From: edc@evolution.bchs.uh.edu (edward s. chen)
Subject: Lennon and the radical left
Organization: Little to none, or maybe not......
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 16:27:27 GMT

Some thoughts based upon the recent idolization of Lennon by the radical
left.  He appears on the cover of this month's "High Times" magizine for
no logical reason.  Excerpting from their peace written by Bill Weinberg:

[Re: Lennon and a "political Woodstock" in 1972]

" The campaign was successful, at least in part.  Faced with a full-time
struggle to maintain *THEIR* U.S. residency John and Yoko were forced to
abandon the political tour concept.

[ The loss of Lennon lead to ]

  The Yippies split, with a more radical faction known as the 'Zippies'
(including HIGH TIMES founder Tom Forscade) abandoning the leadership
of Jerry Rubin and Abby Hoffman because of the duo's support for their
liberal Democratic candidacy of George McGovern."

(This of course, ignores the fact Yoko was an American Citizen courtesy of
her marriage to Tony Cox, and that probably John and Yoko would've left
America were it not for the constant Kyoko troubles)

Then, they continue with more radical drivel from the conspiracy folks,
ending with a supposed conversation John had with Paul Krassner, (Yippie
co-founder and editor of _The Realist_)  according to him, he told John about
his theory that the deaths of popular "rebel" figures such as Jimi Hendrix, 
Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Otis Redding were 'cultural assasinations.'  
To which John replied "No, no, they were just going in a self destructive
direction."

Krassner then claims that he talked to a clearly harrased Lennon a few months
later, and John supposedly said "Listen, if anything happens to Yoko, and me, 
it was not an accident"   The authors then use this to trot Fenton Bresler's 
tired, old "The CIA killed John Lennon" accusations yet again.

Interestingly, a completely different set of authors (Todd Loren, The Beatles
Experience #5) show Lennon saying virtually the same thing, with "What I'd
really like to do is F*** up the Republican convention this summer in 
San Diego?

In response to a letter (written by yours truly) in Beatles Experience #7,
Loren also chooses to repeat the ludicrous "cultural assasination" theory,
using virtually the *same* examples listed above.

They also take Bresler a step further, showing prominent political figures
directly involved in preparation for the "assasination", like some
bizarre mafioso parody.

Interestingly enough, the expert on the radical Lennon, Jon Weiner tends
to debunk both these ideas.  Although Lennon was associating with Rubin and
Hoffman, talk of a concert tour, generating enthusiasm for 18-year olds
to vote against Nixon never got past that point -- talk.  (Although
Nixon clearly used that "talk" as part of his package in trying to get
John deported as "dangerous")

Lennon himself, in his Playboy interview debunks the "tour" theory:

"The infamous San Diego meeting that got us into all the immigration trouble
 was really a non-existent situation. There was this so-called meeting with
 Jerry, Abbie, Allen Ginsberg, John Sinclair, and John and Yoko, where they 
 were trying to get us to go to the San Diego Republican Convention.  When
 they described their plans, we just kept looking at each other.  It was the 
 poets and the straight politicals divided.  Ginsberg was with us.  He kept
 saying 'What do you want to do?  Create another Chicago?'  That's what they
 wanted.  We said 'We ain't buying this.  We're not going to draw children
 into a situation and create violence - so you can overthrow *what*, and
 replace it with *what*?

 But the story went out that we were going to San Diego.  That was enough to
 get immigration on us.  They started attacking through the immigration
 department, trying to get us thrown out of the country.  But it was all based
 on this illusion, that you can overthrow what is, and get communism, or some
 right-wing lunatic, or a left-wing lunatic.  They're all lunatics."

[John then describes their absolute refusal to create violence, and he rips
 Jerry Rubin for saying there would be a concert at the RNC, despite John
 and Yoko's vehement refusal] 

So, my question is WHY?  Why is the radical, and violent left suddenly looking
to muddy the historical Lennon waters again?  

(and why are they seemingly ignoring Yoko?  Who is still quite alive and well,
and was involved in all this to the *exact* same degree John was?)

It seems transparently obvious (to me at least) that the aberration was his
8-10 month affiliation with Hoffman and Rubin.  (the period which resulted in
"Sometime in NYC")  For the rest of his life, John's values were much more
idealist.  From "The Word" through to "All You Need is Love", through to 
"Imagine", through to "One World, One People" (a favorite quote of John's, 
mentioned throughout the _Playboy_ interview)  All of these express what was
IMHO, the basis of Lennon's worldview.  Even more significantly, Lennon was
not stupid.  Paraphrasing from John's comments to some peace protestors in
California (while he was doing the "bed-in"):

"Whatever you do, do it peacefully.  It's not worth getting killed over, and 
fighting will only get you dead"

(which, if you couldn't tell, is also my personal viewpoint :)

As to the second major point, another WHY?

Why re-gurgitate the Lennon murder again, and again.  Is it all a sick side
effect of the "JFK" conspiracy-hunters?  Or is it an attempt to martyr Lennon
for the radical left, throwing more doubt at the unnamed "them", and strengthen
their claims on John?   When asked, John's assasin vehemently denies any CIA
coercion leading to the murder.  I say, unless some solid evidence comes
forward to indicate "programming", let's leave it as is.

Ultimately, I'm as sickened by the rampant revisionism propogated by the left,
as I was by the lies and half-truths propogated by Albert Goldman.  John was
mostly a peace activist, and briefly a radical, but he never strayed from the
truism that creating death and destruction is not the civilized way to bring
about change.

<ESC>


-- 
I want a short-haired girl (who) sometimes wears it twice as long
                                               -- George Harrison