> Actually, according to the commission that followed, two of those shot
were
> actual vandals and arsonists, the other two were unfortunate victims who happened to be in the
> wrong place at the wrong time.
>
http://www.mohonasen.org/staffdev/mhistory/Summersell2/mhwor60kent.htm
"The Ohio National Guardsmen were equipped with tear gas, grenade launches to help fire the tear
gas, and fire arms. They were also provided with bayonets. The students knew they would need to
defend themselves, so they retaliated. As they were retreating up Blanket Hill they lobbed tear gas
canisters back at the guardsmen along with rocks and other sharp objects. They also charged with
torches. Between sixty-one and sixty-seven shots were fired in thirteen seconds without order or
warning. The outcome, four American students dead along with nine others injured. The four students
shot and killed were Allison Krause, William (Bill) Shroeder, Sandra Scheuer, and Jeffrey (Jeff)
Miller. Allison Krause was hit by a shot penetrating the left side of her body (through her arm and
chest) about three hundred and fifty yards away. Bill was shot in the back four hundred feet away.
Sandra was also shot about four hundred feet about but through her throat. Jeff was shoot in his
mouth nearly two hundred and seventy-five feet away. A memorial for these students has been erected
on the site where they died."
At 350 yards away, Krause was a former participant and was leaving the scene. Scheuer, was walking
to class and was a total innocent. Shroeder was shot in the back and we can assume that he was in
the process of leaving the situation. This leaves Miller, who, though part of the crowd, was not, by
any account I've read, an "arsonist" (since the fires were set the day before, the point is moot,
anyway since the guardsmen were not shooting with knowledge of this. I won't deny that they were
provoked and frightened before they opened fire).
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
"Nine other students were injured. Including Alan Canfora, John Cleary, Thomas (Tom) Grace, Dean
Kahler, Joseph (Joe) Lewis, Scott Mackenzie, James (Jim) Russel, Robert (Robby) Stamps, and Douglas
(Doug) Wrentmore. Of the thirteen shots that connected, seven were in the sides of the backs of
students showing they were not advancing toward the Ohio National Guardsmen, they were fleeing.
Therefore, not every student that congregated as the common was a participant in the peaceful
demonstration that turned into a bloody murder scene. Some were walking to and from their classes,
other were just spectators of the scene. The University was ordered closed immediately, first by
President Robert White and then indefinitely by Portage County Prosecutor Ronald Kane under an
injunction from Common Please Judge Albert Caris. Classes did not resume until the summer of 1970,
and faculty members engaged in a wide variety of activities through the mail and off-campus meeting
that enabled Kent State students to finish the semester."
http://www.mohonasen.org/staffdev/mhistory/Summersell2/mhwor60kent.htm
> >The nature of cycling in SF on a given day means that you are participating in Critical Mass?
> >Those of us
> who
> > cycle to work each day would be as likely to use the same streets, regardless of whether we
> > support CM as a concept or not.
>
> I would think that you would be more likely to prudently avoid the streets that "Critical Mass"
> was making trouble on, and take parallel streets (not hard to do in grid-like San Francisco). If
> that inconvenience bothers you, blame the Critical Mass creeps; I am sure you would do better bike
> time in their absence.
>
Frankly, I wouldn't know what streets they were using, when they were going to cycle, and I
wouldn't plan my life around this. I ride because I ride pretty much when and where I want to. Slow
cycling, just like slow traffic, is infuriating and I would probably adjust for that, as you point
out, but, again, why and how does this excuse the police of following due process? Their suspicious
nature aside, there is no real crime here, just inconvenience. Their response is unjustifyable and
out of line.
Should I go cycling in SF, and, as always, obey the laws and not cause problems, do you think they'd
alter their behavior accordingly? Of course not. This should be a serious concern for anyone who
values their civil rights. Perhaps you, like certain individuals in public office today, like the
idea of a police state?
Rick
