Surely you recognize this photo by now.
It is the hill near Taylor Hall where National Guardsmen, many not much older than the students down below, opened fire, killing four and wounding nine.
Here’s what I wrote two years ago on Remembering Kent State killings:
On Monday, May 4, 1970, at twenty minutes past noon, 28 National Guardsmen fired 61 shots into a crowd of college students on the hill above, leaving four dead and nine wounded. It lasted just 13 seconds.
This was something that didn’t happen in white, middle-class America and the incident made the front page of the New York Times (and papers across the world, of course) and became a turning point in the Vietnam War, a moment in time when politicians would later look back and say, “That was the day I knew we had to do something different.”
. . .
We’d become a nation divided over more than our conduct in Vietnam. We were terribly divided over what was “appropriate” in protesting the war, and what was the “proper” response to those protests. A chasm had grown within the United States: father against son; neighbor against neighbor.
It’s a chasm I feel again today. But I’ll leave that for a future post.
Well, today I have that post.
I remember the deep divide back then.
I remember the rumblings of “they should have shot them all.”
I remember the hatred; the venom was tangible.
I remember the demonization that went on. Each side having specific vile names for the other. Pig was a big one. Dirty, commie, hippie, made the rounds. Murderer, Nazi, were emblazoned on placards.
I remember large groups gathering in Washington DC to protest the war.
And I remember automobiles driving along with headlights on — a sign of support for what Nixon and his administration was doing in Vietnam.
America was divided in two back then, both sides believing in the justness of their position, both sides believing they were RIGHT and neither side talking to the other about it.
Families torn apart. Each side scared of the other. Each group pointing a finger, thinking if only they would change.
Sound familiar? Whatever shall we do?
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Marian Beaman
I definitely remember your posting about Kent State. Even Ian Mathie commented 🙁
Last evening I saw the PBS documentary on George W. Bush and the Iraq war. So many times momentous decisions are made by Presidents whose judgment is shaded by failure to consider all sides, incomplete information, or ego.
Except for the decision to stop Hitler in World War II, I’ll adhere to my Mennonite beliefs about war, highlighted in my memoir.
Another well-researched post, Janet!
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Janet Givens
Your example of Hitler is a good one, Marian. I remember using it with a Political Theory professor of mine at a social gathering; we were talking about conscientious objection as a value, how war is never the best option. So, I used Hitler. Dr. Taylor then proceeded to explain how the way in which we ended WWI put into play the pieces that led to the rise of Hitler. So, he concluded, once again, WWII wouldn’t have been needed if we’d not had WWI. And on we went.
Ian’s comments on my 2018 post must have been one of his last ones, for he died that month. I still miss his contributions, feisty as they sometimes were. I think he prided himself on that.
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Clive Pilcher
Plus ça change, sadly. We don’t appear to learn from the lessons of history, do we?
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Janet Givens
No we don’t. And more and more I’m seeing that old adage about the hunter and the lion. Something like, “The hunter will continue to be the hero until the lion gets to write the story.” Who will write this history, Clive? I can only imagine. Wish I could be around in 50 or 150 years to see what they make of this time.
Janet Givens recently posted…Another 50 Year Look Back
Arlene Smith
Differences of opinion have always existed, and always will exist. It would be nice if we learned not to kill each other over them.
Sometimes it scares me how thin a layer there is covering hate. A rift in that layer and all kinds of ugliness pours out.
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Janet Givens
I love to meet people with a different opinion than mine, Arlene, a different way of seeing things. It was one of the highlights of my time living in Kazakhstan. It’s when we don’t talk to each other about our differences, it’s when we aren’t curious about the other, it’s when we demonize them for holding “such a belief!” That’s the problem as I define it today. And, as you noted, it’s when we kill each other because of it. You raise an interesting concept, that “thin layer covering hate.” I’ve not thought of that before. I must give it some attention. Thank you.
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susan scott
Divide and Rule … it’s the name of the game. A deadly one at that. Freud called this the repetition compulsion and to paraphrase, we keep repeating the same old same old forever until somehow the pattern that we’re familiar with, is broken. He also said that we simply don’t learn from history. We hang on to our own prejudices for dear life it seems. How on earth can we claim to be civilised is a question I often ask myself ..
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Janet Givens
“… until somehow the pattern is broken,”. Too bad Freud got hung up on hysterical women rather than following this thread. Thanks Susan. That was new to me.
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Laurie Buchanan
Janet — Thank you for another well-researched post. I always learn something new when I visit your blog. I echo Arlene’s comment: “Differences of opinion have always existed, and always will exist. It would be nice if we learned not to kill each other over them. Sometimes it scares me how thin a layer there is covering hate. A rift in that layer and all kinds of ugliness pours out.”
Janet Givens
Thanks Laurie, though I can’t say any research fed into this one. It sprang from a two year old blog, a few memories and a really pissy mood late last night. But thanks for the nice words.
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Bette Stevens
When will we ever learn…
Janet Givens
And where (oh where) have all those flowers gone? Hi Bette. Thank you. Lovely song. Where are the songs for today’s era? We seem always to return to the ‘60s for the good ones.
Janet Givens recently posted…Another 50 Year Look Back
Ally Bean
Kent State. What a moment in time. It was the end of hippie idealism writ large. You know on Monday, the 50th anniversary of the killings, I bet if you’d have asked most people what day it was they would have said: Star Wars Day. We live in different times, I fear times in which we’ve learned nothing from the past, but are mesmerized by film and tv fantasies.
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Janet Givens
Hi Aly.
Thanks for stopping by. I didn’t know it was Star Wars Day! Whose idea was that? Certain days are burned into our national memory whether we were alive then or not: Dec 7, 9/11, and May 4. I think of the phrase “never forget” There are so many lessons to be learned, and I fear we are running out of time.
Do you follow Heather Cox Richardson? I think you’d “enjoy” her. Here’s her latest. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-6-2020?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&utm_source=facebook
Janet Givens recently posted…Another 50 Year Look Back
Ally Bean
All I know about Star Wars Day is that it is a play on the words changing “May the Force be with you” to “May the Fourth be with you.” I’m not into Star Wars, but there you have it. I’ll check out HCR. Thanks.
Janet Givens
Lithpers of the world, unite! Comes to mind. Thanks. Warning: HCR was particularly depressing this morning.
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