(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . A Not so Final Thought on May 4 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-05-03 The Guard claimed their lives were in danger “There is, and there may never be, any closure for what happened at Kent State University. As I wrote almost 30 years ago: “No one was willing to confess. Which is understandable. After all, how would you like to go down in history as the man who started the killings at Kent State?” William Gordon Maybe Gordon is right. Maybe history will always treat May 4, 1970 as an open case, ensuring its lessons are taught and retaught to every generation of Americans. The dead cannot be brought back to life, the wounds of survivors hit by bullets cannot completely heal. The heartache affecting so many will not dissipate until their own hearts takes its last beat. That is true for me as well. Though I feel a strong bond to those who fell on May 4, it was not my biological sister or brother whom was killed. My heart was not ripped open due to the unexpected loss of a loved one. For me it was my country. I lost the notion that our country was good, that our leaders could be trusted, that everyone deserved respect. And this loss I mourn. Questioning Authority became what I can do for my country. “The fundamental role of a democracy is to control the amount of police force that is used. What happened was an inappropriate and very unfair use of force against protesting students” Kent State Professor Jerry Lewis “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," Patrick Henry What happened that day was a 24 minute hunting expedition. Alan Canfora The Boston Massacre did have closure. It served a lesson for our not yet formed country, that everyone is entitled to a trial, that the accused shall always be granted a lawyer. The results of that trial astonished many. The Kent State Massacre deserves such a legacy. General Canterbury, the commanding officer has passed away, Sergeant Pryor, the man who claims he never fired his pistol, a gun that wasn’t his, that he should not have had with him that day has died. So have several of the student survivors of that day such as Alan Canfora carrying the flag in the above picture. Canfora had chosen the Black Flag to reflect his dark mood over having recently attended a funeral for a close friend killed in Vietnam. But Terry Norman remains alive. He was placed at the event by members of the City of Kent Police Department. He was given instructions on where to be, what to do. Acoustics say a gun was fired four times before the Guard returning from the practice field turned and fired on innocent civilians, just as German soldiers had often done during the Holocaust. We know Terry Norman on that day confessed to shooting his gun four times, admitted he may have killed someone, we know officers examined the gun stating it had been fired four times. We know he met on the practice field and conversed with several members of the Guard when the soldiers there realized their commanding officer was not prepared for the day, when discipline amongst the troops broke down, when several members of the Guard knelt in firing position guns aimed at students. No one knows what happened during that time on the practice field, what plans were hatched as soldiers left the field and began their march up Blanket Hill, across the Commons, and back to the ROTC building. Americans deserve to know the truth of what happened on the day Democracy died. If the FBI wants to be taken respectfully by honest American citizens, it needs to come clean on what the FBI Agent who met with Terry Norman on May 3rd discussed. We need to know how Democracy died on May 4th. Concepts, unlike human life can be brought back from the dead. When I visited Germany, another place where Democracy once died, I visited a Gestapo headquarters in Cologne. Blood was still on the walls. Fear gripped me even though I had nothing to fear. Anger rifled through me though there was no one I could vent my anger upon. Last night I dreamt that building was dismantled and shipped piece by piece to my house, and that it was my job to reassemble that shrine, a shrine that exists in a thriving Democracy. Kent State has done no less, and yet I fear in these Trumpian times, it’s not enough. That nothing will be enough. Martin Scheuer, the father of Sandra Scheuer escaped the Holocaust in Germany to see his daughter be killed in America while walking to class as others were expressing their first amendment rights. We who value these rights must be committed to “Never Again.” Visit to Gestapo Headquarters I walked into death Cold burning into my soul Screams imprinted onto the walls White filth, charcoal blood, the empty rooms filled with unlived lives Visitors spoke silently respecting the dead, fearing the torture, Sounds no longer heard, still visible The unspoken greeting at the door was not a welcome Just an acknowledgement. The guard, aware of my guilt though he knew me to be an innocent witness An innocent witness no different than he the guard of guards The preserver of the past, the guardian of the future. Our eyes met. We shared the acknowledgement. I recognized his pain. He recognized mine. Our only sin We are survivors Not in blood or tatoos, but in tears, Not just for our own, but for those with whom we share the spirit, I get to walk out of death and he comes home from it every night We leave the cold death burnt into our souls and daily exchange it for the warmth of love Tomorrow he’ll greet a new face with another silent acknowledgment And I’ll be linked to all who visit through his ghostly but knowing stare It’s not just the guilt we share, But the spirit And the hope No one will be guilty again [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/3/2167263/-A-Not-so-Final-Thought-on-May-4 Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/