David Sees Jerry Rubin

                                                 David Sees Jerry Rubin

 In 1968, protestors (or rioters, depending on how you saw them) gathered at the Republican National nominating convention in Chicago. Eight were arrested and brought to trial in federal court. The eighth, Bobby Seale, separated his trial from the others. Judge Julius Hoffman ordered him bound and gagged because he wouldn't restrain himself in the courtroom. The remainder became known as the Chicago Seven. Radical Jerry Rubin was among them. 

During a hiatus in legal proceedings,Rubin came to Buffalo, NY, where David was teaching political science, to give a speech. The hall where he was to speak was packed to the gills. At the head of the hall was a stage with a coffin on it, and the coffin was topped with the freshly butchered head of a pig at each end (reflecting common disparagement of police as "pigs.") An announcer reported Rubin's progress toward the hall:  "He's at the airport. He's arriving on campus. He is approaching the hall." David couldn't see how he could squeeze in. Then, "Here's Jerry!" The coffin popped open, and Rubin stood up, drenched in sweat. He'd been waiting inside for two hours. He proceeded to give a radical speech.

 David said the event was pure theater, that Rubin was an outstanding showman.

 Eventually, according to the internet, Rubin modified his radical belief in protests and became a successful stockbroker and investor who believed that money talked. He died after being struck by a car while he attempted to cross a 4-lane road near his home in California.