Anyone reading this that was here in kent at the time remember seeing the headline I believe it was printed in the record courier "2 guardsmen 2 students killed at KSU"(paraphrased from memory)

I have watched countless media coverage documentaries etc. from that day to now I dont recall ever hearing that or seeing that mentioned --- wonder what that did to an already freeked out community...

Gordon Sinclair Piece is from 1

I believe being born in America is the greatest gift a human can be given at birth.

I wonder how the protesters feel and felt about America? I wonder if they would tell us which society is better, Cuba & Venezuela, or America today? This is likely the reason most don"t feel sorry for them. You see, I read a lot, I listen to them and here is what I hear. First, they hate Nixon! Nixon is dead, but they think he"s still running for President. Secondly, it"s not about civil rights, it"s not about what happened that day and it"s not even about any shootings. It seems to me this has always been and always will be about America always being the problem in the world. I wonder?

Here"s a great little piece by Canadian news commentator Gordon Sinclair from 1. It"s unreal how it still is applicable today:

"The United States dollar took another pounding on German, French and British exchanges this morning, hitting the lowest point ever known in West Germany. It has declined there by 41% since 1 and this Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least-appreciated people in all the earth.

As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Who rushed in with men and money to help? The Americans did.

They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Mississippi is under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 6, it was the Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.

When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United States that hurries into help... Managua Nicaragua is one of the most recent examples. So far this spring, 59 American communities have been flattened by tornadoes. Nobody has helped.

The Marshall Plan .. the Truman Policy .. all pumped billions upon billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now, newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent war-mongering Americans.

I"d like to see one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes.

Come on... let"s hear it! Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar or the Douglas 107? If so, why don"t they fly them? Why do all international lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or women on the moon?

You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times ... and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everyone to look at. Even the draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, most of them ... unless they are breaking Canadian laws .. are getting American dollars from Ma and Pa at home to spend here.

When the Americans get out of this bind ... as they will... who could blame them if they said "the hell with the rest of the world". Let someone else buy the Israel bonds, Let someone else build or repair foreign dams or design foreign buildings that won"t shake apart in earthquakes.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke. I can name to you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble.

Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don"t think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles.

I hope Canada is not one of these. But there are many smug, self-righteous Canadians. And finally, the American Red Cross was told at its 48th Annual meeting in New Orleans this morning that it was broke.

This year"s disasters .. with the year less than half-over… has taken it all and nobody...but nobody... has helped."

Perceptions, perspectives, and points of view, then as now varied and diverse.

Thats America -

It was then and it is now, beyond me, how the killing of the unarmed can be justified.

Mistakes - plenty, on all sides! without a doubt.

Unfortunately that is how reality mostly unfolds.

The guardsmen shooting can be rationalized but what cant?

Defending the action, well I havent the words for that.

Accountability and responsiblity are words we hear thrown about then and now --- usually associated more with the protestors than the Govermental leadership, Guard command staff, or the guardsmen who "pulled the trigger".

all these years later I still have the same sadness and bewilderment come over me when this event is discussed. There has never been and there never will be any acountability or responsibility for that terrible series of mistakes we call May 4th.

I was a policeman for 20 years since then and if we used our weapons under those circumstances with the same results we would be subject to civil and criminal proceedures and in my opinion rightly so.

I worked in a local community and worked with policemen (some who are now in command positions) say "they should have shot more of them" (student protestors) when I would remind them of the rule of law and the constitutionally backed rules of engagement and use of deadly force- their reply would be a smug look of self righteousness and a shrug of the shoulders.
Perhaps hard for some to believe but it is true.

I never liked those guys very much and didnt trust them much either. I saw them make plenty of mistakes over the years and disagreed even argued with them. BUT I never shot them down in cold blood.

I wonder what their children would think of their dad"s when after away at college a few years saw a tape of their dads saying "they should have shot more" and their disregard for the laws their dads swore to uphold- just a thought...

perspective, perceptions, points of view - varied and diverse - thats America- is it?

Nixon wanted us all dead -

I have worked along side Alan Canfora, he is one who stands up for the Republic. This will not go silently into the night... do you hear us? WE WILL NOT GO SILENTLY INTO THE NIGHT! RAGE, RAGE, AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT! - Robert Frost

Nixon had files on all of us, our phones were tapped, and we continually got followed by members of the beaurocratic machine. We knew that the more we were, the stronger they would hate us. College kids, high school kids, it didn't matter - all were with us! They hated it, hated us. Wanted us to go away. WE WILL NOT. DO YOU HEAR ME? WE WILL NOT!

Alan will lead us. He and the others have lead the way. His bravery, courage, and track record as the Chairman of the Barberton Democratic Party show hes a leader. He sacrificed his life for the cause, put his life at risk. He is the champion to guide us through the darkest of times. DO NOT GO QUIETLY ALAN! YOU ARE OUR LEADER!

I'm sorry, did I miss something?

I don't see where anyone wished that more students would have died. I don't see where anyone wished that any students AT ALL would have died.

Everyone who wishes for the memory of May 4th to be kept alive say they want people to "learn" from the event, just like it states on the memorial.

However, I find it disappointing that few want to admit that learning from this would mean that we should learn to find more appropriate, legal means for bringing about change. I have never heard anyone speak that out loud.

There was an anti-war (Iraq) rally at Washington DC that held tens of thousands of people. Somehow those folks managed to hold a huge rally WITHOUT setting any buildings on fire and then attacking the firemen as they tried to put the flames out.

Very little attention is ever brought to the extreme violence and destruction that brought the soldiers to Kent in the first place.

If we want to INSIST on keeping the memory alive, then I would suggest that the entire context of the incident be remembered.

As a young person, I have been places where things went bad, and I regretted that I took part or was even present for such activity. Any psychology professor will admit that there really is such a thing as "crowd mentality" which encourages people to engage in activities that they normally would not do. Has anyone who was "there" in 1970 ever asked themselves the question, "My God, what did we start?"

Maybe someone has, but I have yet to hear it out loud.

Yes I know for a fact there was a sniper near Taylor hall that day and Canfora was shot in the wrist why????

Stop letting Canfora get all the attention w/his so called book---he should be shamed with all the other villians of May 4th.

Now that most of the law enforcement officers and governor all dead there is no one who can speak our against Canfora. He is a worthless piece of---- who should be run out of Kent or that matter out of the state.
Others like him who protested during the events from Friday night to Monday have ruined the feelings of Kent's town people towards students in general-still to this day.

I do wish they had spell check on this reply.
Sorry for all the misspellings Just got to emotional

I was a local 15 year old Kent resedent on May 4th 1970. I cut out of Davey JR high that warm Monday and was at the far end of the parking lot during that fatal 13 seconds.

Yes, I should have not been there and yes the students did use the F word a lot toward the guard.But even 37 years later you "rightious" people still think more students should have been killed.

I will gladly stand 300+ yards away and let you insult me and throw rocks. and I'll shot back with an M1 and we will see who gets hurt the most

Evey time I see a school shotting and see the students run to the safty of waiting police and have consolers to help them heal, I always go back to May 4th. We had no safe place to go. My goverment, my home town , my home state and my family all wanted more of us shot. And I see nothing much has changed.

Yes People still beleave they should have little repercussion for protesting. At the May 1st illegal imagrent rally here in Los Angeles, everone is upset about the amount of police force used. Which they used foam bullets. Thats light weight as far as Im concerned.

If you want to live in a country where its fine to kill people who dont think/talk/look like you want them to I suggest Iran.

SteveP Riverside california

It is not a fair, equal, safe world!

Did their actions DESERVE an immediate death sentence? No. However...

Keeping with REALITY, if a person participates in illegal, destructive, and violent activity, do you think for a minute that NOTHING bad will happen to them?

Do you think for a minute that instigating a hotile incident (throwing things at armed soldiers) is a great idea because the soldiers required to "play nice" and required to totally maintain their composure? These young men were human beings, too.

Some in society have adopted a philosphy that those in authority (police, soldiers, etc.) should take all the abuse the citizens can dish out, while not reacting at all. You can yell, spit, punch, and even stab a policeman, but you should only go to jail for your actions.

This is not about whether the students deserved to get shot, it's that they should have NOT BEEN THERE.

Just like these two guys who got wrapped up in wrongful murder convictions. Guess what, if those two men had NOT been at a known drug hangout, participating in excessive drinking, using drugs, and watching other women (who were NOT their own wives) dance on tables, I'm guessing that the main suspect would not have later on picked their names out of a phonebook and accused them of participating with him in the murder.

You can't participate (or even be a close spectator) in things that most people should realize are going to end badly, and then claim "But I'm Innocent!"

Mr. Canfora has yet to acknowledge that he and his fellow students had any responsibility in the unforutnate events in 1970. To Mr. Canfora, it was, is, and always will be, someone else's fault.