43 years ago today

[Marshall Bennett]

Kent State shootings.
Never throw a rock at an armed guardsman. Not at all smart.

[TJDave]

Kent State shootings.
Never throw a rock at an armed guardsman. Not at all smart.

So, the four that died...they were throwing rocks?

[Marshall Bennett]

If I remember right, 2 were throwing rocks and teargas canisters, 2 were innocent bystanders going to class. The protestors set the tone and began the assault on the guardsmen. No charges were ever filed on the guardsmen involved because they acted in response to the attack..

[Greyfox]

If I remember right, 2 were throwing rocks and teargas canisters, 2 were innocent bystanders going to class. The protestors set the tone and began the assault on the guardsmen. No charges were ever filed on the guardsmen involved because they acted in response to the attack..

They over-reacted. It was a sad day for America.

[Robert Goren]

As I remember, some idiot set off some fire crackers. Some of the guardsmen thought they were being shot at.

[Tom]

mvg4n8Txgdc

[cj's dad]

A very sad day indeed- I remember it well

[NJ Stinks]

That haunting song guarantees the four will not be forgotten. :ThmbUp:

[ldiatone]

firstly no way should the guard have fired on the UNARMED kids. but the two days before this event near the "architect hall' may 3,there was a mess in downtown kent. i do believe the girl in the photo posted by tom was not even student at kent. the kids did burn down the ROTC buildings the day before or so. but they where still UNARMED. guns and knives are threating but rocks.

i can still remember viewing the art work at Taylor Hall. that Metal work w/ the 2 bullet holes in it. if you went to kent you know what i mean.

[Tom]

The girl in the photo was an under-aged non-student runaway, who was found by authorities through the picture.

John Filo's iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Mary Ann Vecchio, a fourteen-year-old runaway, kneeling in anguish over the body of Jeffrey Miller minutes after he was shot by the Ohio National Guard
- - - Wikipedia

The photo was doctored, too....I used the real one in my post.

http://petapixel.com/2012/08/29/the-kent-state-massacre-photo-and-the-case-of-the-missing-pole/

[Marshall Bennett]

firstly no way should the guard have fired on the UNARMED kids.
They were armed with rocks (some of them quite large btw) and empty teargas canisters. One guard was in fact injured. They were warned on two previous occasions earlier to stop their assault on them and disperse. On both occasions the guardsmen retreated, regathered to communicate amongst themselves, and once again take their positions to attempt order.
The National Guard is the ultimate force short of a full military intervention in restoring order to the public. They don't leave the situation as is, give up, go home and go to bed. Don't act like a bunch of out of control turds with no end in sight and there won't be deadly force to end it.
By the way, none of the guardsmen were ever convicted of any wrongdoing while 25 of the students eventually were. I suppose the justice system over-reacted as well.

[Tom]

Randomly firing into a crowd is never acceptable.
Many would argue that during the 60s and 70s there was no justice system operating.

[Marshall Bennett]

The guardsmen were shooting at moving targets running back and forth throwing objects and acting erratically. A number of rounds missed their targets and hit bystanders. They weren't shooting randomly into a crowd, Tom. As for the 60's and 70's justice system, I believe it was firmly intact with irregularities and corruption just as it is today. If anything, it's probably much more stressed today than ever due to the social changes it's had to adapt to and configure.
I won't be posting any further on the topic here. As with arguing politics, religion, or conspiracy theories, opinions seldom change and I always find it best to move on. All others are welcomed to comment and sorry if I've offended anyone.