JFK assassination

[tobymerwin]

Today's the anniversary of JFK's murder. Anyone have thoughts?

 

[rawbone8]

I'm Canadian, but remember that period of my childhood (age 7) as being a very important time and it was treated as such in my school, my church and in my family. My mother's family name is also Kennedy and Roman Catholic, and my aunts in particular impressed upon us the how important this foreign leader was to them. They bought into the golden myth building that his press machine and political machine wrought, and although he was American they saw him as one of their own.

The public took it pretty hard. It was the death of a certain kind of idealism. It still has a resonance today for a lot of people, particularly liberals of a certain age. I don't know Dallas, but would be interested to know if the infamy of that day still affects citizens there.

 

[Dr Rock]

Anyone have thoughts?

what, you mean different thoughts to the ones they had on the OTHER 41 anniversaries of his assassination...?

 

[Paul Vincent]

Lee Harvey Oswald was a scapegoat ie not the shooter, or if he was he didn't fire the fatal shot; there was another sniper.

 

[dcwrestlefan]

I visited the Schoolbook Depository a few years back, where the assassin supposedly shot from. Its now a museum. From the entrance that day, you could see a big ole billboard a few blocks away advertising a gun show. Pretty sad.

I've been to Dallas a number of times. No, I don't sense the citizens there now are affected by the assassination. Anyone from there want to confirm this? It's been 42 years. A large percentage of the population would not remember it or did not live there at the time. Lee Harvey Oswald, if he was the killer, was not a native of the city and only lived there briefly, if I am not mistaken.

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I don't know Dallas, but would be interested to know if the infamy of that day still affects citizens there.

 

[B_caneadea]

It completely altered our history. Probably, JFK would have won in a landslide in '64, no Viet Nam war, maybe Bobby wins in '68, and no LBJ, no Nixon, no Watergate, no Agnew, and much faster advances in civil rights, gay rights, and women's rights, and a solidly liberal Supreme Court for many many years. The positive possibilities are endless.

 

[madame_zora]

It completely altered our history. Probably, JFK would have won in a landslide in '64, no Viet Nam war, maybe Bobby wins in '68, and no LBJ, no Nixon, no Watergate, no Agnew, and much faster advances in civil rights, gay rights, and women's rights, and a solidly liberal Supreme Court for many many years. The positive possibilities are endless.

Stop, I can't take it. Do you ever wonder why men of peace always seem to die violently? What is it about peace that is so threatening?

 

[Pecker]

It completely altered our history. Probably, JFK would have won in a landslide in '64, no Viet Nam war...

Whoopsie! JFK is the one who got us started over there.

I was sitting in 12th grade Government class at my high school in Virginia when the principal announced over the PA system that the president had been shot. He continued playing a radio broadcast over the PA for the rest of the afternoon.

I had been born in Dallas, living in Oak Cliff, so I could visualize quite plainly the areas discussed. My paternal grandfather owned a beer joint a couple of blocks away from the School Book Depository and we had lived a few blocks away from where the Oswalds lived on Beckley Ave. from where I took a bus to the Texas Theater every Saturday to watch movies and cartoons.

At the high school in Virginia that day the six African-American students were spirited away quietly (it was the first year of desegregation in a school of over 800 students,) and teachers wept along with us when the announcement of the president's death was made. At home, for the first time in the history of broadcasting, the TV networks stayed on 24 hours a day until after the funeral. The world seemed to have stopped in place for Americans.

 

[Dr Rock]

kinda makes you wonder how many people would care that much if the current president was shot today, don't it?

 

[Rikter8]

I don't think people would cry as much.

Kennedy was an Idol for America.

Bush is just a Murdering Fat Money Hungry Oil Digger.

Im sure America would probably Rejoice.
The lower and Middle Class citizens of the US wouldn't have to feel intense pain for the next 3 years.

I know I'd jump up for Joy.

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

Did any of my American friends happen to watch Red Dwarf, 'Tikka to Ride' a few years ago? How sound, politically, would you say that was?

(It ran along the theory that if Kennedy was never assassinated he would have been impeached a few years later for his filandering, J Edgar Hoover would have been given temporary Presidenacy, effectively giving the reins of power to the mafia. With the goverments eyes off the ball, the soviet union launches from Cuba causing nationwide panic. America loses the space race. The world never looks the same again. Something along those lines anyway.)

 

[Paul Vincent]

I watched the Quantum Leap episode(s) about this incident it was very interesting. Did Kennedy's wife really die in the original history? In QL she is saved, but Kennedy still dies...I love that series.

 

[wibbledooklang]

J.F.K was a great man, a beautiful man, i've seen the tapes of him, i believe they are called the zebruner tapes or something, its horrible what happened to him, His life was ended way to short, he could have changed the world even more

 

[Matthew]

kinda makes you wonder how many people would care that much if the current president was shot today, don't it?

I'd hate it b/c he'd become a martyr, his base would be mobilized to action, and somebody even worse would take his place. Plus we'd have to listen to endless news coverage about what a great man he was -- as if he were in the same category as JFK, which would truly be a sin.

Not that JFK was a saint -- he was the one who got us into Vietnam, like Pecker said.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

kinda makes you wonder how many people would care that much if the current president was shot today, don't it?

Care, I don't know about nowadays. Surprised, on the other hand......

 

[B_caneadea]

Whoopsie! JFK is the one who got us started over there.

I was sitting in 12th grade Government class at my high school in Virginia when the principal announced over the PA system that the president had been shot. He continued playing a radio broadcast over the PA for the rest of the afternoon.

I had been born in Dallas, living in Oak Cliff, so I could visualize quite plainly the areas discussed. My paternal grandfather owned a beer joint a couple of blocks away from the School Book Depository and we had lived a few blocks away from where the Oswalds lived on Beckley Ave. from where I took a bus to the Texas Theater every Saturday to watch movies and cartoons.

At the high school in Virginia that day the six African-American students were spirited away quietly (it was the first year of desegregation in a school of over 800 students,) and teachers wept along with us when the announcement of the president's death was made. At home, for the first time in the history of broadcasting, the TV networks stayed on 24 hours a day until after the funeral. The world seemed to have stopped in place for Americans.

No. I know that JFK sent advisers over to Viet Nam. What I meant was that I believe that the brilliant minds (excepting Robert McNamara) in the JFK administration would not have allowed the situation to develope into the hopeless quagmire that it ultimately was.

 

[B_caneadea]

J.F.K was a great man, a beautiful man, i've seen the tapes of him, i believe they are called the zebruner tapes or something, its horrible what happened to him, His life was ended way to short, he could have changed the world even more

Thanks, Farmer Brown,

I just wanted to share this. Abraham Zapruder was standing (with his movie camera) along the route of JFKs motorcade during his visit to Dallas. He happened to be in "the right place at the right time" and filmed the now famous film of the assassination. Versions of the film were severely edited to save people from seeing the gore. I will always remember seeing the unedited version for the first time. Really horrifying.

 

[dlcs]

Did any of my American friends happen to watch Red Dwarf, 'Tikka to Ride' a few years ago? How sound, politically, would you say that was?

(It ran along the theory that if Kennedy was never assassinated he would have been impeached a few years later for his filandering, J Edgar Hoover would have been given temporary Presidenacy, effectively giving the reins of power to the mafia. With the goverments eyes off the ball, the soviet union launches from Cuba causing nationwide panic. America loses the space race. The world never looks the same again. Something along those lines anyway.)

Considering that Red Dwarf was really more scientifically oriented than a lot of people give it credit for, I found myself agreeing with the alternate-reality theory posted on a fansite, that when Kryten used the timedrive the crew were thrown into one of the possible alternate realities that Kennedy not being assassinated produced. That said, the idea that he went back and shot himself from the grassy knoll was brilliant.
(JFK: You mean assassinate myself? Lister: Yeah. It'll drive the conspiracy nuts crazy.)

Check out "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis" by Richard Belzer.

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

Love that program. Not really into science fiction, lets face it, most of it's shite! But Red Dwarf can make sci-fi funny. It also comes up with new ideas that the likes of Star Trek only catch up on years later...so I'm told...can't stand Nerd Trek!!!

 

[dlcs]

Love that program. Not really into science fiction, lets face it, most of it's shite! But Red Dwarf can make sci-fi funny. It also comes up with new ideas that the likes of Star Trek only catch up on years later...so I'm told...can't stand Nerd Trek!!!

Oh darling, if I had a nickel for every time the phrase "time-space continuum" was used in RD, I'd be able to buy one of the "Quarantine" dresses.
I think the reason why the theory in TTR worked was because it attacked every single sacred cow of the Kennedy presidency and extrapolated the WORST possible outcome (like Stochi from "Holoship"). Yes, he was a womanizer. There were rumors of who (Mafia, CIA) had him in their pockets and what their reasons to cap him would have been. Doug Naylor did a brilliant job with the theory.