An immediate end to the war in Vietnam. "^[16]

The Yippie organizers hoped that well-known musicians would participate in the Festival of Life and draw a crowd of tens if not hundreds of thousands from across the country. The city of Chicago refused to issue any permits for the festival and most musicians withdrew from the project. Of the rock bands who had agreed to perform, only the MC5 came to Chicago to play and their set was cut short by a clash between the audience of a couple thousand and police. The MC5 ( Motor City Five) was an American Hard rock band formed in Lincoln Park Michigan in 1964 and active until Phil Ochs and several other singer-songwriters also performed during the festival. Singer-songwriter is a term that refers to Performers who write, compose and sing their own material including Lyrics ^[17]

In response to the Festival of Life and other anti-war demonstrations during the Democratic convention, Chicago police repeatedly clashed with protesters, as many millions of viewers watched the extensive TV coverage of the events. "The whole world is watching," protesters chanted. ^[18] "A police riot," concluded the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. ^[19] "On the part of the police there was enough wild club swinging, enough cries of hatred, enough gratuitous beating to make the conclusion inescapable that individual policemen, and lots of them, committed violent acts far in excess of the requisite force for crowd dispersal or arrest. "

Following the convention, eight protesters were charged with conspiracy to incite the riots, and there was a heavily publicized, five-month trial. The Chicago Eight represented a cross-section of the New Left. The two Yippie defendants, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, became popular authors and public speakers, spreading Yippie militancy and comedy wherever they appeared. When Hoffman appeared on Merv Griffin's TV talk show, for example, he wore a shirt with an American flag design, prompting the CBS network to black out his image when the show aired. ^[20]

The Yippie movement

The Youth International Party quickly spread beyond Rubin, Hoffman and the other founders. YIP had chapters all over the US and in other countries, with particularly active groups in New York, Vancouver, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Columbus and Chicago. During an anti-war protest in Washington, D. C. , on November 15, 1969, East Coast Yippies led thousands of youths in the storming of the Justice Department building. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[21] On August 6, 1970, L. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A. Yippies invaded Disneyland, hoisting the New Nation flag at City Hall. ^[22] Vancouver Yippies invaded the U. S. border town of Blaine, Wash. , on May 9, 1970, to protest Nixon's invasion of Cambodia and the shooting of students at Kent State. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[23] Chicago organized events and hosted national events well into the 80s. A frequent complaint heard from the chapters outside of NYC was that New York acted as if they did not exist anymore and kept them out of the decision making. New York was generally considered the headquarters of YIP, yet not everyone agreed that YIP should even have a headquarters.

In 1972, Yippies and Zippies (a younger YIP offshoot whose "guiding spirit" was Tom Forcade) staged protests at the Republican convention in Miami. Thomas King Forçade, known as Tom Forcade was an underground press reporter and activist in the 1970s ^[24] Some of the Miami protests were larger and more militant than the ones in Chicago in 1968. After Miami, the Zippies evolved back into Yippies. ^[25]

Yippies organized marijuana smoke-ins across North America through the 1970s and into the '80s. The annual July 4 Yippie smoke-in in Washington, D. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples C. , became a counterculture tradition. ^[26]

Writings

The Youth International Party Line (YIPL; later, the name was changed to TAP for Technological American Party or Technological Assistance Program), in June 1971 Hoffman and Al Bell started the pioneer phreak magazine. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Al Bell (born Alvertis Isbell on March 15 1940 in Little Rock Arkansas, USA) is an American Record producer Phreaking is a Slang term coined to describe the activity of a Subculture of people who study experiment with or explore telecommunication systems like equipment

A YIP-related newspaper, The Yipster Times was founded by Dana Beal in 1972 and published in New York City. Dana Beal (born January 9, 1947 in Ravenna Ohio) is an American social and Political activist, best known for his efforts to Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York It changed its name to Overthrow in 1979. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The New Yippie Press Collective published "Blacklisted News: Secret Histories from Chicago '68 to 1984" in 1983. It is still in print.

The most famous writing to come out of the Yippie movement, is Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book, which is considered to be a guidebook in causing general mischief and capturing the spirit of the Yippie movement. Steal This Book is a book written by Abbie Hoffman in 1970 and published in 1971 Hoffman is also the author of Revolution for the Hell of It which has been called the original Yippie book. This book claims that there were no actual yippies, and that the name was just a term used to create a myth. ^[27]

Yippies in the New Millennium

The Yippies have continued as a small movement into the early 2000s. The New York chapter no longer publishes a newspaper, but is known for their annual marches in New York City to legalize marijuana. Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: गांजा gānjā hemp) is a Beal crusades for the use of Ibogaine^[28] to treat heroin addicts. Ibogaine is a naturally-occurring Psychoactive compound found in a number of plants principally in a member of the dogbane family known as iboga ( Another Yippie, A.J. Weberman, deconstructs the poetry of Bob Dylan, unmasks neo-Nazis, and speculates about the tramps on the Grassy Knoll through his various websites. Alan Jules Weberman (born May 26, 1945) better known as A J Weberman, is an American writer political gadfly, and self-styled founder of Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman, May 24 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter author poet and painter who has been a major Weberman is also active in the Jewish Defense Organization, which has been linked to political violence. The Jewish Defense Organization is a Militant Jewish organization in the United States.

Two of the best-known original Yippies met untimely ends. Abbie Hoffman committed suicide, while Jerry Rubin became a stockbroker, and was later fatally injured by a car while jaywalking. Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30 1936 &ndash April 12 1989 was a radical social and political activist in the United States who co-founded the Jerry Rubin ( July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was a high-profile left-wing American social activist during the 1960s and A stock market, or (equity market is a private or public market for the trading of company Stock and derivatives of company [3] By the age of 50, Rubin had broken with many of his previous countercultural views; he was interviewed by the New York Times, which described him as a "yippie-turned-conspicuous-yuppie. " In the interview, he stated that "Until me, nobody had really taken off their clothes and screamed out loud, 'It's O. K. to make money!'"[4]

Yippie Museum Cafe

In 2004, the Yippies, along with the National AIDS Brigade, purchased their 9 Bleecker Street headquarters for $1. 2 million. ^[29] It has since been converted into the "Yippie Museum Cafe. "^[30][31] It houses an independently operated cafe that features live music on scheduled nights (no alcohol served or permitted on premises). ^[32] The museum is chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York. A board of governors is usually the governing board of a public entity History The Board of Regents of the USNY was established by statute in 1784 to provide oversight to King's College (today known as Columbia University) a private institution ^[33] According to the curator's message at the official website the museum "exists to preserve the history of the Youth International Party and all of its offshoots. "^[31] The Board of Directors consists of Dana Beal, Aron Kay, David Peal, William Propp, Paul Di Rienzo, and A. J. Weberman. ^[34]

See also

• May Day Protests 1971
• Summer of Love
• Human Be-In

References

References and further reading

• Todd Gitlin. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. (New York, 1993).
• Judith Clavir Albert and Stewart Edward Albert (eds. ). The Sixties Papers: Documents of a Rebellious Decade. (Connecticut, 1984).
• James Miller. Democracy is in the Streets: From Port Huron to the Siege of Chicago. (New York, 1987).
• Stew Albert's Yippie Reading Room!
• Pieman's Homepage (Aron Kay)
• Abbie Hoffman's Wakeup Amerika
• Yippie Speakers Bureau
• Cures not Wars
• Deoxyribonucleic Yippie!
• The Chicago Seven Trial
• Archive of the YIPL and TAP Newsletters
• Acidtrip.com compiled by AJ Weberman
• A 10 minute documentary on the Yippies, created as a National History Day entry.
• Steve Conliff (1949-2006)
• Flags of the World - Listing for the Youth International Party Flag
• The Yippie Revolution
• Vancouver Yippie
• Yippies at 1980 Republican convention in Detroit, Michigan.
• "Making Yippe!" an excerpt from Chicago '68 by David Farber.