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28 September 2008

Mostly pointless, but I just had to say...


...that some of the items on facebook's Flair application piss me off. The one that inspired me to bitch a bit here is the one that takes the famous Abbie Hoffman quote, "Avoid all needle drugs. The only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon," and replaces Richard Nixon with Barack Obama. (Yeah, it's the one on the right.)

For fuck's sake. Let's think about that for a bit...

Someone obviously thought that it would be clever to take that quote and make it an anti-Obama slogan. But, no, it was not clever. It's dumb-fucked. And here's why.

Abbie Hoffman was the founder of the Youth International Party, better known as the Yippies. The Yippies were a leftist radical political party born out of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 60's. Hoffman himself was an anti-establishment activist for his entire adult life. He was arrested and tried for conspiracy to incite a riot with seven others during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. They were collectively known as the Chicago Eight, but when one of them was tried separately, they were known as the Chicago Seven. Google it.

While hiding from the authorities, Hoffman wrote "Steal this Book," which advocates rebelling against all forms of authority. It also coins the phrase "Pig Nation" to refer to the "American Empire."
"Steal this Book" also contains super-useful information including, but not limited to:
-How to grow your own weed
-Shoplifting tips
-Getting the US Dept. of the Interior to give you a free buffalo
-Preparing your own legal defense
-lists of affordable weaponry and armor (for when the Fuzz come to getcha).
"Steal this Book" has a lot in common with "The Anarchist Cookbook." Just to give you an idea.

But don't think that all of Abbie's wackiness ended in the 60's and 70's! He was arrested again in 1986 for trespassing on the University of Mass. campus. He disagreed with the CIA recruiting on campus, saying that they were engaging in unlawful activities, and thereby breaking university policy. Hoffman died three years later from an overdose of Phenobarbital.

So, to the maker of this flair, respect the dead. Abbie Hoffman would have nothing but terrible things to say about John McCain. I mean, McCain volunteered to go to Vietnam and doesn't seem to have a problem prolonging the war in Iraq. Definitely no Yippie. So don't use Hoffman's words. Find some demeaning quote from someone who might have actually agreed with your anti-Obama sentiment.

Am I saying that Barack Obama is an anarchist? Well, running for president would be a pretty fucking dumb thing for an anarchist to do, so no. I am saying know your shit before you try to be clever.

EDIT: As my roommate has pointed out, none of this is really a big deal at all, but I did mention that this was pointless in the title, so if you feel as though this was a waste of your time, I did warn you.