Hoffman was the center of many protests, which strategically were dramatic and absurd. A few notable protests include throwing a mixture of fake and real money to the New York Stock Exchange gallery, a march to the Pentagon (which he claimed he would psychically make levitate), and an LSD-fueled interruption of The Who at Woodstock. Hoffman was arrested and convicted with a group known as The Chicago Seven for conspiracy and inciting a riot, but that was later overturned. He was arrested again for drug distribution, which he claimed was entrapment. He failed to appear in court for this trial and went to extensive measures to hide from the authorities (e.g., cosmetic surgery and abandoning his family), though he later surrendered. He was tried with 14 other people for trespassing, but they were found not guilty in that case.
Hoffman intentionally used strange tactics instead of traditional speeches to gain the public's attention. His protests and constant news headlines grabbed a lot of attention from people who otherwise would not have bothered to pay attention to the political sphere. If someone's life was not directly affected by the war, they probably would not have paid attention to it. These people are the exact people that characters in The Things They Carried would talk about - the kind that did not know and did not care to know about the war. Hoffman increased the public's awareness on the subject of the Vietnam War.
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| Abbie Hoffman |
I really like the way you tied TTTC into your blog post! I have never heard of Abbie Hoffman before reading your post. I definitely think he is interesting and gives another perspective on how people were during the time of this war.
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