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Fifty Years ago today- Kent State

One of the most impactful events in our history. I remember my HS the next day. Teachers, for the most part, didn't teach. We talked about Kent State. I don't think anyone knows to this day why the OH National Guard fired live ammunition into a crowd of unarmed students. I have that photo of Mary Ann Vecchio burned into my memory.

The other thought I have is my god, fifty years.
 


I think this is a better song about Ohio, personally.
 
Remember this so well. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Next day 200 of us "took over" Administrative Offices when the University I attended refused to consider a 3 Day Moratorium for the victims. We all got cuffed, arrested and dragged out by our hair etc. and feared we were risking our future schooling, relationships, etc. We cared not. But no doubt we were scared shitless.

A true seminal moment for me and for so many kids of that Generation. For the victims and their families, may they rest in peace.
 
DeacsPop, do you see a lineage between your actions then and young activists now, e.g. Black Lives Matter? If so, how? If not, what is the difference?
 
JuiceCrewAllStar said:
DeacsPop, do you see a lineage between your actions then and young activists now, e.g. Black Lives Matter? If so, how? If not, what is the difference?
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Absolutely. Peaceful protest is at the root of the Country's being. Whatever the cause.

If anything I wonder out loud what the younger generation really stands for. Personally, I wouldn't change a thing being a child of the 60's.
 
Even Wake had student demonstrations then. The administration finally made finals optional that semester. (You could settle for your existing grade, or take finals. Your choice.) The demonstrations were kind of a joke though. When they started debating on whether or not the coeds should sign out for the occupation of the administration building (some demonstrators!), I went back to read a fascinating book, i.e. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man.
 
DeacsPop said:
Absolutely. Peaceful protest is at the root of the Country's being. Whatever the cause.

If anything I wonder out loud what the younger generation really stands for. Personally, I wouldn't change a thing being a child of the 60's.
Click to expand...

Do you ever listen to them or ask them? As somebody that spends a lot of time with young people today, I think that they're a lot more similar to the way that you say that you were in the 1960s then I think you realize.
 
DeacsPop said:
Absolutely. Peaceful protest is at the root of the Country's being. Whatever the cause.

If anything I wonder out loud what the younger generation really stands for. Personally, I wouldn't change a thing being a child of the 60's.
Click to expand...

I don’t know that the generations after ours have had a single unifying factor like the war in Vietnam. In the sixties, everyone knew someone who was currently or had been in Vietnam. Many of us knew people who had been killed there. I grew up in a town of 15,000 people. We lost six kids in Vietnam.

As high school students, we staged various minor “protests”, painted signs on streets, etc. But every one of us would have agreed that we were fighting an immoral war. I cannot remember causing any damage, though the kids at Kent State did.
 
Strickland33 said:
Do you ever listen to them or ask them? As somebody that spends a lot of time with young people today, I think that they're a lot more similar to the way that you say that you were in the 1960s then I think you realize.
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That’s fair and maybe true. I have; not a deep dive but I do have 3 Millenial children. And In them and their friends and others I have coached over the years i just don’t see the passion in their eyes with what’s going today as we did.
To RJ’s point, the Vietnam War was a real catalyst that no doubt helped unite (good and bad) a Generation.
That and our hatred for Richard Nixon so maybe there are similarities (lol) But why hasn’t climate change amongst many other social injustices unite them? You would of thought we raised them better; all good kids but maybe we failed them.
 
DeacsPop said:
That’s fair and maybe true. I have; not a deep dive but I do have 3 Millenial children. And In them and their friends and others I have coached over the years i just don’t see the passion in their eyes with what’s going today as we did.
To RJ’s point, the Vietnam War was a real catalyst that no doubt helped unite (good and bad) a Generation.
That and our hatred for Richard Nixon so maybe there are similarities (lol) But why hasn’t climate change amongst many other social injustices unite them? You would of thought we raised them better; all good kids but maybe we failed them.
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Or maybe they are content to take selfies, get likes and live on social media. The real world is dull in comparison.
 
Shorty said:
I don’t know that the generations after ours have had a single unifying factor like the war in Vietnam. In the sixties, everyone knew someone who was currently or had been in Vietnam. Many of us knew people who had been killed there. I grew up in a town of 15,000 people. We lost six kids in Vietnam.

As high school students, we staged various minor “protests”, painted signs on streets, etc. But every one of us would have agreed that we were fighting an immoral war. I cannot remember causing any damage, though the kids at Kent State did.
Click to expand...

The Viet Nam debacle was fought with a drafted army. Yes, some people successfully evaded the draft. However, for every young man in those years the draft had a significant impact on your near term plans. Those who evaded being drafted had to figure out how to do that. Those who were drafted had to face the time in the military and possibly Nam.

Personally, I knew two names on the wall. The parents of one never recovered from his death, as he was an only child, and had no children of his own.

As Shorty noted, almost everybody knew somebody who went or was in the military. The draft spread the pain over many communities. That made the Viet Nam war personal to much of the country. Also, national news came in only three very similar flavors on TV in those days. The Viet Nam war was the lead story on all three almost every night. It is much easier to protest something that is personal and real and that obvious. Also, there were some pretty obvious "solutions" to the issue. Young people were protesting, even college students, because for the guys, graduation meant facing the draft. And the level of risk was randomly decided by the draft lottery. Your draft lottery number was extremely important in your choice of options after graduation.

The all volunteer army has done away with that. Most of the military is from socio-economic circumstances such that the military represents a step up and potentially out.
 
RE:Draft

CCR's Fortunate Son was very accurate. If you knew someone, you could get out of being drafted. Although the theory was that everyone participated, that wasn't reality.
 
I was in the first big draft lottery, and my draft number was right in the middle. As a result, I had no idea if I would get drafted and sent to Vietnam on graduation or not. In fact, I missed getting called up by a couple of numbers. In the subsequent lotteries, the number of draftees taken was far lower.
 
Deaconblue said:
The Viet Nam debacle was fought with a drafted army. Yes, some people successfully evaded the draft. However, for every young man in those years the draft had a significant impact on your near term plans. Those who evaded being drafted had to figure out how to do that. Those who were drafted had to face the time in the military and possibly Nam.

Personally, I knew two names on the wall. The parents of one never recovered from his death, as he was an only child, and had no children of his own.

As Shorty noted, almost everybody knew somebody who went or was in the military. The draft spread the pain over many communities. That made the Viet Nam war personal to much of the country. Also, national news came in only three very similar flavors on TV in those days. The Viet Nam war was the lead story on all three almost every night. It is much easier to protest something that is personal and real and that obvious. Also, there were some pretty obvious "solutions" to the issue. Young people were protesting, even college students, because for the guys, graduation meant facing the draft. And the level of risk was randomly decided by the draft lottery. Your draft lottery number was extremely important in your choice of options after graduation.

The all volunteer army has done away with that. Most of the military is from socio-economic circumstances such that the military represents a step up and potentially out.
Click to expand...

When you registered for the draft, as was required, you were first sent a draft card classifying you as 1H, or holding. Then they drew the lottery for guys born in your birth year. My number was 087. I got a new draft card in the mail re-classifying me 1A, available, within a week. I can still remember picking up that notice from Uncle Sam in my mailbox at the Poteat House post office.

I called the draft board to ask why I was not 2S, college deferment. I was told that the 2S classification had been eliminated. But it was still listed as a classification on the back of the draft card. Freshmen guys on campus were either dancing for joy, nervous, or scared shitless, like me.

Although, I will add that by the time I was 18, the guys with the low draft numbers were more nervous about what was going on in the Middle East then in Vietnam.
 
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