Gil Scott Heron said that the revolution will not be televised. Well, it’s being televised alright, nonstop and weird. As you know, 42 years ago today the moratorium to end the war was held around the country. By May of the next year, things had really gotten out of control.

In New Haven jury selection at the trial of Bobby Seale had started. There was a mass Mayday demonstration. Jean Genet, Benjamin Spock, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, William Kunstler and others spoke and yelled. Jerry Rubin took the prize for leading a chant about Yale’s President. It went: F*** Kingston Brewer! At night, National Guardsmen lined the streets and tear gas filled the Old Campus. Somewhere close by, Allen Ginsburg chanted something, possibly Howl, over an echoing sound system.

Things went from bad to worse in the period of October to May back then, even before Kent State. We note that it was not just the kids. You see all the adults above who climbed aboard the Mayday Revolution to oppose Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia and many other things. Even more than that, it’s our opinion that the student strike at Yale that May never would have happened had not the faculty taken a vote encouraging the students to strike. What role will university faculties take this time around? Will 2011-2012 resemble 1969-1970?

Final point: by November of 1970, according to Kingman Brewster, an “eerie tranquility” had descended on college campuses. This was said to have been brought about by a “drought in the job market, disenchantment with political protest, and scorn for established authority.” Fast forward: November 2012 can’t come soon enough.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 15th, 2011 at 1:24 pm and is filed under business, Democrats, General, Left of Left, Republicans, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.