Pigasus (politics)

Pigasus
1968 Candidate for U.S. President
Personal details
Political party	Youth International Party

Pigasus was a 145-pound (66-kg) domestic pig who was nominated for President of the United States as a theatrical gesture by the Youth International Party on August 23, 1968, just before the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The youth-oriented party (whose members were commonly called "Yippies") was an anti-establishment and countercultural revolutionary group whose views were inspired by the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s, mainly the opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War.

Yippies were known for using dramatic theatrics in their demonstrations, and they used Pigasus as a way to mock the social status quo. At a rally announcing his candidacy, Pigasus was seized by Chicago policemen and several of his Yippie backers were arrested for disorderly conduct.

In 1968, Pigasus was nominated for the U.S. Presidency by the Youth International Party (Yippies). The pig's name was a double entendre on Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology and the famous saying "When pigs fly" used when a highly improbable event should occur.

Selected for the campaign by group members Dennis Dalrymple, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, candidate Pigasus was purchased from a farmer by folk-singer and fellow Yippie Phil Ochs. His candidacy was announced during the massive protests leading up to and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Yippies demanded that Pigasus be treated as a legitimate candidate, with U.S. Secret Service protection and White House foreign policy briefings.

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