The Youth International PartyThe Youth International Party, whose members were referred to as Yippies, was a small political party formed by Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman in late 1967. Their main goal was often said to be to disrupt the typical political process and bring the values of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to the attention of the nation. They were known for having no organization and promoting chaos. They did not even have a set leader or list of members. They are the epitome of unorganized anarchy.
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Their Tactics |
While the Yippies made many protests against the Vietnam like all hippies did, they set out to completely mock and disrupt the nation's politics. They once scattered and burned money at the New York stock exchange. They did not believe in upholding common theories; they believed in actions. They encouraged their members to make "your own revolution." Another big part of who the Yippies were, is how they took nothing about politics seriously. When asked for a political slogan, they offered the following: "Rise up and abandon the creeping meatball!"
There were a few occasions where they called for organized revolts against politics, most famous being that of the Yippie Manifesto. The Yippie Manifesto was a page-long manifesto written by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, commanding the yippies to "Come to the streets on Nov. 5," election day. It essentially said to boycott the election and everything the government wanted its citizens to do. It was meant to enforce making your own reality. Like everything the Yippies took part in, it mocked politics and made the government look as bad as possible. The whole scene of the protests on election day ended up bringing attention to police brutality. While on trial in court, charged with conspiracy for the events that happened on election day, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin wore outrageous costumes, read poetry, and sang songs. This was to show that they also wanted to mock the justice system of the country. |