home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- "Look over there, up in the sky!"
- "It's a bird!"
- "It's a plane!"
-
- No! It's..
-
- **** ******** ********
- ****** ******** ********
- ** ** ** **
- ******** ** **
- ** ** ** **
- ** ** ** ********
- ** ** ** ********
- c i n
- t m c
- i e .
- v s
- i ,
- s
- t
-
-
- Issue #39... July 18, 1989
- Special "Old Glory" Issue!
-
-
- Activist Times, Inc.. a voice for the
- people in an age of silence..
-
- Write to us: Activist Times, Inc.
- P.O. Box 2501
- Bloomfield, NJ 07003
-
- Call us: 512-262-9519, box #1300
-
- Howdy folks. Welcome one again to ATI. We've got a lot of great stuff in
- store for you, and first up - an article by ATI's originator, Prime Anarchist.
- Take it away!
-
- ABBIE HOFFMAN WAS NOT FAMOUS --by Prime Anarchist
-
- You're sitting in a bar with your idol, and a bunch of your college
- buddies. Your idol is paying more attention to the Chcago Bears game on big
- screen than your somewhat forced political discussions. He just got done
- lecturing to hundreds of you for two hours-- the last thing he wants to talk
- about is politics. But now and then, you can get an opinoin out of him for
- your school newspaper.
- Talk turns toward his Chicago Eight days, "Steal This Book", "Urine
- Test", stuff like that, and a pissed-off Abbie Hoffman says, "That's it.
- "I'm out of here. I know when I'm too welcome."
- Your idol has left you like a miserable little child who wasn't
- allowed two more cookies, but you're quick to understand and respect that.
- You'd give your right arm to have half the celebration Abbie's got, but
- you'd gladly donate your left nut to be able to "dis" that fame with half
- as much grace as he does. Maybe you hope you'll get busted for cocaine so
- you too can go underground. Maybe you hope you can organize a non-event
- that the press will wish they had known about. Maybe you'd like to write the
- next ultimate book that upsets Walden Books.
- Abbie's death should mean nothing to you--however, his life should have
- had great impact. The things he has said should be ignored-- we need to heed
- what he's done instead. Somewhere around the fab-50's when nothing much
- mattered, Abbie Hoffman got his first taste of fame when he became a yo-yo
- champ. Even the inventors wished they could have a few moments with the guy
- to see some of his made-up tricks in slow motion. I don't think he ever
- gave out any of his own secrets. Not then; still 30 years later he remained
- reluctant to "tell all". But ask the guy a question or two, and you sure
- got a wealth of info.
- That first taste of fame must have stunk in his mouth something rotten,
- 'cause it wasn't long before he spit it out and didn't want a thing to do
- with it. No one knows when he became an A) agitator, B) activist C) radical
- or D) make up your own word. He claims it started before he was born.
- But just when an event looked like it would make him a little too famous,
- it was time to go cook up another event. The people watching with awe when money was burned at the stock market,
- or the anarchy caused when Louis Guiffrida got thirty calls a minute telling
- him he was a racist son of a bitch didn't seem to bother Abbie. In fact,
- I think it pleased him. But the minute we began chatting about "there goes
- that yoyo again" or "let's interview the yipster", it was time to go hide.
- Abbie Hoffman didn't hate the pressmen; he loathed them. ("Loathe" was for
- lack of a better word, by the way. I don't think there's a word bitter
- enough.) Plain and simple, Abbie did not like fame.
- During the 60's, when everything seemed to matter, Abbie could've easily
- been a powerful attorney, great sportscaster, inspiring history professor,
- or the best damned bum anyone ever met. Guess which one this genius-level
- character picked?
- Abbie joined the drug culture, as everyone knows. We are fortunate he
- had a high tolerance for drugs, because he was obssesive about everything
- he got into. While we were all tuning out and turning on, he was participating
- too. But he was also stirring up. Hey, someone had to do it. No one
- woulda known, that a little argument with a mayor could make headlines
- thoughout the nation. Good thing Abbie knew a lot of great attorneys,
- because the Chicago Eight was about to be plucked right out of the streets
- just as randomly as the hispanics that'll get sent to concentration camps if
- Operation Night Camp is needed.
- In Abbie's obituaries after his death, there'd been a lot of mention of
- a Chicago Seven. Who was this group? I never heard of them. I only know
- of a Chicago Eight. I think it is a gross misinformation blitz to leave
- out Bobbie Seale who made it thru more than half the trial as a teammate.
- I also think it sets us up as "racism continuers" to leave out the only man
- of color burned in that trial.
- Abbie handled his fame well;stomached it as best he could,and drove on--
- stirring up every event he could organize. The 60's were a busy time for
- Abbie, but the 70's just might go down as the time when he reached his
- underground peak. Everyone knows about the Yipsters, but only fans, and
- hard working undergrounders remember the Youth International Party Line.
- YIPL was an underground newspaper that never saw a "regular" publishing
- schedule, but always came as a refreshing piece of mail. You sent a dollar
- to some suite in NYC, and kept getting these pamphlets on how to make free
- fone calls, how to keep using the same stamp for hundreds of letters among
- friends, and generally how to beat the system at its own game. Few knew
- that Abbie was one of the strongest ghost publishers of YIPL magazine, but a
- lot of freaks started subscribing to his new form of interactive press.
- People would write in and fone in tricks on how to use #14 washers as dimes,
- how to turn your utility meter upside-down so it'd flow backwards for a week,
- how to set up your apartment with hotel sofas and loveseats. A phreak/
- hacker/freaker/enthusiast (you pick the name) who sent something in could
- count on YIPL to help him out if he ran aground. Abbie was quick to start
- campaigns to get lots of people out of jail. Like I said,he coulda been a
- potent lawyer if he wanted to play that way. YIPL became TAP (short for
- Technincal Assistance Party) and got a lot more electronically oriented, but
- still kept some of its political bent. But it just wasn't quite as activist.
- Chesire Catalyst and the gang tried and tried to get the campaigns going to
- help bail Abbie out when he got yanked for his DeLoreanesque cocaine set up.
- No dice. Abbie had to go so far underground, even the underground couldn't
- always get a hold of him. TAP went on about its merry way into the 80's and
- eventually disbanded. After all, the apathetic 80's were just around the
- corner.
- Abbie began pulling in large amounts for showing up at colleges. Most
- of it went to causes. He had trouble finding liberal students that would
- hear him out. The college students seemed too concerned with resumes,
- internships, co-ops and things to worry about Central American problems,
- or worn-out old protests of nuclear submarines. But as apathetic as these
- students were, they seemed to love having him.
- A year ago last September, he was inviting students to a well-planned
- leftist convention at Rutgers. He had no idea, the following February, 600
- would show up ready to vote, and more than 500 more wanted to come "be-in".
- Was the 60's starting all over again? Or was the same 70's (1770) revolution
- just hitting another upstroke? Abbie joined Ginsberg, Little Steven VanZant,
- Amy Carter, and other celebrated speakers inspiring tomorrow's youthdown at
- the New Jersey college, but towards the end, he got mad at someone or somthing
- and took off.
- His leaving agitated people just as much as his speeches. I think he
- might've meant it. Whatever he did, it worked. There are a lot of 20ish
- people out there ready to come out of the woodwork whenever the next abortion/
- marijuana/gay rights/no nukes/etc rally gets underway. I wish I could be
- there doing more than watching it, but that's my job. You do yours, OK?
- And do it 100% if you can.
- When Abbie left the Rutgers convention, he went right home to battle the
- Philadelphia Utility company about their unsafe power plant proposal.
- Again, he shouldn've been able to count on those 1000 or so people to come
- dribble down there, and help organize, but no dice. Only a few followed
- through. But along with a group called Del-Aware, Abbie started a fight that
- still continues. Philly has yet to break ground, just billyclub heads.
- Abbie's actions throughout the 20th century sets us with a groundwork
- for social engineering, political dissent, student activisim, outside
- agitation, as well as participation with a messed up country that STILL
- happens to be the most free nation we know about. A lot of the negative
- shrot-range things he's started off have led to some very positive
- restructuring possibilities. "Steal
- This Book" not only shows you how to get something free, or sneak around; it
- teaches you to be creative, and gets you started making the future yours.
- "Steal This Urine Test" not only teaches you how to drink olive oil so last
- night's joint won't show up, or how to pour battery acid from a rubber
- --screwing up millions of dollars worth of technology, but it shows you how
- to make decisions for yourself, and how to go about protesting violations
- of your privacy. Any one of his books could be titled "A Patriot's Guide
- to Keeping America Free".
- Whether posthumous books are due is up in the air. No one knows how
- aggressive/generous his brother-in-law or his girlfriend plan on getting
- with his written work. Brother Jack HAS been reprinting "Steal This Book"
- and a few other out-of-prints though, so if you missed any of them, now's as
- good a time as any to put "Square Dancing" or "Soon To Be" on your must-read
- list.
- Abbie wrote on everything. Matchbook covers, napkins, address books,
- dollar bills, tables, whatever was put in front of him. What he wrote
- on mostly, though, was politics. TAP/YIPL might be gone, but many writers
- across the land have been so inspired by that style, we've seen a renaissance
- of "underground" rags/fact sheets/fanzines (again, pick your own name for
- 'em.) A good place to start looking for the Hoffmanesque writing style would
- be Realtiy Hackers magazine which comes out monthly, 2600 magazine which
- comes out 4 times a year, ATI which comes out whenever, Phrack which comes
- out only in "software" copy every two months or so.
- Addresses can't be give here, naturally, but if you're aggressive enough
- ,you'll find your way around.
- If you want fame, pattern yourself after someone like Johnny Bench or
- Geraldo Revera. But if you want to accomplish things in life, the ones to
- watch are the Geroge Bushes, the Tom Clancys and the Abbie Hoffmans.
- People liked to steal his driver's license, and his address book. Kind
- of a perverted way to get a memento/souvenir/token. Kind of a great way to
- piss someone off. The weekdays of the '80s were such a struggle for Abbie
- to rewrite his phone numbers from memory, he began making copies to hand out
- to anyone who looked like they might want one that deperately. Your second
- ,third...fortieth copy of your driver's license don't come cheap. I wonder
- if Abbie still has an outstanding tab at Bucks County's MVD.
- Phil Donahue type people started bugging the hell out of him around
- 87-88. It got so bad, he finally had to put up a "leave me alone, Phil.
- I don't want to be on your show" message on his machine. Warner Brothers,
- Tri-Star, etc. hounded him constantly the last few years to star in an
- autobiographical movie. He flat out refused.
- Abbie's last few years in a Philadelphia crash-pad-styled chicked-coop
- were as quiet as he wanted to make them. He said they were very comfortable;
- he was content. From this "headquarters" came the necessary magazine
- articles, telephone interviews, event planning, and lecture scheduling.
- When we invade a Honduras, bomb a Tripoli or stockade a gulf, you could
- count on Abbie and his buddies to get those fones through the government
- tan-boxes and give you an idea what's really going on. Sometimes he'd only
- tellyou a little, but he seemed to know everything. He didn't want to tell
- ALL, because he didn't want to be your only source. That meant fame.
- You know how he felt about that.
- He told you about Iranscam back in '82, told you about Carter getting
- used on the hostage situation way back in '80. To say he was your "80's Deep
- Throat" was the journalistic understatement of the century. He gave good
- background. But he said, "don't quote me", and he meant it. And you
- didn't mess.
- Abbie Hoffman died quietly. The press didn't know until four hours later
- that something was "news" in New Hope. That meant there was no one there
- to ask, "how's it feel to be dying" and "do you have any last words for
- my microcassette recorder here", and "if you could do it again, what would
- you change?" He wouldn't want to tell you anyways.
- Don't send condolences in the usual way, steal a book.
- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
- Random Notes from Ground Zero...
-
- PAGO PAGO, SAMOA: Vice President Dan Quayle, addressing Samoans who greeted
- him when he arrived in Pago Pago (which he pronounced Pogo Pogo): "You all
- look like happy campers to me. Happy campers you are, happy campers you
- have been, and as far as I'm concerned, happy campers you will always be".
-
- (Source: The Progressive magazine)
-
-
- I was reading a book called "AIDS: The Women" recently. It has several stories
- about women who have AIDS, or work as a professional or volunteer providing
- care to AIDS patients, or women who have a loved one with AIDS, etc. One of
- the stories was written by a woman in Atlanta who wrote about her dealings
- as a self-proclaimed "prostitutes' rights advocate". While her efforts to
- try to get prostitutes to wear condoms are indeed commendable, I object to
- the term "prostitutes' rights". What rights do they deserve? In my opinion,
- no more than those guaranteed by the Constitution. They certainly deserve no
- special rights as a profession. Also, I would have to wonder about a woman
- who seems to lend support to an practice which exploits women and their
- sexuality. Instead of a "prostitutes' rights advocate, I'd much rather see
- someone trying to get them out of an exploitative and downright abusive life.
-
- I also had the dubious pleasure of watching women participating in a "prosti-
- tute's convention in San Francisco being interviewed recently on "A Current
- Affair" (a TV show known for it's yellow journalistic style). These women
- were actually ones who chose prostitution as a profession, and were not street
- hookers. But I found them to be just as objectionable. I sat and listened to
- these women say things like, "When I became a prostitute I learned a lot about
- my sexuality", and another one rambled on about how much she loved her "job"
- (incidentally, she was married) and about how she enjoyed pleasing her clients'
- fetishes.
-
- Ok. Enough. Let's have some morality here. I'm sick of hearing about "prosti-
- tutes' rights advocates" and conventions for prostitutes. I'm sick of ANY
- attempts to legitimize this "profession", including those legal brothels in
- Nevada and Amsterdam. I'll say this once, and I'm sure I'll say it again:
- Women who sell their bodies for money or any other gain are selling out
- womankind as a whole. They're throwing the rest of the female gender back
- into the Dark Ages. I'm all for a more liberal society, but the practice of
- prostitution and attempts to legitimize it are absolutely ridiculous. Let's
- focus on relationships and the family and not meanigless exchanges of
- intercourse and money.
-
- Ok, off the soap box... for now!
-
-
- Another funny thing I saw on TV lately was an incident involving a contest
- Kraft was running in a few southern states. They put game pieces in their
- cheese wrappers, and the first prize in the contest was a brand new van. Due
- to a printing error, almost every game piece printed was an instant winner for
- the van. So everyone in that area that bought a package of Kraft slices
- got an intant winner for a van. Kraft called the contest off due to the error.
- There was a small amount of public outcry, including a woman who decided to
- sue Kraft for the van. "The purpose of a contest is to generate sales. They
- got thier sales, I want my van", said the woman. Ridiculous. I usually don't
- side with the big fat-cat capitalists (in fact, I NEVER do!), but in this case
- I have to. I mean, come on. Kraft may have generated some extra sales from
- the contest, but they would have had to sell a helluva lot of slices to pay
- for probably hundreds of thousands of vans. Lady, drop your dumb lawsuit.
-
-
- Here's something that I was apalled to hear: In nearby Jersey City, NJ, there
- are over 71 dump sites of a substance called chromium, which is far more
- dangerous and carcinogenic than dioxin, the chemical that was responsible
- for the serious adverse health effects in Love Canal. Jersey City is a very
- densely populated urban area. This means that the residents are literally
- living on top of and breathing in this chemical. The EPA has been slow to
- respond to this situation, and their answer to the situation so far is to move
- about half of the chromium in these various dump sites to a "temporary"
- storage site right by the Hackensack River in Jersey City. People who have
- seen the site have said that the chemical is not contained properly and is
- in pools on the ground. Since this site is right next to the river, the
- chromium may be leaking into the ground water.....
-
- Folks, I'm not going to let that one slide. Look for more in later issues on
- Jersey City's chromium problem.
-
- (Source: WBAI News 99.5 FM, New York)
-
-
- Speaking of WBAI-FM, they are going to have a show about computer hackers
- on Tuesday, July 25th at 7:30 PM. If you're in the NY area, listen to it!
- There will also be a call-in where you can participate.
-
- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-
- Well, I'm going to continue this in ATI40. Look for it in about 2 days or so.
-
- We still have lots more stuff to report, and little space left, so we'll cya
- in a bit!
-
- Take care, and keep the fire burning. Especially if you're burning a flag. ;)
-
- Ciao!