For those of a certain age, spring commencement season during the late 60's and 1970 was a tumultuous time. Sometimes you hated to see spring come.
The summer of love was long over, replaced by the assassinations of Martin and Bobby, riots in Chicago, Detroit, Washington and Baltimore. The Democratic convention in Chicago. The annual student takeovers of UC-Berkeley.
In Paris, students and workers rebelled.
The Prague Spring protests resulted in a clamp down by the Soviet governments in eastern Europe.
Woodstock in 1969 provided a brief respite, but the anti-Vietnam war protests continued.
Student activism and anti war protests carried on into 1970, leading to the shootings at Kent State University, 40 years ago today. The day the protest movement died.
Feels like yesterday.
Toad
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13 comments:
What?! The revolution never ended, unfortunately, as the student radicals of the 1960s have been running things in the US and Europe for decades. They control the culture. But happily their destructive reign will come to an end, as they die off, not soon enough in my opinion. Let these fuckers die a quick death.
I saw an aged Neil Young and David Crosby on BBC earlier this year. I remember one of your posts where you were sort of 'Eeuuw, aren't they dead yet?' but guess what. These guys weren't pretty, but their voices and their music were just as powerful as ever. It was an amazing show and I was quite uplifted at the end. [I'm ignoring the investment banker, above.]
My oldest graduated from Kent State in 2000. The students hold a vigil each year,but I'm not sure if they really understand what happened. I was very anti-peace movement,but what happened that day made me see that we all must act as civilized people. You can't act on pure emotion like a child no matter what you perceive your justification to be. LBT's comment sadly shows as a society we haven't changed in 40 years.
I really don't see that things have changed all that much. Waste and crime in government is on the front page of every city newspaper right next greed and spoil.
As long as there isn't a draft you'll never see the 60's I remember. Maybe the powers that be finally figured that one out.
That war was so terrible. (as all are) The young men & women; what they faced upon arriving back on their home soil, well it still breaks my heart.
Karena
Art by Karena
I was only 12, and then 13, but still remember so clearly the feeling of fear from my parents. That things might just actually blow up. That someone we knew might get sent to war. My uncle, coming back, whispers that he "wasn't ok."
wow. that is a long time, but 4 decades can really fly ... esp. since i was in diapers. perhaps that's why my gen is a bit more conservative -- we didn't have to fight the man. we wanted to become the man (sort of, but in a business school then law school then VC seeking Internet company starting sort of way).
great post as usual, and thx for the "Baron" spelling erratum.
I was just about to graduate from high school, and had already enlisted. I well remember thinking, what have I gotten myself into.
In many ways most of you are right. Things haven't changed all that much, but in 1968 the student movement would have shut down the country protesting Arizona's immigration law, or BP's remodeling of the gulf coast. If you doubt me ask your parents.
I was 8 and it wasn't until much, much later that I 'got' what happened.
the students of the sixties knew how to tear stuff up but not how to build anything so they signed on and became the yuppies.
A very sharp post. Got me thinking about the "Be Ins" at Duke Gardens on the weekends, and our ping pong ball draft party held the evening of that first draft lottery.
Bittersweet times, at best.
Thanks for your insights. Much appreciated and anticipated.
Best Regards,
LD
'69, senior year of high school. I remember sitting in class and the sudden realization that I could be dead in a rice paddy in a year.
Makes you take things seriously.
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