53 years ago, on May 4, 1970 at ~12:25 PM, a school shooting took place on the campus of Kent State University, Ohio.
Remember those days when students were brave enough to march in the streets and end a war?
Now that today's college students have been safely muzzled by crippling
loan debt and "woke" education, there is little need for authority to teach students a lesson
similar to that educational day of May 4, 1970. It's been 50 years
since shots rang out across a college campus, leaving four dead in Ohio and the lives of so many of that generation changed forever by the day's events.
And so, the tin soldiers march on and on... in Vietnam. Balkans. Iraq. El Salvador. Afghanistan. Libya. Syria. Yemen. Ukraine. Sudan.
So we here at Thrasher's Wheat look forward, as we look back to that fateful day at Kent State. In the meantime, rest assured that the mainstream media will ignore this anniversary of real news, while busy fabricating the latest fake news.
"Ohio" 45 Atlantic Records Single (w/ "Find The Cost of Freedom")
by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - May 1970
"Ohio" 45 Atlantic Records Single (w/ Bill of Rights picture sleeve)
by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - May 1970
The Four Dead in Ohio
Allison Krause - Age: 19, 110 YardsWilliam Schroeder - Age: 19, 130 Yards
Jeffrey Miller - Age: 20, 90 Yards
Sandra Scheuer - Age: 20, 130 Yards
Neil Young - Ohio (Official Live Video)
No War
Greendale Film still
#MayTheFOURBeWithYou
Bumped comment posted on the 2017 anniversary by Michele Regal:
ReplyDeletehttp://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2017/05/kent-state-ohio-47-years-later-tin.html?m=0#c8013001897273601772
...
I was a young girl of not quite nine years old in May of 1970. But my brother was eight years older than I and back in the Vietnam era, the news reported the war very graphically. It was live feed of helicopters hovering over the jungle with sweaty and bloody soldiers pulling limp bodies of fellow bloodied soldiers out of the jungle and on to the chopper.
I lived in Tucson AZ where there is a large air force base. They didnt have any rules about the flight paths over residential areas back then, and jets would make so much noise, they would shake the house. They also made this little girl cry and worry, that my brother was going to be drafted to the war in Vietnam. So, by having an older brother, I was attuned to what was going on in the world, and my brothers music was much as my own as my Partridge Family albums."Ohio" was an anthem and even at my young age, I knew what it meant.
I was very astute for my age. Even my brother says I was born age forty. My heart goes out to Jeffs' mother who posted so eloquently how she felt then and now, what she missed, and so forth. Her post is a tribute to all of the students, and a priceless document by someone so profoundly affected by what happened on that campus, on that day. It should be memorialized. I don't know if she would be alive to today, as he son would be sixtyfive by now (We are now 45 years removed from that horrible day, it is 2015 now) How old might she be now and is she still alive.
I wish I could thank her for her coragous words, her strength and honesty. I wish I could thank Neil Young for his mastery of the English language and his ability to tell a story so accurately. He is a wordsmith. I have cried tears of joy and sadness at his concerts, where I sit mesmerized by the lyrics as much as the musicianship.
The gunning down of those four student took away the innocense of a generation. The deaths took away the feeling that they has a say so in what their country would or wouldnt do.
I grieve these events. I grieve events since then. But these children did in fact die for our country, even though they were no specific uniform, except for maybe, bell bottom jeans and long hair. They were the swoldiers at home, doing what they could to bend the ears of politicians, who were still old school, and didnt recognize that times were changing.
God continue to bless these four young souls. Their lives did in fact have meaning. We continue to remember them today, years later. Recognizing that their lives were stolen lives.
I just want to say, I know the families still grieve, even though they buried their babies 45 years ago. Their lives had meaning. I write this today because they had meaning. I can assure you that people are remembering them, some are just learning about this for the first time and asking questions.
Their lives had meaning. God bless them. I wish I had the ability to write the master post to convey my sorrow, confusion and my attempts to understand this event. But it simply a good thing, that I remember.
God bless all.
Now that today's college students have been safely muzzled by crippling loan debt and "woke" education, there is little need for authority to teach students a lesson similar to that educational day of May 4, 1970.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? The 60's and 70's generation sure were brave. With mom and dad's money in their pockets and safe from anything like combat, which was mainly left to the lower middle-class, poor, people of color and native Americans, they "marched in the streets." This generation of college student is hobbled by mental illness, way less disposable income, white supremacy movements, and- mass shootings, and .... fill in the blank. At our college we have free tuition for any student with a family income under 60k and these students do not labor under "woke education" (whatever that means, does it mean fighting against the disgusting bigotry and racism and so on that is rampant in the United States today?). Until we overcome the stupidity of Neo-liberalism and other dogmas, this country will keep sinking.
I recall Kent State. The tip of a proverbial ice-berg, Nixon and the beginning of a new kind of corruption, deeper, longer-lasting, behind the back, betrayal, authoritarian, the groundwork for Trump. The rampant self-interest that turned hippies into financial gurus and suburban zombies.
so much grief, so little relief. remembering the victims of violence is becoming too hard, there is too much, memory suffers under such a deluge of insanity, it cannot function
totally serious Abner. and you know that as well.
ReplyDeletewhen was the last time you saw an anti war protest on campus?
last time we checked, students were actually marching / virtue signaling pro war on Ukraine.
say whatever you want about the Boomers, but they did stop the Vietnam war.
this generation? our statement still stands.
#MayTheFOURBeWithYou
peace
ps - maybe to try and clarify above ...
ReplyDeletetoday's students are so totally controlled and corraled that they have join causes which literally have little bearing on their direct lives.
IOW, the MIC globalists have so dominated their thought space that they would never even consider protesting the Ukraine war. Or Sudan. or whatever global hotspot is up for exploitation by TPTB.
that is how effective the indoctrination has become that today's students don't even know their history.
so they're doomed to repeat as we see today.
all we are saying is give peace a chance
I have not seen an anti-war protest since I was in Cambridge in 1970, at age ten. Not something I want to recall.
ReplyDeleteI am a boomer myself, end of the line so to speak.
I am not willing to make strong comparative judgments on character between generations.
fair enough Abner. seriously appreciate you're being here to keep us from falling off the ledge.
ReplyDeletepeace
I came here to see the Kent State tragedy being linked to alt-right talking points and was not disappointed.
ReplyDelete@ Hayo - thanks. we know we're doing our job when we get criticized for being far left or far right or too centrist or some sort of "ism".
ReplyDeleteeven during the LWW heydays, many praised TW as being a voice of reason amongst the extremes.
we do find that many who have a particularly hard core leaning can only process info with that lens. you see and hear what you want to see and hear.
so if you find some sort of angle w/ our KSU massacre post, so be it.
but, honestly, not even sure what constitutes "alt-right talking points"?
we intended to get into how our think on May 4 has evolved over the decades. would you like us to get into that sometime?
but, anyway, glad you weren't disappointed because it seems what we do here keeps bringing you back.
I frankly did not see your option on the Iraq War back then and did not see any praise either, I must have missed that.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, Here in the Netherlands this is also the day where we commemorate the fallen in WW2, tomorrow we celebrate our liberation. I am glad those woke Canadians did that.
Back in the 90's I learnt that my habitual pacificsm is an honorable attitude and occasionally even a well thought-out political position. At least that was the case when in West Germany we lived on top of a nuclear powder keg. In the 90's I saw the Canadian government running their tanks against the Haudenosonee (Mohawks) because of a dispute over a f****** golf course, at that time I was there as a rapporteur to European human rights organizations and through some twists and turns also to the European Parliament. And later I saw how Serbs and Croats went at each others throat, Dutch "peacekeeping forces" idly standing by while the largest genocidal operation since the Second World War was underway in Srebenica. The Bavarian government at that time made me a teacher to refugees from all sides of the Yugoslawian conflicts. It's nice to be a pacifist...
ReplyDeleteToday the vast majority in Western Europe is supporting the Ukrainians, as long as it does not cost them too much. But at the same time there is an underlying fear across central and eastern Europe that is all too well founded in history. While the Germans for historical reasons remain rather quiet, Americans should ask the peoples of the Baltics, the Finns and the Polish people what they think. Their position comes close to "One does not negotiate with a cannibal that wants to eat you because whether you are getting away with missing an arm or a leg, boiled or fried, is not exactly what you are looking for." So the comparisons with the Vietnam war from the European perspective are not appropriate.
At American schools I saw signs that said "No drugs, no booze, no firearms" and while there sadly have been school shootings in Europe also even recently (Belgrade) this is still an extreme exception. Our societies may have to fight outside adversaries but European countries do not loose more than a hundred lives every day due to idiotic arms legislation and underqualified security forces.
So what is it that Americans students should be protesting? The inequality when it comes to education and its financial burden, the armed domestic violence, the toxic woke debates and their backlashes with their sometimes mentally retarded attitudes on all sides. America's students could do a great service to mankind trying to solve these, i.e. their own problems.
And of course, although maybe not expressively mentioned all the time, also because of the horrible Vietnam mistakes, Western Europeans always have been grateful for the US providing a protective shield for Western Europe. And no, I am not a shareholder of any of these armament industries, rather I am a neighbour to these Ukrainians living in my town now.
Could it be that life back in the 60's and early 70's was simpler, more black and white like the pictures above?
I am not sure about your last question, my response is first: probably.
ReplyDeleteRadical inequality in the distribution of wealth could be and sometimes is the object of protest. This is getting worse in the United States.
Radical inequality in procedural justice is another object of protest, for example the intense George Floyd protests of a few years back, maybe did not get enough coverage in Europe. There were protests across the United States.
This country is, in my opinion, a gas can with a rag in the spout. It would not take all that much to ignite the far right and that will have far reaching consequences. This would not be the sort of shit we are used to on the news. This would be all hell breaking loose.
It is hard to write about the issues right now in small pieces or in "trying to make the point." We live in a time of intense compression. Hey ho away we go..... and yes abortion rights are in the stew that the fascists have been cooking up.
Thrasher, thanks for your comment. I was not trying to "start something" just honestly responding. I hope we can all keep each other sane.
ReplyDeleteThe fate of George Floyd was extensively covered in Europe and so is every case of disproportional and unprofessional police conduct in the US, as well as the protests following Floyd's or any other victim's death. But - and that's what is stunning most Europeans - the inability of the responsible institutions to make substantial changes in police training, gun control, against systemic racism etc., that is just unbelievable. And to make sure that I am not accused of a holier than thou attitude, there is racism and police violence in Europe, too, even with police personnel being trained and qualified for several years before they are let loose in the public. How much training does a member of the police force get in the US, is it more than eight months?
ReplyDeleteAnd sure I agree it is very hard to write in small pieces or in trying to make the point. But that's what we 've got (thanks Thrasher) to expose ourselves to different world views, which always is a good thing, I believe.
The Kent State killings continue to horrify me. I was raised by parents who were deeply troubled by Racism & War. Average American TV viewing habits is not what I do. In fact, I rarely watch television and never the news on TV. (“If you don’t read the news, you are uninformed. And if you DO read the news, you are misinformed.” -Mark Twain).
ReplyDeleteIn spite of the fact it is TRUE that Americans don’t protest due to atrophy of mind & spirit, lack of awareness, and an effort by big brother to hide the Truth, & divide and conquer us all with debt & fear. My local area of North Seattle has done War protests against all of the latest US wars. I have joined them for Anti War protests.
But I am always willing to March, against Monsanto for instance. I know that some people still don’t think Roundup is unhealthy. But the Truth is Monsanto committed rampant large scale research fraud and was in bed with the FDA, trading employees back and forth. The 90 day “no tumor in mice” research done by Monsanto on its own product proves very little, except how gullible we all are, even “experts.” In the end, Roundup kills, and it continues to kill after application.
@ Thrasher : I would be curious to hear about your evolving ideologies over time. I hope the Big Shift means people start giving a crap and wish to save our home planet from destruction.
I have a sort of ‘Neil Young ideology’ towards war, Global Warming, water, pollution, human rights, justice. “He gets me.”
Apparently ANY world conflict has American boots on the ground, most of the time, in Truth. Superpowers gone bad.
@ Thrasher : what a relief that when you say, “Fake News” that it’s not the same as what Trump calls “Fake News.”
“Let’s Have a War.” a song by American Punk band Fear pretty much spells out this fine American tradition. We are always at war, even in times of peace. I work with an Iraq vet, and he says about Ukraine, “Ya, no shit we have boots on the ground. That’s every time for the US.”
And yet, I am fairly happy. I quit trying to save the world with Facebook after Bernie got screwed by the DNC in 2015.
A reminder: the US is an Oligarchy, not a Democracy. The (Primary) election of 2015 proved that the DNC can pick whoever they want as their candidate, popular or not. Progressive candidates need not apply.
Thank you for being here, Thrasher and all the contributors. You are a fine and smart group of people (with great taste in Neil Young music!).
Your Brother Alan in Seattle
Usage of the word “woke” in the pejorative sense is not recommended. This is how one gets lumped in with the far-right. The word originated as an African-American Vernacular term for awareness of racial discrimination and anti-Black policy or systemic racism. The co-opting of the word by those who would prefer to keep racist policies in place has rendered “woke” (when used to mock or denounce such awareness) a racist term in itself. I wholly disagree that casually dropping it in to a blog post and being challenged on it is any indication that the admin is “doing their job” in any way, shape, or form.
ReplyDelete@ Hayo @ Abner @Dionys @ Alan - let us just say 1st of all, our apologies for any misunderstandings here and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMay 4th is a pretty solemn day here @ TW, which we take seriously every year. What happened in 1970 in our lives was well documented in Glen Boyd's book "Neil Young FAQ".
(If you missed that chapter, see http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2020/05/comment-of-moment-csnys-ohio-50-years.html )
Folks who know our story, know that you don't F w/ thrasher when it comes to Ohio.
setting aside our personal backstory on Ohio & Kent, once again, we are humbled and awed by the rustie grains who contribute here.
This subject of student protests has driven so much change that it is incalculable to say what kind of world we would be living in today if not for various movements over the years. be it civil rights, anti-war or "social justice".
sadly, we doubt anyone here is a student. we believe we do have professors here tho. And we value these teachers for what they do and see.
we are a very firm believer in "teach your children well". like, who isn't?
while we can identify with the pacifist attitude, we don't necessarily subscribe to the theory that "Jesus was a pacifist". Jesus may not have been a fighter in a traditional sense, but fight TPTB he did, no doubt.
As for our evolved thinking on what happened that day? We'll come back to that another day.
But in the meantime, start with where we were in 1970 ( as documented in Boyd's book above), fast fwd to TW in 2011 when we discovered our "Kent State Truth" moment @
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2011/11/truth-about-kent-state-massacre.html
So what happened between 2011 and today? Let's just say the grand revelation is that May 4 ties into many, many other significant dates which we feel regular TW readers can tie together to arrive at their own personal big shift.
peace
You put “social justice” in quotes. Let me say right now that Black Lives Matter. Activists here in Austin have been maimed by the police and murdered by right wing extremists for speaking out.
ReplyDeleteThere's a large difference between what the kids were protesting back then and what they protest about now. Back in 1970, they were protesting an actual war that was happening which was killing actual fellow Americans, most of whom were drafted without any choice in the matter.
ReplyDeleteNow, the kids are protesting things that aren't quite as concrete as a war. They protest racism, sexism, facism, things which are easy to say in general terms, but not in actual facts. Is there racism in America? Of course there is, as there's racism in EVERY country in the world. It's not exclusive to the United States, in spite of what is said by college kids or their professors. Everyone likes to throw out claims, but when you ask for concrete evidence, it gets a little dicey.
Yesterday, I flew from the West coast to the East coast. On both of my flights, the planes were loaded with folks of every race you could think of, and I didn't notice any problems emanating from these groupings. If this is a cesspool of racism, you could fool me by what I see on an everyday level. You would think if we were all a bunch of white supremacists, maybe only whites would be allowed on the planes, or at least sit only amongst themselves, which actually did happen in this country until the Civil Rights work done in the 60's by some of those brave college kids. Hell, I'm a Trump supporter, which automatically makes me a racist in some folks eyes, yet somehow I was able to fly for 4 hours sitting between a Chinese couple and a Middle Eastern guy on the plane. We all flew together and happily reached our destination. I believe if this was the racist hellhole that is described by some folks here, the situation on my flight would have been quite different, as it was many decades ago.
Are there racists in America? You betcha there are, but they also come in ALL colors, and they ain't just in America.
an email from Gil:
ReplyDelete+++
Date was May 4th 2010, the 40th anniversary of Kent State shootings.
At the time I was a volunteer at my son’s preschool and all the other parents were much younger.
Most born in the 1980s. I commented about the anniversary and some of them asked me to explain.
I told them about the Kent State shootings and they thought I was making it up!
They told me no way would our government shoot university students.
I explained further and they were shocked. I told them to look it up and learn.
So that day I went home and recorded this as a remembrance of that tragic event but also to help those younger parents learn about this.
A very dark day in American History. Recorded this in one emotional take and then asked my friend Phil Cuchetti to do the same to add a harmony vocal.
He sent me his vocal and I synced it up with my recording. Here’s that video I made and you’ll see it’s gotten a lot of views and comments.
I think it served the purpose of reminding folks about this tragedy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwZNLdi-L8w
I haven't posted in a while but I always make sure to visit TW on May 4th. Thrasher has always been very passionate regarding the Kent State murders & I enjoy reading that passion. Take Care & never lose your passion Thrasher.
ReplyDelete@Tomatron, thanks for clarifying the difficult background of the w-word and its manipulative use. What I wanted to say is expressed by Ian Anderson's song "The Zealot Gene". Unfortunately also Europeans become more and more susceptible to this way of fundamentalist thinking: "Right or wrong, no in-between". As I stated above there is racism in Europe as well, but the fact that I can sit beside a Nigerian illegal immigrant, a Turkish businessman or an Ukranian refugee family in our light rail trains does mot make this racism go away or makes it less harmless at least. The question is, what makes for a civil society striving vor justice and fairness and that is where all these Trumplings apparently have totally lost it.
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