Submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor
I was going to write this last weekend on the actual 44th anniversary of a very sad event. For some reason, I had a hard time focusing on what I wanted to say, in light of the many emotions that were going through my head. I don’t want the anniversary to go by without writing about the personal significance that day in May had on my life, and I believe on the lives of many in my generation. The Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by John Filo, included above from Wikipedia, is one that I have never forgotten. Nor should anyone forget it.
I can’t believe that 44 years have elapsed since that fateful day in May, 1970. On May 4th, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired upon unarmed student protesters, killing four of them and wounding and maiming several others. I will never forget that day because I was a Freshmen at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and when the news of the student killings broke, I thought a bomb had gone off in my head. I wasn’t overly political at that point in time, but that somber event changed all of my prior thinking.
I was just short of my 19th birthday and I remember that day as my personal coming of age experience. I was no longer just a young college student. I was now a member of a class that was shot down by soldiers on a campus not too far away from mine, and in many respects, very similar to mine. The fact that agents of the government could fire upon peaceful protesters was so extraordinary that it felt like a kick in the groin to myself and many other students on my campus and on campuses throughout the country. Along with the killing of two students at Jackson State University(f/k/a Jackson State College) around May 14th, it looked and felt like it was open season on college students.
Indeed, I was “watching” a protest that turned ugly on May 11th, 1970 when elements of the Illinois State Police and the Illinois National Guard attacked the crowd of students that I and friend were in the middle of and chased down and beat some of us and arrested a large group of innocent students. I can still smell the pepper spray from that warm evening. I was one of the unlucky ones who were arrested that night. That event which started as a protest against the killings at Kent State turned into a night in Jackson County Jail in Murphysboro, Illinois.
After getting arrested and fingerprinted and receiving my first full body cavity inspection, I was literally thrown into a cell designed to hold 4 prisoners, which was already holding 8-10 of my fellow students when I was thrust upon them. After spending most of the early morning of my 19th birthday in the lockup, my head was spinning from the tear gas and pepper gas used by the authorities the night before and from the lack of sleep in that overcrowded cell. I realize that my little experience pales in comparison to what the students at Kent State and Jackson State had to endure, but the whole event opened my eyes to something that I have never forgotten.
My country and my state would not allow me and my college classmates and friends to express ourselves as the U.S. Constitution provided in the First Amendment. I felt like I was a second class citizen in my own country and state. Shortly after my arrest, Southern Illinois University was closed down for the semester and many students grades were negatively impacted by the decision to close down early. Many other campuses across the country also closed down early in response to the demonstrations and protests that were being held on a daily basis. So once again, my grades were impacted negatively because of the closure and I was placed on social probation by the university, all because I was expressing my Constitutional rights. Did the Government or the Illinois State Police care about my rights? No, because I was just a student who got in their way.
After the summer ended and I was acquitted of the charge of “unlawful assembly” in a court of law, I was still left on social probation by my university even though I was found not guilty of any wrongdoing. Once again, I felt helpless in my own university because I was labeled a trouble maker even though I had done nothing wrong or illegal. It took many months and years for an investigation into the Kent State killings to take place and as you might have guessed, it was pretty much a whitewash job. The National Guard claimed that they were fired upon even though there was little or no evidence backing their claims.
Even President Nixon lambasted the students in interviews following the sad event. I saw this as another example of the college students being treated as if they had less rights than the National Guardsmen or any other citizen. (I highly recommend a book titled, “Kent State, What Happened and Why”, by James Michener, which discussed all of the evidence and facts surrounding the shootings and came down to the conclusion that the Guardsmen illegally and improperly fired upon the unarmed students.)
The events surrounding the Kent State killings still resonate in my head and I became more politically involved and aware because of Kent State and my arrest shortly after. My big brother was in Vietnam at the time and this weighed heavily upon me, but I had just been slapped in the face by my University, my State and my Country and I now had a duty to expose any and all wrongdoings of our government in prosecuting the war in Vietnam. After all, the students at Kent State and Jackson State were killed while protesting our country’s immoral actions in Southeast Asia.
I made a pledge to myself that I would not allow any government of this country take advantage of any so-called “lesser” citizens for any reason. I also promised myself to never trust my government again without verifying the facts. The phrase heard a lot during those “Days of Rage” was “My country, love it or leave it”. Well, it was my country too and I wasn’t about to leave it just because my rights were being violated. It became my duty to do whatever I could to right the wrongs and to help the disadvantaged overcome the odds. It was also critical in my decision to become a lawyer.
Have I been able to help “right the wrongs” by my country since 1970? I may have helped some, but probably not as many as I would have liked, but every day I attempt to even the odds against the little guy. It has been 44 years and I am physically not the same person, but it feels as if it was just yesterday. I often relive the events of May of 1970 and as I pledged to myself 44 years ago, “never again”. The Occupy Wall Street protests reminded me of the anti-Vietnam war movement in some ways. Those protesters were also mistreated and maligned by an ever-growing police presence. They too may have been changed forever by their experience standing up to governmental power.
Never again will I sit and let someone else stand up to a government gone astray. I can still hear the screams of the students in the video of the event and I can still see the picture of the young girl kneeling over a dead student and I can still hear the words of the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song of the day, “Four Dead in Ohio”. Peace to all of you and I hope that the parents and loved ones of the victims have been able to find some peace in the past 44 years. I hope the Mothers of those lost or maimed, if they are still with us, can also find some peace on this Mothers Day.
I will continue to remind everyone that I can, every year, that those students did not die in vain. They did not die in vain because they spurred on an anti-war movement and they altered my life forever and I believe the life of our country. Their fate is a stark reminder of what kind of power a government has and an example of what a government should not do. What do you think?
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Nick,
Not IMPOSSIBLE., but see my comment above.
Nick,
First of all, these 501c4 groups will always require more scrutiny than individuals because they are supposed to be for social welfare not politics and the IRS has to determine if they qualify for the tax free status and are indeed mostly social welfare, whether they are a left leaning organization or right leaning.
Secondly, I looked again for numbers and I could not find numbers stating that left leaning organizations were highlighted more than right leaning. All I could find was articles suggesting that the left were also scrutinized and one article that showed that some Left applications were denied, while none of the right ones were denied, merely delayed, according to this article in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/15/report-the-irs-also-targeted-at-least-three-liberal-groups/
I apologize for my error.
The allegation by raff was that liberal groups were a BIGGER target. Your gripe is w/ him. He gave you an IMPOSSIBLE assignment.
Paul,
Are you saying that the IRS didn’t target liberal groups as well as conservative groups? Was the information provided in those two sources that I posted incorrect? If so, can you provide proof that the IRS didn’t target liberal/progressive groups?
The need to dig down deep in The Nation, thinkprogress, etc. to prove that.
Paul,
Elaine responded before I could, but I am guessing that you already knew the answer.
Alan,
Thanks. I too had a relatively high draft number of 210, but I never got drafted. I did have to attend my pre-draft physical at the armory in Chicago because the draft board claimed they lost my deferment paperwork in the mail, even though I filled them out at the draft board office in Evanston. The physical was a very interesting experience. And I concur that the girl in the picture was not a student at Kent State.
Paul, The NYT piece offers no numbers. Karen sourced last week right groups being 1000% more likely than an average citizen. All the NYT says is left were also audited. And raff doubled down on 16 saying left were audited more than right!!
Dissent is speech. Often suppressed speech.
Elaine – you need to get up to date. Latest emails from Lerner show specific targeting of conservative groups. Some still do not have a 401c3 status. All progressive groups got theirs.
Documents Show Liberals in I.R.S. Dragnet
By JONATHAN WEISMAN
Published: June 24, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/us/politics/documents-show-liberals-in-irs-dragnet.html
Excerpt:
WASHINGTON — The instructions that Internal Revenue Service officials used to look for applicants seeking tax-exempt status with “Tea Party” and “Patriots” in their titles also included groups whose names included the words “Progressive” and “Occupy,” according to I.R.S. documents released Monday.
The documents appeared to back up contentions by I.R.S. officials and some Democrats that the agency did not intend to single out conservative groups for special scrutiny. Instead, the documents say, officials were trying to use “key word” shortcuts to find overtly political organizations — both liberal and conservative — that were after tax favors by saying they were social welfare organizations.
But the practice appeared to go much farther than that. One such “be on the lookout” list included medical marijuana groups, organizations that were promoting President Obama’s health care law, and applications that dealt “with disputed territories in the Middle East.”
Taken together, the documents seem to change the terms of a scandal that exploded over accusations that the I.R.S. had tried to stifle a nascent conservative political movement. Instead, the dispute now revolves around questionable sorting tactics used by I.R.S. application screeners.
The acting I.R.S. commissioner, Daniel I. Werfel, formally ordered an end to all such “lookout” lists on Monday when he issued an assessment of the controversy that has led to harsh criticism of the nation’s tax collector.
good article. i don’t know how or why this thread has evolved so far from the original post. some people have their own agendas.
i also remember the kent state shootings very well. i was in my senior year at a near-ivy liberal university in the northeast. besides the foolishness of the vietnam war, we had recently lived through the assassinations of robert kennedy and martin luther king.
within a day or two of the shootings, my school was one of many that made the rest of the semester voluntary. professors could continue to hold classes if they chose, and students could take a “pass/fail” option for any course.
the first draft lottery was held earlier that year. my number was 195, which was high enough to beat the draft if i lived in any state other than new york or california. i lived in new york. i had received a notice from my local draft board to report for a pre-draft physical, which i had managed to delay two or three times. i didn’t want to go to vietnam. i didn’t have any medical disability. i didn’t want to go underground or flee to canada.
i enlisted in the army reserve on may 12, 1970, exactly 44 years ago. i had found a unit which had already been called up and served a term in vietnam, and was unlikely to be called up again. the army reserve is not the national guard, and is not used for any internal domestic issue. i went through basic training and advanced training (as a laundryman). because i could type, my military occupation specialty was soon changed to clerk-typist, and i served the rest of my time honorably as company clerk (like “radar”).
paul schulte is correct: the young woman, pictured on one knee with her arms outstretched, was not actually a student at kent state. i learned this in the late ’70s, when i handled a personal injury case brought by one of her relatives.
IRS inspector general: Liberals also on target list
By Tom Cohen, CNN
Thu July 18, 2013
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/18/politics/irs-scandal/
Excerpt;
Washington (CNN) — The inspector general who reported Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups said Thursday that he didn’t have information until last week that the word “progressive” also was on a list of criteria for extra scrutiny of tax-exempt applications.
At a hearing of the House Oversight Committee, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said the information that liberal groups also were probably targeted only came to him July 9.
His audit, released in May, cited criteria including “tea party” and other conservative-themed words or labels that were used to decide whether applicants for tax-exempt status should come under further review. Since then, an investigation by the panel turned up documents that showed IRS workers also were told to look for the liberal-themed label.
“They were not provided during our audit, even though similar documents that list quote ‘tea party’ unquote but not ‘progressive’ were,” George said. “I am very disturbed that these documents were not provided to our auditors at the outset, and we are currently reviewing this issue.”
The IRS targeting revealed by George’s audit in May led to accusations by Republicans that the Obama administration could be using the tax agency’s powers against political enemies. Democrats have rejected such allegations and insisted that liberal groups also were targeted.
Last week, the top Democrat on the House committee questioned why George’s audit had not included information on liberal groups being targeted. Thursday’s hearing was the first time George issued a public response to the criticism by Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland.
“We just learned recently that name was being used by the Internal Revenue Service,” George said of the term “progressive.”
George’s audit indicated that lax oversight at the IRS allowed for the singling out of some conservative groups starting in 2010 and continuing until last year.
In particular, the report said IRS workers in the tax-exempt unit used “Be on the Lookout” or BOLO lists of words such as “tea party” to assess what applicants came under extra scrutiny that delayed decisions for months and even years. However, it also said no evidence existed that the targeting was politically motivated.
George subsequently testified at previous hearings that he could not specifically identify whether any liberal groups were similarly targeted. However, Cummings said information made public last week showed that George, who was appointed in 2004 by GOP President George W. Bush, was aware that liberal groups also were targeted.
On Thursday, George and other officials in the inspector general’s office said the audit focused on the BOLO list that included conservtive labels. George expressed frustration over how the issue has unfolded, at one point saying: “This is not a clean-cut matter. There’s a lot going on here.”
Earlier at Thursday’s hearing, two career IRS employees shot down the central premise of committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa’s argument that the agency’s targeting scandal was politically motivated.
rafflaw – would you like to back up your statement on leftist groups being targeted more than right?
I will concede that she had a bruise. I will not concede as to how she got it.
Actually Jeff, You may want to review the so-called IRS scandal. The left leaning organizations were targeted even more than the Right. The big difference from the Vietnam era is that there is no draft.
Paul,
I guess you haven’t seen the pictures of Cecily that do evidence abuse and the grab of the breast?
Jeff, Amen.
Very sad times indeed. I have often wondered if the “Vietnam” era was the lowest point in American history. What is frightening is the renewed sense of government betrayal that folks around the nation are worrying about. Obviously no one has been killed by our own military but people openly worry about it. Additionally, the who IRS targeting scandal has opened a few eyes about government oppression of free speech. Worrisome times again my friends. http://www.thepoliticalspectator.org
Paul, I saw the street smart and very funny Charles Ramsey on Jake Tapper’s show last week. He has a book he’s promoting. He told a funny story about Castro always giving him home cooked food to eat. Ramsey was always grateful and would chow it down. He assumed Castro was a good cook. Actually, the hostage girls did the cooking and Castro was using Ramsey as the canary in the coal mine. “Chuck” as he likes to be called, was irate as he related this story. He also talked about how McDonalds, who made a big deal about giving him Big Macs for life, reneged on the deal. Stupid!
“He would always smile and wave, but never said much.”
“He kept to himself.”
Elaine – interesting how perception is reality. McMillan’s cry means one thing to one side and a different thing to the other side. However, there was no evidence that Bovel mistreated her. I love that her thesis professor finds her non-violent. This is the kind of thing one hears from the neighbors of serial killers, “You know he was the nicest guy.”