There is a good string about Kent State, May 4th, on www.crooksandliars.com. But I am amazed at how few people even have the energy to look up the event on wikipedia. or Jackson State.

We have been here before and have learned little. Getting a tax rebate to help buy a big screen TV is more important, I guess.

Yesterday was the anniversary of May 4th. My wife lived next to Allison in the dorm. She lost her head going to math class. People were shot over a damned invasion that made no sense. as she stated on her blog, there was no reason to shot to kill, except that Governor Jimmy Rhoades, public opinion and Richard Nixon wanted to make a point. You have to remember that the county seat, Ravenna, had the Voice of America radio blaring down the downtown street sound system. The modern day equivalent would be having a town broadcast America Freedom Network, where Rush would be the liberal host. This is the atmosphere those protests were under. It is no wonder that there was meaningless spilling of blood. Nothing like armored personnel carriers on the campus to make you feel wanted.

I can recall on the 20th anniversary NBC news did a story that the only person photographed with a gun pointed at the National Guard was identified as an FBI agent (provocateur). The story soon disappeared. Infiltration of radical peace-loving groups was a regular occurence. Now we have wiretapping by the folks who tried to quell the last social revolution. How fast we forget and how public outrage disappears. many of the rights we take for granted and those which are rapidly stripping away were earned by the death of students in the 70s. God, what a shame. and waste of lives.

I was on a plane on Saturday and I spoke with the people I shared the row with and no one had ever heard of Jackson State or Kent State. and the May 4th Memorial at Kent is tucked away in the corner. Like no one wants to remember.

sad.

rojo