Editor,
Watching the peaceful “Black Lives Matter” protests, I was vividly reminded of the summer of 1972. I traveled to Miami, Florida, to participate in a major demonstration against the Vietnam War. Miami was the site of the Republican Convention where Richard Nixon was to be nominated for a second term.
Thousands participated in strategy sessions and instruction on non-violent demonstration techniques. We did some marching and at times met with resistance from authorities. It seemed the police and national guard nearly matched our numbers. They clearly didn’t want a repeat of the ‘68 Chicago Convention. I recall confusion of locals who found themselves immersed in tear gas drift.
On the eve of the convention, many participated in a sit-down strike to block the main avenue to the convention. Per our training, we didn’t resist as we were hauled off to jail. I ended up in a large holding cell that had a TV that could be seen through the bars. I anticipated the late news with high hopes that the world would see that surrounding the restricted, scripted, theater that was going on at the convention, there were masses of peaceful political demonstrators calling for the war’s end.
The news gave us almost no coverage! It showed footage of some vandalism being committed by supposed demonstrators. Or maybe it did happen, but such activity was relatively so minor as to not have been noticed by any of us at the protest. There was nothing on the news about why thousands had non-violently protested! Nor did the news mention that Flamingo Park, the designated “safe place” for non-demonstration participants, including mothers and children, had been aerially sprayed with tear gas.
Somebody in the cell pointed out that not only does the news focus on the sensational, it is very often owned by corporations, some with a stake in the military industrial complex.
It was a major wake up call for me and worth bringing up to remind folks to be skeptical of the news and look hard for the truth.
Dave Spencer