Kent State A tragic thirteen seconds on a sunny day in May

The Two Perspectives of the Kent State Shootings: It was the National Guard’s / the US Government’s fault It was the protesters fault

It was the National Guard’s fault The closest student shot was fully sixty feet away; all but one were more than 100 feet away; all but two were more than 200 feet away. One of the dead was 255 feet away; the rest were 300 to 400 feet away. The most distant student shot was more than 700 feet from the Guardsmen. The protesters were not armed. Students had been released from class at 12:30 and approximately 200 students converged on the common for a break from class. The guardsmen misinterpreted this as an illegal assembly. Shots were fired at 12:34. Around 67 rounds were fired into the crowd

Pulitzer Prize photo of Mary Vecchio and victim Jeffrey Miller

…”Point, FIRE!”

It was the protester’s fault On May 3 rd, protesters had gathered in downtown Kent and smashed store windows and looted a jewelry store. On May 2 nd, more than 1000 protesters are estimated to have gathered at the commons on the Kent State campus. Protesters are thought to have caused a fire that burned the campus ROTC building to the ground. By May 4 th, it is estimated that 3000 students had gathered on the campus at Kent State. Many protesters were throwing rocks at the guardsmen. The students had been ordered to disperse by university officials.

It was the protester’s fault

How do you see it?