Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
Yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of the day when time stood still for me. As a freshmen in college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, I was stunned to learn of the killing of 4 young people by the Ohio National Guard during protests on the campus of Kent State University. The protestors were using their First Amendment rights to voice their opinion on the United States participation in the Vietnam War and the military’s recent incursion into Cambodia upon orders from then President Richard Nixon. Those events not only scarred me, but they also opened my eyes to the power of the government and more importantly, the power of the people.
When I read fellow Guest Blogger Mike Spindell’s wonderful article titled, “You Say You Want a Revolution”, I started thinking about Kent State and what the country went through and what, if anything the country learned from those tumultuous times. Sadly, the killings at Kent State were shortly followed up by city and State police killing two students and injuring 12 others at Jackson State University, in Jackson, Mississippi on May 15th. Jackson State
The Kent State killings and the Jackson State killings were perpetrated by National Guardsmen and city and State police and the victims were protestors and bystanders alike. The First Amendment was in full bloom in the 1960’s and 1970’s, but the authorities were not happy with the students standing up to the government. When we consider if this country is really ready for or in for another revolution, I submit that we have already experienced a revolution in my lifetime. It was the protests during the Civil Rights movement and the Women’s Rights movement and culminating with the unrest surrounding the Vietnam War.
One author thinks that there is a distinct connection between the 1960’s and today. “The question of why the 1960s matter to me is one thing, but what’s important is, should the events of 50 years ago matter to the rest of us? Is what happened on May 4, 1970 – and in the tumultuous years leading up to it — still relevant on May 4, 2013? OK, I’ve clearly revealed my bias, but I think the answer is undeniably yes — because there is a straight line between the skirmishes people fought then and the all-too-real war for the future of America that is taking place today.
Here’s another question to put that era in perspective: Was what happened on the homefront just a brief time of heightened social upheaval, or was there really a full-blown revolution in this country? Well, before you jump in with what seems like the obvious answer — consider the hallmarks of the other revolutions that you’ve seen. You’d see peaceful protests escalate to street violence, with a mounting death toll and with the military eventually called up. You’d see revolutionary cadres form, and intensifying government efforts to stop them but also legitimate protest. with wiretaps and informants, leading up to targeted killings. There’d be deadly suppression of protests, and daring acts of defiance. Yet in some revolutions, the government is ultimately toppled, its leaders put on trial, its secrets aired in a national reconciliation effort. But the underlying tensions remain.” Philly.com
Think about the last sentence in the above quote. The “underlying tensions remain”. There are tensions in this country between the right and the left and pro-lifers and pro-choice advocates. There are tensions between gun control advocates and the NRA and those who do not want any limitations or controls put on gun ownership. Once again there are wars and various incursions and drone attacks that are dividing the country. There are divisions between those that want austerity to rule the economic day and those that believe that the government must be involved in spending our way out of the recession/depression that we are ever so slowly coming out of.
The above quoted author goes on to claim that although the Kent State killings were a kind of end to a movement and at the same time they are related to the strife we are going through even today. “For a few days after Kent State, the volley of National Guard bullets that inexplicably killed four young people (none of whom were breaking the law, including two bystanders who weren’t involved in the anti-war demonstrations) felt like the start of an even bigger revolution, but in the reality is was the end; campuses closed for the summer and when the students came back in the fall, the active protests were all over but the shouting. Killing people has a way of doing that. We don’t like to admit it, but too often, violent repression works.” Philly.com
I have to admit that I agree that the killings at Kent State and Jackson State did slow or impede the protests. On May 11th and May 12th, 1970, I spent the early morning hours of my 19th birthday in the Jackson County, Illinois jail as I was arrested for “unlawful assembly” because I was in a group of people who numbered greater than 2! You read that correctly. The city ordinance stated that when there was a protest the police could arrest anyone found in groups larger than two people. I was later acquitted of these obviously unconstitutional charges, but they had succeeded in ending the protest and getting students off the streets.
Our campus was closed a day or two later, like many campuses across the country and when we returned in the Fall, our desire to take to the streets and exercise our First Amendment rights were dampened. They were dampened in my case because I could not afford to get arrested again because I was placed on probation by the University, even though I was acquitted of any charges. The protests did aid in getting us out of the Vietnam War, but I do not think they succeeded in stopping government from overstepping its bounds.
The protests of the 60’s and 70’s may have spurred the government into looking for additional ways to spy on its citizens with and without a warrant. Did we learn anything from these protests and from their aftermath? We are still fighting against government aggression overseas. We are still fighting to reduce the numbers of poor and uneducated and we are still battling to end discrimination. We are still in a fight over the extreme financial inequality in our country.
While the arrests and abuses of the Occupy movement protestors were abhorrent, they did not reach the extreme of that warm day in May of 1970, but the police may have learned from Kent State that arresting people and worrying about the legality of those arrests later can be successful. Does that mean that Kent State cannot happen again? Can this country heal its many fractures and divisions and prevent another Kent State or Jackson State episode? If the Occupy police violence and spying episodes are any indication, we have not learned the lessons that Kent State taught us.
While I do not expect or want another revolution, I fear that more will have to suffer in the fight to protect our right to redress our grievances with an ever-expanding secret government. What do you think? What can we do as citizens to make sure that the government actually operates to serve all of us?
Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandy Scheurer and William Knox Schroeder lost their lives 43 years ago at the hands of the Ohio National Guard. I do hope their violent deaths have taught us something! Peace.
The Ho Chi Minh Trail, sung by Toby Hughes. Toby says that if the Almighty wanted to give the earth an enema, he knows exactly where to insert it. Near the beginning of the song, you hear Col. Hughes sing of “Nimrod.” There is a lot more to this story. Last week a group of us friends and family met and drank a toast to our friend Capt. Paul Marchalk, DFC, of the Nimrods, who recently has “flown west.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPNT_ul2iFE
Paul is the tall guy on the right. The shorter fellow is “Crazy” Poteet, his co-pilot.
Time for a tune from Dave Van Ronk: Luang Prabang
Warning: NSFW.
Elaine, We men always need wise women in our lives. It is amazing to think how our lives could have turned out SO DIFFERENTLY @ different junctures. Life is so serendipitous.
rafflaw and nick,
At the time my husband was drafted, the army was taking anything that was breathing–even young men who were legally blind. My husband recalled a young man who had a pin in his knee who wound up in the hospital after a forced march. My husband was 1Y and still got drafted. Fortunately, the doctor at Fort Devins asked my husband about the long scar on the trunk of his body. After my husband told him the reason for the scar, the doctor responded: “What the hell are you doing here?” The army tried to talk my husband into staying–but his mother and I convinced him to come home.
Elaine, at that time they were taking admitted homosexuals. In fact, one guy they took found out he liked the Army and made a career of it until a couple of years shy of his 20. THEN they “discovered” he was gay after having told them for 18 yrs and discharged him.
raf, I had a high 300 number. However, when I enlisted in the Peace Corps/Vista I had to take my physical in New Haven w/ all those getting drafted. I felt so bad for those guys. A bunch of young men so sullen. I was so thankful. My son had the same experience as you w/ an aggressive recruiter. He graduated from hs in 2002. He kept getting calls and I finally told the guy to stop calling. He tried to intimidate me but quickly learned he picked the wrong mofo. My son had a good friend who enlisted in the Marines and he toyed w/ the idea. In a rare instance, my son listened to me about not wanting to go to war. Another reason to be thankful.
nick,
I don’t know if there are copies of the first lottery drawings. I watched it on TV, and my number was 210 so I was not drafted. However, the army recruiters kept calling my mother because my deferment for school was “lost” at the Selective Service office and I had to take my preliminary draft physical. The recruiters were trying to get in touch with me and I received one call and the recruiter lied to me and said my number was low and was about to be drafter. The conversation didn’t go too well. I kept the Tribune story that listed all of the numbers and birthdays so I knew I had the right number. That preliminary physical is a story in itself!
Darren,
Three people were accused. Two were found not guilty on self-defense grounds. The FBI doubled down in going after Peltier – perjury and false evidence. Once the perjury and false evidence are removed, the charges were not proved. The prosecution has admitted it doesn’t know who shot the agents. I don’t understand the logic of keeping a man in prison by changing the charges after the fact.
raf, I wonder if they have those lottery drawings in the can? Think of how different it would be w/ today’s technology. There would be remote cameras in dorms across the country w/ reactions from the “winners” and “losers.” And, would women be in the lottery..probably not.
Blouise, You are so right about the “Guard”. My brother in law was able to get this while the person I married drew a very low number. He was also a protester. It had a good ending though because during the physical they diagnosed him with a medical condition that turned out to be nothing. They said they would do a callback but never did.
nick,
I do remember the draft lottery and I was in the first one. I was sober while watching it, but not everyone in the room was. One guy whose birthday was chosen #1, left school the very next day.
“I cared and you didn’t seem to care enough.” Sanctimony in a sentence.
Arthur Erb has a very good perspective and comment above.
The politician in today’s world who has chimned in on Syria named McCain is the one who I wonder about. His daddy was an admiral. He was a prisoner of war for a number of years. He wants to go in and arm the right guys in Syria. He really does not know who the right guys are. I suspect he wants to send in our troops. I think he is a bit warped and I dont know if he gets it from daddy or is brain addled from being locked up in Nam all those years. Thank Dog he was not elected President.
ARE,
I agree hat the majority of the protestors I knew were not trust fund babies.
ARE,
You’ve got it right and you slso served. Those of us who faced the draft, prior to the institution of the draft lottery were faced with serving and it opened our eyes.
In fact, the anti-war movement was buttressed by the returning Vietnam veterans who were sick at what they had been doing. Many were like myself who volunteered because I bought into the crap and lies that were told about the war. I left college after one sememster because I felt that since all my male relatives had served in the military in WWII, I should do the same when my turn came. So I joined the Air Force and was pro-war too.
It was only later when I did some research into the war and history of Vietnam that I learned that I was a SUCKER. One of the most compelling speakers against the war I heard was Capt. Ed Miles who was a Green Beret in Vietnam. He had both his legs blown off when he was in a Ruffpuff outfit in an attack on the hamlet. During his rehabilitation, he got a lot of time to read about Vietnam and its history which totally changed his view of what he had been doing. I also knew many Vietnam vets in VVAW and it grieved me that I could not join because I had not been there.
In my experience on campus and off campus, I found that most of the activist were not upper class kids, but the ones who were facing the draft. The kids like Bush and Cheney had NO worries at all since they had the money,and connections to aviod going to that war.
You forgot to mention New Mexico…they bayoneted students & journalists there…(11)
But then when our government protests human rights in other countries they conveniently forget it too, so I won’t hold it against ya…LoL
Good point barkinDog.
Guys and Gals: A lot of the Vietnam War protesters were Vietnam War Veterans. The notion that all the protesters were a bunch of hippie pot smokers is horseapcray/
color me shocked that the, this government would do anything to obtain what they wanted…..just color me shocked….
Betty:
There are two tenets of law that would apply in this.
First, there is the notion of what is referred to as a “felony murder”. That is, if a person is in the act of committing a felony and as a result of that felony a person, other than one of the actors, dies, it is considered a murder perpetrated by the actors. Peltier was, even by his own admission, engaged in shooting at the agents, which would be a felony assault. As a direct result of that two of the agents died, and hece the felony murder rule would apply.
Second, there is the notion of Accessory After the Fact. Here Peltier had been caught transporting the stolen firearms and had rendered criminal assistence with the other actors in it. Though this would be prosecuted with less severity to a direct murder, it could carry a substantial prison sentences.
I agree with you that in even in prosecuting those involved does not bring back agents Williams and Coler, but forgetting about them doesn’t do the two agents justice either.
Darren,
There’s a lot more to the story but here’s the meat, especially the last sentence.
The FBI fabricated evidence, they withheld evidence. they used a mentally challenged native woman to lie in order to extradite him from Canada.
At the conclusion of Peltier’s trial, the prosecutor closed his argument saying, “We proved that he went down to the bodies and executed those two young men at point blank range.” However, at the appellate hearing, the government attorney conceded, “We had a murder. We had numerous shooters. We do not know who specifically fired what killing shots…We do not know who shot the agents.”.[10]
According to Peltier, when he appealed his first degree murder conviction in 1992, the charge was illegally changed to aiding and abetting.[18]
The Pennsylvania Parole Commission, which presides over the Lewisburg prison where Peltier was held, denied Peltier parole in 1993 based on their finding that he “participated in the premeditated and cold blooded execution of those two officers.” But, the Parole Commission has since stated that it
“recognizes that the prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence that [Peltier] personally participated in the executions of the two FBI agents.”[19]
It’s too bad that the FBI agents were killed, but demonizing and imprisoning the wrong person doesn’t bring them back and sure doesn’t look like justice.