"The Score Is Four/and Next Time More"
A reading for the anniversary of the May 4, 1970 Kent State massacre
Of all the passages in all my books, these one and a half pages from Nixonland is the one people refer to back to most, when relating how my work has helped them grasp the darkness descending upon the United States right now. Not the part about four kids shot dead at Kent State University; everyone knows about that. But the celebration among much of the nation that followed the massacre of these innocents—which, to many, was a revelation.
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When the same 58% supported William Calley I realized the obvious, that a strong majority of Americans are fascist or are amenable fascist. frames. At first it was sometimes an idea that rattled around in my head but by 1976 it became the foundation of how I see America and its politics. I was amazed over the ensuing decades how the GOP kept the worst instincts in the basement. So for all my foresight I completely missed how Donald Trump would carry the day.
I was still a kid in high school in 1970 (in San Francisco) but this was a shock. These days my son lives in Akron. Kent State has a good audio tour of the sites and what happened that day. From it I learned that the black students told each other to stay away from this protest. They knew they'd be particularly targeted. Which reminds me, 11 days after the Kent State shooting 2 black students were killed (and many were injured) protesting the invasion of Cambodia and the Vietnam War at Jackson State in Mississippi. It's hard to ignore why this killing of students is rarely mentioned.