Customer Reviews

DO IT!: Scenarios of the Revolution

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I cannot recall so long ago when at 12 I read Rubens'treatise on the social ills of my country ,what he specifically had to say.I do recall however that this book sparked a lifetime of getting off the fence and becomming passionate about what I thought, felt and believed. At that young age,to realise that the world was not the Idealistic place I naively thought and to realise that my own opinion was just as valid as anothers was very liberating. At 50 I am about to once again embark on reading what formed a lifetime of social and eco activisim and a career of almost 30 years.

Historically speaking the book has value... for understanding an ideology the book is worthless as there is no ideology, only anarchy. It's fun read and suitable for anyone wanting to learn about the climate back then. A little revolution now and then is healthy.

I read this about 4 decades ago, and from what I recall Mr Rubin does a great job at expressing his hatred for all that is sacred, but fails to propose an alternative to what he sees as unjust. As the bible teaches in the book of Proverbs, a rebel has no agenda or solution, he just wants to yell.
Jerry Rubin is the poster boy of this type of misfit. You would do well to not spend a dime on this hate book from the self-acclaimed 'love generation' of the 60s.

A totally revolutionary book. A hand book for revolutionaries. The back cover describes it perfectly, as a "Molotov Cocktail." And like a true revolutionary, Rubin states that only in action changes occur. "Jack Kennedy sent Cuban exiles and Amerikan soldiers to "liberate" Cuba in 1961. Fidel leaped into a tank and went right to the battle zone. If anybody was going to die defending Cuba, it was going to be Fidel himself. Che did not sign a bureaucratic memo on an air-conditioned office ordering others to fight in Bolivia; he went right to Bolivia and put his own life on the line." P. 130

"People are always asking us, "What's your program?" I had them a Mets scorecard. Or I tell them to check the yellow pages. `Our program's there.' F*ck programs! The goal of revolution is to abolish programs and turn spectators into actors. It's a do-it-yourself revolution, and we'll work out the future as we go. Castro says: `The goal of the Cuban revolution is to turn every individual into a legislator.' Representative democracy is the enemy. The goal is each man-his-own-revolution." pp. 125-126

Some of the highlights are the Czechago 1968 Democratic convention, the "Stop the Troop Train," the raising of the Pentagon, the two subpoenas to the HUAC, Rubin dressed as Santa Claus, a Guerrilla rebel and George Washington. And the pig, Pegasus, the Yippie electoral presidential candidate. "I arrived to Congress in my costume, right down to the buckles over my shoes. I was so stoned that I was completely oblivious to the August heat in my wool uniform. Loaded with leaflets and propaganda. . p. 61

"A fringe benefit of being a radical is occasional free trips to Washington to see your government in action. Remember when the third grad went off on those guided tours to visit Washington? F*ck guided tours. Become a subversive and see the government from the inside. Make your government pay your way there." P. 58

"Walk on red lights. Don't walk on green lights . . . Go into a bank, business or office and demand to us the toilet. You'll be told, "No public bathroom here." Stand on one leg and whine loudly, "I gotta go doo-doo." Tell them that if they continue to refuse, you'll sh*t on the floor. Sh*t on the floor! p. 126

"Our tactic is to send niggers and longhair scum invading white middle-class homes, (...) on the living room floor, crashing on the chandeliers, spewing sperm on the Jesus pictures, breaking the furniture and smashing Sunday school napalm-blood Amerika forever." p. 111

This is only a sample of the power of Yippie madness. I loved this book! I wish I was there fighting with Hoffman, Rubin, Dillenger, Seals & etc. Then again, it's a life getting your head bashed in, jail time and court subpoenas. But a revolution only occurs in action, a New Left which the Old Left despised, the Old Left no more than watered down capitalists - actionless meeting attendees.

You may say this is way too radical. But many of the freedoms we enjoy and those we lost after the Regan, Bush, Clinton, Bush administrations are because of the outspokenness and actions of these revolutionary folks. We owe them much gratitude. Just compare the first 4 years of G.W. Bush's reign with the second. Thank God, or your mother, for those who speak out and protest!!!

Read this with Abbie Hoffman's, "Revolution for the Hell of It," and Stew Albert's "Who the Hell is Stew Albert."

In a period marked by genuinely fine revolutionary writing and the birth of Gonzo journalism, Rubin penned a tome so juvenile that it made Dr. Seuss look like adult reading. Garbage.

No one captured the drug-crazed revolutionary spirit of the time more than Jerry Rubin's "Do it!". Intellectually, it isn't much. But it's a wild romp, a self-indulgent, absurd, stoned insight into the hypocrisy of everyday people. It tears down the walls of illusion so many hide behind. People secure in their delusions write this off as garbage. It fuels the fire of youthful rebellion like gasoline. There's something very potent about Rubin's message. But there's also something very self-destructive, indulgent, and irrational. In any event, an entertaining read for young rebels without a cause.

Where "On The Road" stimulates a greening of Amerika, "Do It!" picks up as a call to "unlearn". Then combine these two "giants" with Larry Gonnick's "Cartoon History of the United States". What do you have? A potent injection of ideas to wake up and get active! "Do It!" should be mandatory reading in all areas of the educational system. Freethinking rules the spirit and body. Peace.

Boom!!!!! A rollercoaster-haunted house look into the soul of a young good times idealist....ready to fight...and ready to fug.... The one poignant Sub-Genius Thought:It's all a bunch of bullpucky..... Read this book 420. Then give it to your best friend to read..... The Crazy and Lazy Are Everywhere!!!!!!!