Kent State, May 4, 1970: America Kills Its Children Twenty-five years ago this month, students came out on the Kent State campus and scores of others to protest the bombing of Cambodia-- a decision of President Nixon's that appeared to expand the Vietnam War. Some rocks were thrown, some windows were broken, and an attempt was made to burn the ROTC building. Governor James Rhodes sent in the National Guard.
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THE dead:
ALISON KRAUSE
JEFFREY MILLER
SANDRA SCHEUER
WILLIAM SCHROEDER
NEVER FORGET! May 4, 1970, they day I stopped feeling safe.
I did that when I lived in Michigan. It was quite moving. As I was about to go off to college in a year when this happened, it had a profound view on how I saw the world.......
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
thanks Addy, I did.....it's wonderful. I only started a 2nd one as I thought maybe younger people would pass hers up not knowing what it was for.....and I wanted some links listed so they could learn about it.
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
This happened when I was a junior in high school and it seemed to be the pivotal moment when the rest of America finally got "shaken" into understanding why young people distrusted the government so much. As if Viet Nam itself wasn't enough, we were now killing people for having dissenting opinions.
The memorial at Kent State is very moving and it's a daily part of the "culture" of that campus. We visited the campus when my son was shopping for colleges and the respect for and acknowledgement of the event was obvious throughout our visit.
Yup, I graduated in 1971, too. I had an older brother and sister, so I was already pretty political, but I have to agree...Even I didn't believe that this could actually happen and when it did, it was a loss of my naive perspective that the government was "of the people". It has slanted my beliefs and politics ever since.
my brother was 7 years older, and was out on his own...... We were a wealthy upper-middle class family, and frankly I hadn't paid much attention to things before this.......after this, I did.....
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
We starve-look At one another Short of breath Walking proudly in our winter coats Wearing smells from laboratories Facing a dying nation Of moving paper fantasy Listening for the new told lies With supreme visions of lonely tunes
I've been thinking about this a lot since the other day when a young poster commented about how 9/11 changed her life by letting her know she was vulnerable. I suppose that Kent State did that for me.
I went to school there in 1970, starting the fall after the shootings. The wounds were still very fresh. A guy in my dorm was one of the students who had been shot, and he was back at school, a paraplegic in a wheelchair.
My (first) husband was out on Blanket Hill at the rally that day when the shootings occurred. He knew three of the kids who died, not to mention many of the injured. They closed the school and all the students had to go back home, from whence they came. When he got home to New Jersey and walked into his parent's house, his father looked up at him and said, "They should have shot all of you."
Of course, we already knew that it could be dangerous to protest. One only needs to think back to the Democratic National Convention of 1968 in Chicago to realize that. I think what had such a profound effect on the nation was that Kent State marked the first time students were killed by the government on a college campus. Even more jarring was that not all the kids who died were involved in the protest. One, William Schroeder, was in ROTC. (Reserve Officer Training Corps.)
Anyway, to bring my reminiscences full circle, there were no tales of the Heroes of Kent State being force fed by the media back in 1970. And for that, I'm a little bit grateful.
Sueleen Gay: "Here you go, Bitch, now go make some fukcing lemonade." 10/28/10