Topic: 40th anniversary of RFK's murder

[Schmengie]

I had just turned 17 when RFK was murdered by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan on June 5, 1968. I remember thinking my God, they've killed him, I KNEW this was going to happen! JFK's assassination was still fresh in people's minds and Martin Luther King had been killed only a couple of months before, but that did nothing to cushion the shock, if anything it was worse. It looked like the United States was tearing itself apart in front of our eyes, and no one knew what to expect except that things were probably going to get even worse.

 I vividly remember that expectations were so high, people were so convinced that, FINALLY, here's a man that will bring some common sense and decency into the White House. A black curtain of despair fell over us that hasn't lifted to this day. The world would be a very different place had Sirhan B. Sirhan never been born.

Those were horrible days in spite of the other good memories that I have.

What are your thoughts?

[safristi]

Hillary's gonna "concede" on Saturday...the Anniversary...nuff said.........

[Schmengie]

Hillary's gonna "concede" on Saturday...the Anniversary...nuff said.........

  WTF does Hillary have to do with this?? You're way out of line Saffy, even for you.

[safristi]

..ask her "helpers" not Me......she shoulda said Conceded  on Tuesday   WHY SATURDAY,,,,,she already "mispoke" about pesidential assisinations or are U too smitten to know THIS!!!? ..keep up FER HEAVENS SAKE..........SHE'S toast AND bILLS HURTIN FER A vICE pee...SO HE CAN GIVE HIS wisdom TO US AGAIN ...SYPHLITICALLY...............WOT A LOSING BUNCHA CROOKS........MAKES nIXON LOOK LIKE ...WELL GEEZ WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE TO look up to do we!!!!

[tpl]

I must admit that I paid little attention to RFK getting whacked.   Just another American on the wrong end of a gun from the POV of a brit in the UK.   Same with MLK.    Now when John Lennon was murdered... that was a different matter.
I am not being facetious here Schmengie, those attitudes were common in the UK amongst people of my age and social class.

[ovr50]

I must admit that the killing of RFK and MLK in 1968 had far less impact on me than did the Nov 22/63 killing of JFK. I was deeply into studying to write my final CA exams, set for July 1968 and paid little attention to the RFK thing. Besides it was the continuation of events that had started that horrible Nov day five years previous. There was a lot of bad sh!t going on in 1968 such as the worsening Vietnam War (the Tet Offensive had been in Jan68), heavy student unrest, rapidly changing social climate, and the emergence of the drug culture. The old ways of the 50s and prior were totally over by 1968. To remain OT, I did get my first new car that year. 

The assassination of JFK had a huge impact on me. I was in 2nd year at UofA, 19 years old and only away from home since the fall of 1962. For those not around at that time, one must remember that JFK was a HUGE idol and political figure. It was Camelot, a young and rowdy President, and his pretty wife plus 2 cute kids. This was big stuff at the time and none of the negatives about JFK (his whoring around, his treatment of women generally) had surfaced at that time. When he was killed, the world stopped. Nothing went on for several days, a week, as everyone was glued to the TV screen. Of course, the killing of Oswald by Ruby kept the pot boiling. The Warren Whitewash Commission started to unfold. The overall feeling, at least where I was, was that a very great misfortune had occurred, and history was about to be changed. There are historians that feel that the old ways of the 50s and prior ended on Nov 22/63 and the 60s really began. I concur with that feeling.

If you weren't there, it seems hard today to relate to what happened with JFKs death. And, as with many high profile ppl who are struck down in their youth, and height of power, a certain mystery surrounds them to this day.

Since 9/11 (another history-altering event) the US had become much more insular again (paranoid likely a better word), and in many ways, much of the good done in the years of the 70s to the 90s seems to be gone. A terrified and paranoid superpower, particularily when led by ultra-conservative neo-cons, can be a dangerous state. Hopefully, 2009 and forward will be better for the US and that attitude of "If you're not with us, you're against us" softened up somewhat. 

The book "1968, The Year That Rocked the World" by Mark Kurlansky is a good read for that landmark year.

[tenpenny]

I vividly remember that expectations were so high, people were so convinced that, FINALLY, here's a man that will bring some common sense and decency into the White House. A black curtain of despair fell over us that hasn't lifted to this day. The world would be a very different place had Sirhan B. Sirhan never been born.

I'm fairly certain that, as with JFK, if the full truth about RFK was known, there would not have been this idealistic sense of a saviour.

That does not, however, take away from the horrendous shock to society.  In fact, when you think of it, those three assassinations were pretty much equivalent to 9/11 as far as shocking the people and changing society.  A lot of people suddenly had to wake up, and question what was happening around them. 

As far as bringing Hilary into the thread, that was done by her own mouth, when she made some bizarre allusion to the idea that with the 40th anniversary of RFK's death coming up, she'd wait for a few more days before conceding to a black man.  The message that came out of that was, she was waiting to see if Obama was going to be assassinated, she didn't want to concede before then.  God only knows why she thought that was something she should say.  I think even the most politically inept person would have stopped before saying anything like that.

[ghost]

Who's RFK?
BTW, noticed those assassins have three worded names? Hmm....