Abbie Hoffman Was No Donald Trump

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/opinion/abbie-hoffman-donald-trump.html

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To the Editor:

Re “The Abbie Hoffman of the Right,” by David Brooks (column, Sept. 26):

Calling the late Abbie Hoffman a buffoon and comparing him to President Trump sullies the reputation of a 1960s activist who was a leader of a youth movement that changed the course of American history.

Yes, Mr. Hoffman was a master of “political theater,” but he was no buffoon. Mr. Hoffman took to the streets of a divided America, risking life and limb in opposition to the Vietnam War, racism and police brutality. He lived a simple, self-sacrificial life and faced trumped-up charges as a member of the Chicago Eight. What risks for his beliefs has President Trump taken?

PATRICK O’NEILL, GARNER, N.C.