May 01, 2007
Kent State Shootings
May 4, 1970 - Days of protest and riots culminated in the shooting death of four students at by Ohio National Guard troops. An iconic image from that day and its events have made "Kent State" synonymous with violent reaction to protest. A recently discovered audiotape purports to document the order to fire on the students.
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Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'! Fascinating about the tape - would it make a big difference in the long run to those directly involved?
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I suppose it might give a sense of closure to those involved. Indeed, quite fascinating about the audio recording. Amazing what a little time can bring out... I was waiting for you to post this, pete!
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via the Ubiquipedia: Eight of the guardsmen were indicted by a grand jury. The guardsmen claimed to have fired in self-defense, which was generally accepted by the criminal justice system. In 1974 District Judge Frank Battisti dismissed charges against all eight on the basis that the prosecution's case was too weak to warrant a trial. And from the CNN link: "We're not seeking revenge; we're not seeking punishment for the guardsmen at this late date," Canfora said Monday. "All we want is the truth because we seek healing at Kent State for the student victims, as well as the triggermen who were ordered to fire. And healing can only result from the truth, and that's all we want." So a difference in the accepted story might be the end result. I imagine it's something like Donald Rumsfeld saying the "evidence" to invade Iraq was mostly made-up and the push to war contrived - in 2027. Nice to know, I guess.
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As a derail, isn't "I shed tears." the least emotional way of expressing an emotion? Just seems a bit mechanical to me, which sort of makes the impact seem that much greater.
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Fucking bummer that still gets my blood up. I had never thought other than there was an order to fire. The good old days when resisting was taken more seriously than now.