Kent State, Ohio, Guard Riot 52 Years Ago today

[JBG]

Fifty-two years ago today was The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University. I remember it so well it's almost too recent to be history. From about 1964 on, starting with the "Free Speech" movement in California and escalating to a crescendo six years later, the campuses and inner cities were ablaze. There was likely a combination of causes:

1. The Kennedy assassination(s);
2. The King Assassination;
3. The Vietnam war, both as an atrocity in itself and bringing an end to expectations of people to peacefully graduate school, and marry into an Ozzie and Harriet mode;
4. Dissatisfaction and boredom with the somnolent affluence of the 1950's and early 1960's;
5. The liberation of music with the British invasion;
6. The liberation of women, starting with Betty Friedan's writings; and
7. The Civil Rights movement.

The assassinations and rioting signified a growing unwillingness to patiently abide the democratic system. People on both sides of the spectrum were "taking to the streets." The KKK and some white southerners were rioting or committing random acts of violence against minorities. Think:

1. The Tallahatchee Bridge atrocity;
2. The killings of Schwermer, Cheney & Goodman in Mississippi;
3. Police dogs being sicced on schoolchildren; and
4. Martin Luther King's assassination

The summers of the 1960's after the 1965 Watts Riots were all "long hot summers." Starting with Berkeley and proceeding to Columbia (1968), Cornell (1969) and Kent (1970) as well as numerous others, college campuses were materially disrupted. The construction workers rioted against anti-war protesters in 1969 or 1970 in NYC. Then there were the Manson killings.
Eventually something had to give, and four teens and/or college student were killed by the Ohio Guard on May 4, 1970, two days after my Bar Mitzvah. One letter-writer wrote to the NY Times that he "loved his daughter" but if she was killed in college riots he would "feed dinner" to the Guardsman.
That guy went a little too public. However, after a brief spasm of violence, the campuses and cities quieted down. After a while, ordinary people "had enough."

 

[Jessie C]

Fifty-two years ago today was The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University. I remember it so well it's almost too recent to be history. From about 1964 on, starting with the "Free Speech" movement in California and escalating to a crescendo six years later, the campuses and inner cities were ablaze. There was likely a combination of causes:

1. The Kennedy assassination(s);
2. The King Assassination;
3. The Vietnam war, both as an atrocity in itself and bringing an end to expectations of people to peacefully graduate school, and marry into an Ozzie and Harriet mode;
4. Dissatisfaction and boredom with the somnolent affluence of the 1950's and early 1960's;
5. The liberation of music with the British invasion;
6. The liberation of women, starting with Betty Friedan's writings; and
7. The Civil Rights movement.

The assassinations and rioting signified a growing unwillingness to patiently abide the democratic system. People on both sides of the spectrum were "taking to the streets." The KKK and some white southerners were rioting or committing random acts of violence against minorities. Think:

1. The Tallahatchee Bridge atrocity;
2. The killings of Schwermer, Cheney & Goodman in Mississippi;
3. Police dogs being sicced on schoolchildren; and
4. Martin Luther King's assassination

The summers of the 1960's after the 1965 Watts Riots were all "long hot summers." Starting with Berkeley and proceeding to Columbia (1968), Cornell (1969) and Kent (1970) as well as numerous others, college campuses were materially disrupted. The construction workers rioted against anti-war protesters in 1969 or 1970 in NYC. Then there were the Manson killings.
Eventually something had to give, and four teens and/or college student were killed by the Ohio Guard on May 4, 1970, two days after my Bar Mitzvah. One letter-writer wrote to the NY Times that he "loved his daughter" but if she was killed in college riots he would "feed dinner" to the Guardsman.
That guy went a little too public. However, after a brief spasm of violence, the campuses and cities quieted down. After a while, ordinary people "had enough."

I remember. What a period of time! SOOOOOOO many memories of that war filled period.....

 

[Rexedgar]

At the time, I thought Jimi Hendrix’s version of the National Anthem was an abomination and I was on the side of the National Guard. Time has mellowed my opinion…

 

[mrjurrs]

Fifty-two years ago today was The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University. Even now, CD characterizes this as History, I remember it so well it's almost too recent to be history. From about 1964 on, starting with the "Free Speech" movement in California and escalating to a crescendo six years later, the campuses and inner cities were ablaze. There was likely a combination of causes:

1. The Kennedy assassination(s);
2. The King Assassination;
3. The Vietnam war, both as an atrocity in itself and bringing an end to expectations of people to peacefully graduate school, and marry into an Ozzie and Harriet mode;
4. Dissatisfaction and boredom with the somnolent affluence of the 1950's and early 1960's;
5. The liberation of music with the British invasion;
6. The liberation of women, starting with Betty Friedan's writings; and
7. The Civil Rights movement.

The assassinations and rioting signified a growing unwillingness to patiently abide the democratic system. People on both sides of the spectrum were "taking to the streets." The KKK and some white southerners were rioting or committing random acts of violence against minorities. Think:

1. The Tallahatchee Bridge atrocity;
2. The killings of Schwermer, Cheney & Goodman in Mississippi;
3. Police dogs being sicced on schoolchildren; and
4. Martin Luther King's assassination

The summers of the 1960's after the 1965 Watts Riots were all "long hot summers." Starting with Berkeley and proceeding to Columbia (1968), Cornell (1969) and Kent (1970) as well as numerous others, college campuses were materially disrupted. The construction workers rioted against anti-war protesters in 1969 or 1970 in NYC. Then there were the Manson killings.
Eventually something had to give, and four teens and/or college student were killed by the Ohio Guard on May 4, 1970, two days after my Bar Mitzvah. One letter-writer wrote to the NY Times that he "loved his daughter" but if she was killed in college riots he would "feed dinner" to the Guardsman.
That guy went a little too public. However, after a brief spasm of violence, the campuses and cities quieted down. After a while, ordinary people "had enough."

Wow. I remember that night. The reality of American 'soldiers' killing students on a college campus for exercising 1st Amendment rights came right through the TV screen. No matter how the media tried to spin it.

You neglected to include the government lying to the people about Vietnam, the fixed draft system that promoted white supremacy, and the obvious and dramatic amount of killing innocent civilians in a war of choice.

 

[Jessie C]

Wow. I remember that night. The reality of American 'soldiers' killing students on a college campus for exercising 1st Amendment rights came right through the TV screen. No matter how the media tried to spin it.

You neglected to include the government lying to the people about Vietnam, the fixed draft system that promoted white supremacy, and the obvious and dramatic amount of killing innocent civilians in a war of choice.

Yeah, that's a whole new thread....

 

[ColdHardTruth]

Fifty-two years ago today was The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University. I remember it so well it's almost too recent to be history. From about 1964 on, starting with the "Free Speech" movement in California and escalating to a crescendo six years later, the campuses and inner cities were ablaze. There was likely a combination of causes:

1. The Kennedy assassination(s);
2. The King Assassination;
3. The Vietnam war, both as an atrocity in itself and bringing an end to expectations of people to peacefully graduate school, and marry into an Ozzie and Harriet mode;
4. Dissatisfaction and boredom with the somnolent affluence of the 1950's and early 1960's;
5. The liberation of music with the British invasion;
6. The liberation of women, starting with Betty Friedan's writings; and
7. The Civil Rights movement.

The assassinations and rioting signified a growing unwillingness to patiently abide the democratic system. People on both sides of the spectrum were "taking to the streets." The KKK and some white southerners were rioting or committing random acts of violence against minorities. Think:

1. The Tallahatchee Bridge atrocity;
2. The killings of Schwermer, Cheney & Goodman in Mississippi;
3. Police dogs being sicced on schoolchildren; and
4. Martin Luther King's assassination

The summers of the 1960's after the 1965 Watts Riots were all "long hot summers." Starting with Berkeley and proceeding to Columbia (1968), Cornell (1969) and Kent (1970) as well as numerous others, college campuses were materially disrupted. The construction workers rioted against anti-war protesters in 1969 or 1970 in NYC. Then there were the Manson killings.
Eventually something had to give, and four teens and/or college student were killed by the Ohio Guard on May 4, 1970, two days after my Bar Mitzvah. One letter-writer wrote to the NY Times that he "loved his daughter" but if she was killed in college riots he would "feed dinner" to the Guardsman.
That guy went a little too public. However, after a brief spasm of violence, the campuses and cities quieted down. After a while, ordinary people "had enough."

I recall there being an explosion in one of the buildings that injured people.

There was an abundance of strife during that period of time. It was ugly but it passed. Now the reich-wing SCOTUS nazis are the source of much strife.

 

[noonereal]

Fifty-two years ago today was The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University. I remember it so well it's almost too recent to be history. From about 1964 on, starting with the "Free Speech" movement in California and escalating to a crescendo six years later, the campuses and inner cities were ablaze. There was likely a combination of causes:

1. The Kennedy assassination(s);
2. The King Assassination;
3. The Vietnam war, both as an atrocity in itself and bringing an end to expectations of people to peacefully graduate school, and marry into an Ozzie and Harriet mode;
4. Dissatisfaction and boredom with the somnolent affluence of the 1950's and early 1960's;
5. The liberation of music with the British invasion;
6. The liberation of women, starting with Betty Friedan's writings; and
7. The Civil Rights movement.

The assassinations and rioting signified a growing unwillingness to patiently abide the democratic system. People on both sides of the spectrum were "taking to the streets." The KKK and some white southerners were rioting or committing random acts of violence against minorities. Think:

1. The Tallahatchee Bridge atrocity;
2. The killings of Schwermer, Cheney & Goodman in Mississippi;
3. Police dogs being sicced on schoolchildren; and
4. Martin Luther King's assassination

The summers of the 1960's after the 1965 Watts Riots were all "long hot summers." Starting with Berkeley and proceeding to Columbia (1968), Cornell (1969) and Kent (1970) as well as numerous others, college campuses were materially disrupted. The construction workers rioted against anti-war protesters in 1969 or 1970 in NYC. Then there were the Manson killings.
Eventually something had to give, and four teens and/or college student were killed by the Ohio Guard on May 4, 1970, two days after my Bar Mitzvah. One letter-writer wrote to the NY Times that he "loved his daughter" but if she was killed in college riots he would "feed dinner" to the Guardsman.
That guy went a little too public. However, after a brief spasm of violence, the campuses and cities quieted down. After a while, ordinary people "had enough."

we landed on the moon and half a million people showed up for a concert way out of the way in NY.

 

[mrjurrs]

I recall there being an explosion in one of the buildings that injured people.

There was an abundance of strife during that period of time. It was ugly but it passed. Now the reich-wing SCOTUS nazis are the source of much strife.

It was a long time ago, and I believe your memory is inaccurate.

Kent State Shooting ‑ Causes, Facts & Aftermath | HISTORY

The Kent State shooting took place in 1970 when Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on Vietnam War protesters at Kent State University, killing four.

www.history.com

 

[PeacefulWarrior]

At the time, I thought Jimi Hendrix’s version of the National Anthem was an abomination and I was on the side of the National Guard. Time has mellowed my opinion…

My god man. What were you thinking? Jimi Hendrix?

Glad to see you've come to your senses.

 

[Emily L]

1. The Tallahatchee Bridge atrocity;

JBG, I wasn't around then, but from what I've been able to tell, that didn't really happen--it was just a popular song by Bobbie Gentry. (And nobody really knows what went over the bridge. )

 

[Rexedgar]

JBG, I wasn't around then, but from what I've been able to tell, that didn't really happen--it was just a popular song by Bobbie Gentry. (And nobody really knows what went over the bridge. )

I got the impression that “it” was something that Billie Joe McAllister and she were responsible for…….

 

[Emily L]

I got the impression that “it” was something that Billie Joe McAllister and she were responsible for…….

It's really interesting, Rex. If you Google it, you'll find all kinds of theories about what it was.

 

[Jkca1]

I remember their murders.

 

[Grand Mal]

It's really interesting, Rex. If you Google it, you'll find all kinds of theories about what it was.

Kinda like, what was in the briefcase in 'Pulp Fiction'?

 

[Emily L]

Kinda like, what was in the briefcase in 'Pulp Fiction'?

Wasn't it Alfred Hitchcock who called things like that "the McGuffin"?

There's an old Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movie where they finally get their hands on "the papers" they had been pursuing all through the film. When Crosby opens them, Hope asks, 'What do they say?" Crosby tears them up as he looks into the camera and says, "We'll never know."

 

[Lisa]

This song will still get a reaction in NE Ohio 40 years later.

 

[JBG]

This song will still get a reaction in NE Ohio 40 years later.

Do you mean 53?

 

[EMNofSeattle]

Wow. I remember that night. The reality of American 'soldiers' killing students on a college campus for exercising 1st Amendment rights came right through the TV screen. No matter how the media tried to spin it.

You neglected to include the government lying to the people about Vietnam, the fixed draft system that promoted white supremacy, and the obvious and dramatic amount of killing innocent civilians in a war of choice.

You don’t have a first amendment right to destroy public property and assault soldiers

It’s really amazing how these brave “revolutionaries” became sobbing messes once Force was actually used against them.

Obviously more non lethal force options should’ve been available, but the students alone are morally responsible for what occurred to them.

 

[Tigerace117]

You don’t have a first amendment right to destroy public property and assault soldiers

It’s really amazing how these brave “revolutionaries” became sobbing messes once Force was actually used against them.

Obviously more non lethal force options should’ve been available, but the students alone are morally responsible for what occurred to them.

Nope, that would be the National Guardsmen who killed Americans for exercising their First Amendment rights.

It’s really amazing how comically inept those ”Christian Warrior” dictators you admire so much were at doing anything but slaughtering their own people en masse.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

Nope, that would be the National Guardsmen who killed Americans for exercising their First Amendment rights.

It’s really amazing how comically inept those ”Christian Warrior” dictators you admire so much were at doing anything but slaughtering their own people en masse.

Is someone jealous they couldn’t join the team?

 

[Tigerace117]

Is someone jealous they couldn’t join the team?

Nobody’s “jealous” they didn’t get to serve corrupt thugs like Pinochet bud

 

[EMNofSeattle]

Nobody’s “jealous” they didn’t get to serve corrupt thugs like Pinochet bud

Pinochet was leading the Ohio National Guard?

 

[PeacefulWarrior]

You don’t have a first amendment right to destroy public property and assault soldiers

It’s really amazing how these brave “revolutionaries” became sobbing messes once Force was actually used against them.

Obviously more non lethal force options should’ve been available, but the students alone are morally responsible for what occurred to them.

One of the more despicable posts I've seen here. Congrats. You're doing well.

 

[PeacefulWarrior]

Kent State alum here, remembering the day.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

One of the more despicable posts I've seen here. Congrats. You're doing well.

View attachment 67448328

What was despicable was the state of disorder on the campus which is why the national guard had to restore order. The vast majority of Americans supported the guard and not the little monsters burning buildings.