Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffmanwas an American political and social activist and anarchist who co-founded the Youth International Party...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCivil Rights Leader
Date of Birth30 November 1936
CityWorcester, MA
CountryUnited States of America
kids disrespect democracy
My critique of democracy begins and ends with this point. Kids must be educated to disrespect authority or else democracy is a farce.
fighting winning thinking
I think the greatest legacy of the 1960s was the general feeling that not only can you fight the powers that be, but you can win.
fun two causes
I learned one thing; you never do anything for fame or money. You only do things 'cause they're fun or good. If you can combine the two at the same time, you can make a contribution to the world and have a lot of happiness.
peace military war
I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what they killed, there would be no more wars.
freedom believe democracy
Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.
lambs lions lips
Peace is a very complicated concept. When the lion gobbles up the lamb and wipes his lips, then there's peace. Well, I ain't for that peace at all.
fighting thinking decision
I think we are constantly faced with the same decision. The decision to be blindly obedient to authority versus the decision to try and change things by fighting the powers that be is always, throughout history, the only decision.
country creativity opportunity
It is always the young that make the change. You don't get these ideas when you're middle-aged. Young people have daring, creativity, imagination and personal computers. Above all, what you have as young people that's vitally needed to make social change, is impatience. You want it to happen now. There have to be enough people that say, ‘We want it now, in our lifetime.’ This is your moment. This is your opportunity. Be adventurists in the sense of being bold and daring. Be opportunists and seize this opportunity, this moment in history, to go out and save our country. It's your turn now.
freedom giving political
You measure a democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists.
country believe home
You are talking to a leftist. I believe in the redistribution of wealth and power in the world. I believe in universal hospital care for everyone. I believe that we should not have a single homeless person in the richest country in the world. And I believe that we should not have a C.I.A. that goes around overwhelming governments and assassinating political leaders, working for tight oligarchies around the world to protect the tight oligarchy here at home.
inspirational motivational change
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
successful winning thinking
There is absolutely no greater high than challenging the power structure as a nobody, giving it your all, and winning. I think I've learned that lesson twice now. The essence of successful revolution, be it for an individual, a community of individuals, or a nation, depends on accepting that challenge.