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The Yippies and the Occupiers
As a co-founder of the Yippies (Youth International Party)—known
for demonstrating against the Vietnam War at the 1968 Democratic
convention in Chicago--| find myself comparing and contrasting the
Yippies and the Occupy Wall Street protesters.
We had to perform stunts to get media coverage of our cause, so a
group of us went to the New York Stock Exchange, upstairs to the balcony,
and threw $200 worth of singles onto the floor below, watching the gang
of manic brokers suddenly morph from yelling "Pork Bellies" into playing
"Diving for Dollars." Then we held a press conference outside, explaining
the connection between the capitalist system and the war.
Now, a particular placard, “Wall Street Is War Street,” gives me a
sense of continuity. Other anonymous Occupier spokespersons carried
posters proclaiming: “God Forbid We Have Sex & Smoke Pot. They Want
Us to Grab Guns & Go to War!" “I am an immigrant. | came here to take
your job. But you don’ t have one.” “$96,000 for a BA in Hispanic
transgender gay & lesbian studies and | can’ t find work!” And a woman
in a wheelchair: “Stand Up For Your Rights!”
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