Learning Adventure #2.5

Were the Chicago 7 martyrs?

When asked to consider whether the Chicago 7 were martyrs I found it necessary, like with the Ned Kelly question, to frame the context and define the terms that are being used. In thinking the issue through and discussing the concept of martyrdom with others, I concluded that a martyr is somebody whose sacrifice can be seen as a means of bettering the position in life afford others. This sacrifice is generally taken to mean losing one's own life while pursuing a cause. I have a difficult time with the idea of a martyr "giving" one's life to a cause as I believe martyrdom requires much more selflessness. One cannot consciously martyr oneself; one becomes a martyr through no action of their own. My reasoning may be flawed, I admit, but it establishes in my mind the concept of the martyr as a non-participant in her or his demise and whose commitment to his or her cause in the face of demise never wavers. The demise of the person who is raised to the position of martyr is so horrible that everyone involved, from the persecutors to the people with whom the victim was aligned, realize at some later point the ferocity of the murder, the depth of loss, and the importance of remember the actions of the victim in a way that causes society to be bettered as a result.

I do not believe that the Chicago 7 were martyrs because nothing they did could be considered a sacrifice that bettered the lot of others. The purpose and role of the Youth International Party (Yippee) in the 1968 Democratic National Convention was to provide an absurd reaction to the proceedings, cultural-jam the conventioneers and the accompanying media through flagrant display of new-generation standards and norms that very much conflicted with those of mainstream America, and provide an alternative spectacle to what they perceived as a death cult surrounding the Vietnam War and the political parties' complicity in the destruction and continuation of the conflict. The actions of the Yippees before the August 25, 1968 melees consisted of lessons on "karate, snake dancing, and other means of self-defense" (Linder, 2006). Furthermore, the rally was intended to be a rock concert, hardly a revolutionary gathering, and at which MC5 refused to perform for fear of their equipment being damaged by overzealous police (Linder, 2006). None of the Yippee leaders' actions were too inspiring nor cause for reflection or emulation by others. While the members of the Chicago 7 were arrested, I do not believe that their arrest was an act of martyrdom but rather a response to the very real threat that Jerry Rubin and others were creating by encouraging others in the crowd to "kill the pigs" (Linder, 2006).

If the Chicago 7 were not martyrs then what were they? Were they convenient scapegoats used by the judicial system as examples in an effort that clearly failed? Linder suggests a conspiracy between Chicago mayor Richard Daley and federal judge William Campbell, along with Attorney General John Mitchell, to use federal anti-riot laws to prosecute the Chicago 8 (Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers among the original defendants) as well as eight police offers in an effort to set an example to other protesters (2006). The jury, of two white men and ten women, two of whom were black, the rest white, seemed stacked against the defendants as some jury members disagreed with the lifestyle and appearance of the defendants (Linder, 2006). Found guilty and sentenced to a years' imprisonment and a $5000 fine, they certainly seemed destined to scapegoat status, until the November 21, 1972 reversal of the conviction on an appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Linder, 2006). So I cannot say that the Chicago 7 (Bobby Seale having been severed from the case) were scapegoats for a corrupt judicial system, either.

Then what were the Yippees, or the other side for that matter? I would argue that the Yippees, the police, the mayor, and the courts all were the worst examples of what each could have been in a bad situation. None rose above the dirty tricks and lousy behavior exhibited by the others nor defined themselves through their enviable actions. Instead of following the strategy, suggested by defendant Tom Hayden, of focusing "on winning jurors by diligently pursuing weaknesses in the prosecution's case and by observing a degree of courtroom decorum," the Yippees chose to "turn the trial into entertaining theatre that would receive maximum attention in the press" (Linder, 2006). The case devolved into a final "Barnyard Epithet Phase" with both sides trading bitter and irrational barbs (Linder, 2006). The jurors refused to overcome their own prejudices and realize the lack of integrity of the court proceedings. And the judge himself proved too partial to adequately judge a case.

The Chicago 7, despite making good press, hardly serve as an example of martyrs. I would suggest that nobody came off looking particularly good after this incident.

Works Cited:

Linder, Douglas (2006). The trial of the Chicago 7 (or Chicago 8). Retrieved September 24, 2006, from Famous American Trials Web site: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Chicago7/chicago7.html