FOUR DEAD IN OHIO

From Democracy Now:

On 40th Anniversary of Kent State
Shootings, Truth Tribunal Seeks Answers

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings. On May 4, 1970, national guardsmen opened fire on hundreds of unarmed students at an anti-war rally at Kent State University in Ohio. The students were protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia, which was announced by President Nixon on April 30th. The guardsmen fired off at least 67 shots in roughly 13 seconds. Four students were killed and nine others wounded. The four students shot dead were Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, William Schroeder, and Sandra Shoyer, all between the ages of 19 and 21. To this day no one’s been held accountable for what happened. For the survivors of Kent State, the events of May 4, 1970 remain unresolved even four decades later.

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Here is the lesson of Kent State, and why we should never forget what happened there forty years ago.

The armed security agents of the state do not work for you. Yes, they are paid and equipped by your tax dollars, but they do not work for you. Rather, they work to protect the interests of the powerful individuals and entities who are actual players in the political realm. Of course, there is often overlap between your personal interests and those of these power players, like when cops bust murderers or arsonists, or in the rare cases when foreign states literally threaten our nation's existence, but that's only because these things also threaten the power elite. Generally, though, the armed security agents of the state look at you as being as much of a threat as criminals and foreign enemies. And that's because, potentially, you are a criminal or an enemy of the power elite, depending on circumstances.

Most Americans who are not white understand this already because that's the life they live. Most white Americans, however, foolishly believe the mythology that we're taught in school and on television. It takes something like the Kent State massacre to shock white people to their senses, and, even then, most whites see such events as the exception rather than the rule.

Here's the real rule: if you are in any way perceived as a threat to members of the American power elite, they will use all power at their command to eliminate you. That's the lesson of Kent State. And we must never forget it.

Here's that great CSNY song:



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