We Are Everywhere.

by Jerry Rubin

Vintage Books

Genres: Activism, Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Jewish-American radical social activist during the 1960s and 1970 and founding member of the the Youth International Party.

Jerry^Rubin

Reviews

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book felt inspirational. It made me, as a feminist, as a supporter of gay fights, as a believer of communism and anarchism see my roots. It made me proud to be Jewish.

I have criticism, I always have criticism. I was sad because I have never heard of these people. Jerry talks about the mark they're going to leave and admittedly I am not the most educated when it comes to hippies and yippies but regardless, I've never heard of him. This guy and his friends aren't the modern day Socrates, sorry.

I will read his manifesto before talking about his philosophy because I have a lot of questions and I suspect his manifesto will answer a lot of them.

Anyway, it was an interesting read as it gave me perspective for other times while simultaneously showing how nothing has changed. I mean, police brutality, racism, lack of equal rights, consumerism, fake politicians, (I mean guys, USA's presidential candidates are Clinton and Trump, enough said) and social gaps between people are all things still.

what I'm taking with me
• Long hair is life apparently.
• I wish I lived and could be a revolutionary and see how that feels. Just as an experience.
• Weed is super important for a revolution, apparently?

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book serves as Rubin's stream of consciousness while in jail for the conspiracy trial, so a really interesting read, although parts were slightly disappointing knowing where his life and career ultimately take him.
Parts of this memoir were incredible, it made me reconsider certain outlooks, and made me really proud to be Jewish. Others aged incredibly poorly.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly interesting and readable book which has provided me with a comprehensive history of the 1960s/70s hippie/yippie movement.

[Trevor Kiddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pseudo-revolutionary actor known for creating allusion to a horrendously radical disposition prevailing an American ideology where success is defined by What Awful Thing Are You Capable of. By forcing himself into black spaces to instill a white police presence under the encouragement of unlawful action prevailing moral self-righteousness godfathering the U.S. terrorist state. Wow. This sounds like a younger version of me before the court. 32 club? Am I allowed to make a profit now? I don't advocate for property. Wait. I did that. Remember BLM military to my online stalkers. Good for short-term cash under prevailing, neo-liberal self-righteousness. I grew as a person. This used to be my icon. A naked child is displayed to create the allusion of pedophilia amongst the queer community. He black liberation as a terrorist front to escape charges despite role as a cultural leader for millions of dollars. I am not this man. Can I escape that without a vow of poverty? Mandating poverty was why this man was displayed as a Hero to actors within a pre-2020 society due to fucking profiteers to "catch the bad guys" before the U.S. economy crashed and this could be used as moral justification. I just gave up on myself as a counter-culture hero representing a folk-punk caricature. Welcome to the failure to create a rockabilly culture in the U.S. South. Im a well-educated intellectual even if political prisoner outside Western standards of academia. Welcome to the new era of Folk academia fucks. Educate your fucking selves if you want that prized paycheck. The vibe is Russian now for that cold war spy flick for when this is me in 80 years. Love, a self-delusion, historic actor.

[Brody Schenk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of strong beliefs in this book, I found the writer to be a bit narcissistic, however he provided lots of information on revolutionary culture in the late 60’s/early 70’s. The colorful pages and amazing photographs throughout also made it a fun read!

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic, but not a huge fan of Rubin's writing style. Like the format of book though.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great one for those interested in social movement history, anti-war in Vietnam, or 60's counter-culture.

Jerry wrote this while he was locked up during the Chicago 7 trial. He supposedly had his lawyer sneak out a page a day. It is therefore written in short bursts of insight, not really divided into any form other then quick potent bursts of writing. I rather enjoyed this style though as every page packed some punch.

He goes into the trial extensively, but also talks about the yippie movement including strategy and technique; organization and disorganization. I really enjoyed the passages where Rubin talks about how the different factions of the 60's movement interacted with each other.

It is great listening to the thoughts of this young Jerry, later in life he became a stockbroker and toured debating Abbie Hoffman on a yippie vs yuppie tour...(if anyone has video of this please reply to this post with a link!)

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amazing, if you are interested in hippie culture (and of course the yippie movement). It is confronting, and not necessarily well written, but Rubin's passion and aspirations are admirable.

[Sam]

A more somber and nuanced take on how to engage with politics within our everyday lives. Written while Rubin was in jail for contempt during the Chicago7 (8, damn it! Bobby Seale) Trail.