Prior to watching this video, I was not aware of all the resistance that occurred in the US during the Vietnam war. People were very passionate and expressive about there feelings. One example that struck me was Muhammad Ali, refusing to go into war after being drafted and getting stripped of his title. It is crazy how far this went. While watching this video I was wondering, how did it get to the point where it was that bad?
While watching this video I was disturbed about how bad it got and how the movement traveled onto college campuses. Particularly the one in Kent State. The students were hit with tear gas and then they started shooting and killing four students and a dozen were wounded. It was noted that this was the climax of the anti-war movement and I totally agree with that statement.
I agree that I was not entirely aware of how violent the protests became and for how long they went on. I was also interested in the fact that the veterans threw their medals away because they did not like what they stood for and it reminded them of the things they were forced to do because of war. I think that the lack of freedom of speech and freedom of petition is quite disturbing because of things like the tear gas and police violence.
I was also unaware of the extremities that came with the protests and seeing the examples like Ali’s opened my eyes to how serious the effect was.
I like your question but would like to further ask what are you referring to when you say that “it got bad”. The country is rooted in elitism and inequality these movements only brought these to the forefront. My answer to your questions was that these movements did not make anything worse but instead uncovered the truths and this, in my opinion, is better. True patriotism should be fighting your country and challenging your laws to make sure that they are fair and all-encompassing, being an enabler for inequality has never led to anything good.
I was also not completely aware of how violent resistance had become. It is interesting that police violence played a big role in trying to fight resistors and going as far as killing college students on campus.
I feel like even thought it is important o recognize the big people like Ali, it is just as important to realize all of the smaller people too. Often times the power of civilians is undermined and ignored and all the effort is usually given to the figure heads of movements. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the “regular people” accounted for in thee videos and seeing the impact that they had–especially the college students.