From Fiery Revolutionary to Sunshine State Retiree: The THC-Fueled Twilight of the Last of the Chicago 7
On the surface, Lee Weiner resembles a quintessentially blissed-out Florida retiree. He’s a deeply tanned 84-year-old Jewish guy who is always wearing flip flops and often smoking pot. His laid-back LinkedIn profile picture shows him smiling shirtless in a hot tub overlooking the ocean, photo evidence of his abiding mission to chill out.
That is, until Weiner leans over to me, a mix of worry and weariness in his eyes. “I believe we are heading for a very difficult and dark time,” he exclaims.
The flowers and the tequila and the ocean breeze all help chill Weiner out, but only to a point. You see, Weiner is the last surviving member of the Chicago Seven — the famed band of anti-war organizers prosecuted for stirring up trouble at the 1968 DNC Convention. Disturbing the peace is in his bones.
Fifty-six years later, elements of that era echo out everywhere. Next week, the Democratic National Convention will return to Chicago. As in 1968, it will do so at a time of intense intraparty conflict, much of it concerning an increasingly unpopular war.
Back then, Democrats nominated Hubert Humphrey, a vice president replacing an unpopular incumbent, Lyndon Johnson, who bowed out late in the calendar. Republicans fielded Richard Nixon, who ran on a platform fusing crime, race and fear. Both candidacies were vigorously opposed by a young, radical protest movement against war, discrimination and restrictive abortion policies. This activism was largely concentrated on college campuses and prominently featured young Jewish leaders railing against their parents’ politics. Oh, and there was a man named Robert F. Kennedy on the ballot. Sound familiar?