Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Murder


It's kind of a long time ago now. Almost exactly thirty-seven years, yet I, and probably millions of my contemporaries, remember it clearly. It's the Vietnam War, millions of young people, mostly students, are demonstrating against the war all over the country, and on one campus, a small state school in Ohio, four students are gunned down by the Ohio National Guard. Killed. Nine others are wounded.

If you were alive at the time it's hard to ever forget this photo.

I, and most of the people I associated with politically, considered this murder, not the panicked reaction of some inexperienced weekend warriors, but that was the story that was given out. That or that it was justifiable self-defense.

We didn't have YouTube then, and public events were not as well documented as they are now, but it turns out there is audio tape of the shootings at the archives at Yale, and you know what it says? "Right here! Get Set! Point! Fire!"

I guess we're not as bad off now, because our government isn't gunning antiwar protesters down on the street. Still, people need to remember this.

5 Comments:

Blogger Morgan W. Brown said...

I was 14 or so years old and I remember well watching this being reported on the television news and being deeply shocked as well as outraged by it, then even more after when my father not only defended the shooting and killing of the students, but he also said they deserved it.

I will never forget it, in fact one thing or another often calls it to mind.

May 02, 2007 10:23 AM  
Blogger Morgan W. Brown said...

P.S.

The original source for the article (i.e., Beacon Journal) also has links for the audio of the shooting tapes, here.

By the way, if memory serves me correctly and although I cannot recall the details, I also seem to remember the the government later tried to discredit the young women seen in the photo included within your post. Do you remember something along the lines of that too Jack.

May 02, 2007 10:36 AM  
Blogger John said...

We haven't come that far. I just saw this on CNN today. No one was killed, but notice where it says that lethal rounds may have been fired?

May 03, 2007 12:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This was self-defense, so don't call it murder. They got what they deserved. They brought it upon themselves. If they would have remained peaceful none of this would never have happened.

June 02, 2007 2:52 PM  
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