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Washington, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

"an actual pig, oinky-oink"

As in, "I hear that you're thinking about nominating a pig for President, an actual pig, oinky-oink, you know, Pigasus, the Immortal."

That's a quote from testimony in the Chicago Seven case from Ed Sanders. He's talking about events leading up to the 1968 Presidential election, and the rumors were correct: the Yippie candidate was a mammal of the hog variety named Pigasus, the Immortal.

Introduced as the Youth International Party's choice at the Democratic Convention in Chicago that August, Pigasus' campaign pledge stated: "They nominate a president and he eats the people. We nominate a president and the people eat him." Pigasus was going up against Nixon and Hubert H. Humphrey, so you have to admit that on the face of it he had an outside shot. Or at least he would have, if he hadn't gotten arrested along with Phil Ochs, Jerry Rubin and other the morning of August 23rd. (Yes, that's right: the pig got arrested.) Everyone got sprung but Pigasus, who was never seen again.

I'd have to say this is one of the most vivid uses of political metaphor I've ever run across. For more story and backstory, plus a photo of the pig getting nabbed by no less than four policemen, trot yourself over to this Porkopolis page.

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