Don’t kid anybody, the protests in the late sixties were against the draft and when the draft ended so did the major part of the protests. When I was discharged from the military in 1970 I joined the local Viet Nam Veterans against the War. The college kids particualarly the SDS idiots and the Maoists destroyed the organization
No, they weren’t just about the draft! If you were there, then you should know! Most of the protests that I was involved in focused on civil rights. We were joined by the Black Panthers and Black church leaders in the area. You mentioned the Vets against the war. Our demonstration (at UK) reacting to Kent State was led by the leaders of the Vets org. Yes, I protested the Vietnam War and the reasons behind it BUT not those soldiers who either had to go or volunteered. BTW, it was the SDS and the Maoists who helped to give focus to the movement. Should I label you a traitor for joning a radical Veterans group? I think not. Yes there were fist shaking idealogues
in the crowds as well as FBI plants put there to make the movement even more radical than it was but don’t paint us all with the wide brush of sarcasm. We were all wide eyed idealists back then but we did help to change the laws and the culture. And one of the reasons the movement began to die was that many of those goals were met. Let’s see how this generation fairs.
Don’t kid anybody, the protests in the late sixties were against the draft and when the draft ended so did the major part of the protests. When I was discharged from the military in 1970 I joined the local Viet Nam Veterans against the War. The college kids particualarly the SDS idiots and the Maoists destroyed the organization
No, they weren’t just about the draft! If you were there, then you should know! Most of the protests that I was involved in focused on civil rights. We were joined by the Black Panthers and Black church leaders in the area. You mentioned the Vets against the war. Our demonstration (at UK) reacting to Kent State was led by the leaders of the Vets org. Yes, I protested the Vietnam War and the reasons behind it BUT not those soldiers who either had to go or volunteered. BTW, it was the SDS and the Maoists who helped to give focus to the movement. Should I label you a traitor for joning a radical Veterans group? I think not. Yes there were fist shaking idealogues
in the crowds as well as FBI plants put there to make the movement even more radical than it was but don’t paint us all with the wide brush of sarcasm. We were all wide eyed idealists back then but we did help to change the laws and the culture. And one of the reasons the movement began to die was that many of those goals were met. Let’s see how this generation fairs.
cap’t Jack
IMo, and from my experience at UB SDS was no better than the John Birch Society, both were a group of thugs. I have friends today with the scars to prove it.
How big were the protests in the late sixties? Hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands? How frequent were the protests? Annually, monthly, daily, hourly? Where were the protests? Washington DC, major cities, small towns, the USA, Canada, England, Europe, Asia?
The protests were all over the map; lots of protests of a few hundred, some in the thousands, and a few monster protests with many tens of thousands. There was a steady drumbeat of protests, but certain events would trigger a big wave every now and then. The invasion of Cambodia, Kent State, the Christmas bombing, and so on. They were quite frequent as some campuses, most notably Berkeley, but other campuses were quieter. My closest brush with a big protest was the People’s Park brouhaha. I myself didn’t participate. The lot that had become People’s Park was an area that had some old buildings that had been demolished; they were planning to build some new stuff there. But it just sat there for a year, a long block with just dirt and junk. It was an eyesore; lots of us who didn’t have parking permits would park in the dirt there. So the local people decided to build a park there. They set up a nice little park, but they didn’t know that the plans were already in place for the new construction. At a certain point, the administration brought in some bulldozers for the final leveling of the area, and the People’s Park was demolished. This triggered some really violent protests and they brought out the National Guard.
I was in my freshman year in college, living about 30 miles away but not attending UCB. The Saturday morning after the worst violence, I wanted to go into Berkeley to buy some books at the UC bookstore. I didn’t pay attention to the news and had no idea of what was going on. So when I rode up on my motorcycle and found a cordon of National Guardsmen, I was rather surprised. They wouldn’t let me into my normal parking spot in what had been People’s Park. Parking in Berkeley is really hard to find; I had to park about half a mile away.
A couple of years later, I was at UC Davis, and there was a big antiwar protest. I never participated in any of the protests, even though I sympathized with them. I just didn’t see any point to them. Anyway, the angry young fellers occupied the Administration building, as all angry young protesters are wont to do. They completely filled the first floor but weren’t allowed up into the higher floors. The administration sent down free cookies and soda, and the whole thing dissolved into a friendly party. This was a measure of a) how mellow people were at UC Davis and b) how smart the administration was.
IMo, and from my experience at UB SDS was no better than the John Birch Society, both were a group of thugs. I have friends today with the scars to prove it
While I sympathize with you Chris, on the UK campus the reverse was true. Our on campus protests were non violent and sometimes led by disgruntled professors. We did take over the admin. building for a time, but as you mentioned in your post only the main floor. No area was blocked by the demonstrators and our protest against Kent State was downtown at the courthouse and therefore, off campus. The president invoked a curfew and called out the Guard with live ammunition and fixed bayonets. During one peaceful demon. the Guard pepper gassed us and the State Police with night sticks and shields beat us and ran us off the campus. And yes, some of MY friends still carry the scars. One of my best friends was working for the campus press and was not part of the demonstration. He displayed his press pass while being clubbed on the head. Three thousand of us assembled on the theological Seminary lawn across the street and the Guard ringed us with rifles. An African-American church next door offered some of us sanctuary and their minister stood with the demonstrators in front of the guard. No attacks were made on the military or state police but I personally saw several people being beaten and kicked. After Kent State, who would attack a trigger happy kid with an M1? I can’t speak for the John Birch Society. I met one at a party once but we mostly ignored them on campus. They handed out pamphlets and that was about it. I never considered myself a thug for standing up for what I believed and still don’t. I still stand up today and continue to demonstrate if needed. Hindsight helps though. Even though I carry a sign I’d probably leave if I saw those bayonets in my face again. I’m not 19 anymore. Sometimes I wish I was. I’d be in New York in front of Wall Street.
Will Michael Moore become the Martin Luther King of the OWS? The protesters in Toronto decided to camp in “my” park, so I walk by them every day during my lunch hour. A few days ago during their General Assembly I raised my hand and asked them if they ever thought of electing a leader who would unite their voices and help deliver the message across the rest of the population. I thought they were going to eat me alive; supposedly, leadership is one of the things they disagree with. Kids…
This economics situation has been decades in the making. Getting excited about bankers after all of this time isn’t going to do anything.
So the economics profession needs to explain to all of these kids why they never said their parents and grandparents should have been taught accounting. How many Americans could have homes paid for if they hadn’t gone into debt for cars designed to become obsolete. How is it that Galbraith could write about the PO of cars in 1959 and most economists have said nothing since then? So now economists don’t have to compute and report haw much had been lost on the depreciation of all of that junk.
I’m right next door to Oakland, and used to work at the hospital where he is now admitted. It is a good trauma center. People are pissed at the mayor and the interim police chief. I have been out of town. My son told me the interim chief has resigned. I just don’t understand why the police don’t just leave them alone, but they do have a history of being a little ‘coyboy’, which tends to get them in a lot of trouble.
Has anybody tried to watch videos from last night’s NYC’s police riot on YouTube? You can’t. YouTube keeps deleting them and the accounts of those who post them at the speed of the CERN neutrino.
I imagine the videos were made by the people, as journalists were not allowed anywhere near the park. We (Toronto) are having our evacuation of the protesters tonight. Let’s see how it goes…
I am now at the park in Toronto where the police is getting rid of the occupiers’ stuff. So far it’s been peaceful and they haven’t arrested anybody. If you don’t hear from me, I am in a jail.
I am now at the park in Toronto where the police is getting rid of the occupiers’ stuff. So far it’s been peaceful and they haven’t arrested anybody. If you don’t hear from me, I am in a jail.
Hmm, the only action I have witnessed was a squirrel falling off a tree. Only in Canada, eh? The cops are smart: they moved in without their police riot gear and are basically just watching over the city workers removing all the tents. The whole thing seems extremely organized. They are attaching a number to each tent, taking a photo of it, and putting all the tent contents in a bag identified by the same number.
The police officer who made the announcement early on to let everyone know what was happening was asked by the protesters to use a “people’s mic;” they said it would mean a lot to them. The officer complied with their request and even held a flower during the announcement.
Some confrontation is to be expected, though, as a couple of guys chained themselves to their “library” (a big Mongolian yurt packed with books by Chomsky, el Che, et al.). Besides that (and the unfortunate squirrel), the whole event feels more like a big party with people singing, drinking coffee and joking with the cops. Only in Canada!
