Shawyer dissertation May 2008 final version - The University of ...

named themselves the Youth International Party, and had an official party mailingaddress and headquarters, but they always denied being a formal political movement orpolitical party. They had no traditional party structures like regional chapters ordelegates, and did not participate in party activities like fundraising drives orconventions. But because they wore “Yippie” buttons to news conferences where theyspoke about their movement as if it was a formal party, they gave the appearance that theYouth International Party was legitimate. At the Yippies’ urging, the notion that theywere a genuine political party was created by the press, who were looking to understandthe Yippies in a familiar way.Because the Yippies called themselves a political party, the media treated them assuch, giving them coverage along with the more “straight” activist groups like SDS andMobe. And because the Yippies claimed to be an army 100,000 strong, the media inChicago expected some kind of giant organized demonstration. Even before Conventionweek started, Washington Post reporter Nicholas von Hoffman noticed:Months ago the media had locked themselves onto the notion that thehippies, now given the name of Yippies (Youth International Party) wouldflood Chicago at convention time to put on a vast burlesque put-down ofwhatever it is the Democrats are going to do at the Stockyards next week.Lincoln Park, where the Yips and the crazies are supposed to be campingout, is over-run with newsmen poking under bushes looking foroutrageous quotes. (“Yippies Trot” A5) 6363 The International Amphitheater was located next to the Union Stock Yards.159