After returning to Ann Arbor for the 40th anniversary Hash Bash, poet and political activist John Sinclair — who was the catalyst for the initial gathering — decided to make one more stop.
Almost every seat was filled in an Angell Hall auditorium yesterday afternoon as Sinclair spoke about his involvement in the 1960s political scene and offered his opinions on modern culture. As a guest speaker for Prof. Bruce Conforth’s American Culture 208 class, “Post World War II American Sub-Cultural Movements: Beatniks, Hippies, and Punks,” Sinclair answered questions from Conforth and his students on topics such as politics, television, music and drug policy in the context of his views on wealthy Americans’ supremacy and the flaws of modern media.
Comparing today’s cultural environment to Adolf Hitler’s fascist regime, Sinclair lamented the power possessed by the wealthiest Americans in society today.
“It’s the fascism of the rich people,” he said. “The rich people own and control everything in our society … They control the media, and consequently, their goal is to reduce the intelligence and the ability to discriminate between reality and unreality… because then people will believe whatever they tell them.”
Sinclair, who currently produces his own online radio show, was jailed in the state of Michigan in 1969 for selling two marijuana joints to an undercover policewoman — resulting in a 10-year prison sentence. His imprisonment inspired the 1971 “Free John Now Rally” at Crisler Arena that featured John Lennon, who recorded a song titled “John Sinclair” at the event. Sinclair’s case led to redefining marijuana laws in Ann Arbor, and in 1972 an event similar to the rally, then termed Hash Bash, took place.
Additionally, Sinclair founded the White Panther Party, which supported the Black Panthers during the Civil Rights Movement. He was also an active figure in the music scene during the 1960s as manager for the rock band MC5.
Sinclair said he and other activists at the time were motivated by a desire to change the way they lived.
“We didn’t want to be like everyone else,” he said. “We wanted to do something different. We didn’t know what it was going to be, we just wanted to do something different.”
Sinclair said he believes today’s generation faces more difficulty in creating social change despite the existence of the Internet and social media.
“You can do damn near anything now, but nobody seems to have any idea what to do,” he said.
Sinclair’s visit was an unexpected addition to the class curriculum, Conforth said. Sinclair is an old friend of Conforth’s, and since he was in town for Hash Bash this past Saturday, Conforth invited him to come speak to his students about his experiences.
“At this point in the class, we just finished covering the sixties, and the timing was just right,” Conforth said.
In an interview after the class, Sinclair said he enjoyed coming to speak to Conforth’s students because he rarely gets the opportunity to communicate with college-aged individuals.
“I’m what I call a public intellectual, and a historical figure — if I can say that without meaning to sound like an asshole,” he said. “I was witness to a lot of history and a participant, and I just think it’s part of my job to respond to requests to share this information.”
LSA senior Elan Green, a student in the class, said he found the talk to be interesting and informative.
“He really helped embody what we had already been discussing (in class) and take the theory and apply it to reality,” Green said.
LSA senior Allison Herbert, who is also in the class, said she had grown up with an original poster from the “Free John Now Rally” hanging in her living room.
“A lot of people asked about how our generation can fight against this, how to do this, do that in the world that we live in,” Herbert said. “It was just cool to see his perspective because he’s been there and he’s done that.”