Peace and Love

250,000 Rally Against Vietnam in Washington

       So far, this week's out of class/ discussion assignment has been my favorite so far. It gave us a chance to be a little more creative, sort through what we found interesting, and I feel it made more of an impact regarding our overall understanding of Vietnam. We weren’t reading to try to find a certain statistic or piece information, we were reading what we wanted- and not necessarily because we were physically able to choose a source, but because we interpreted our sources individually and allowing the meaning we found to be what we read.

A mass of demonstrators fill the streets of Washington, D.C

The article from the New York Times I found was titled "250,000 War Protesters Stage Peaceful Rally in Washington," describes just that. An enormous group of nearly a quarter of a million people gathered in the nation's capital demanding the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam. Composed largely of students and young activists, the group also included liberals, the young and old- nearly every group had a presence at the rally. This particular rally represents a different side of American demonstrations against the war in Vietnam because it was very peaceful, calm, and dignified.

     What really makes this article so interesting, to me, is the involvement of the police force present at the rally. According to the source, the police and Army and Marine Corps were station throughout the streets of Washington; however, most of them were “reduced to directing the scattered traffic or simply standing and shivering in the cold.” As a student at Kent State where we are surrounded with the stories and memories of May 4, 1970 – especially the controversial actions of the National Guard to shoot and kill 4 students- it is very hard to imagine a crowd significantly larger than Kent’s, and in our nation’s capital that no rioting or severe action needed to be taken. I was literally taken back by that. Also, the story reported that only one arrest was made from the duration of the rally, and it was disorderly conduct charge against a 20 year old boy who was caught painting a peace sign on the Washington Monument- which is nothing when you consider the huge scale of this event.

     Another part of the article that, to me, reassured the idea that everyone is human, was that there were even US Senators in attendance; McCarthy, and McGovern- South Dakota and Charles Goodell- New York. Senator Goodell even gave a speech to a very welcoming crowd, and was quoted saying, “We are not here to break a President or even a Vice President…we are here to break the war and begin the peace.” How moving it must have been to the thousands who boldly and whole-heartedly devoted to the movement against Vietnam to hear someone of political power to hear exactly what needed to be heard (and probably what was being felt in the air by everyone in the United States).

     I really enjoyed this article because it was a different viewpoint of the Vietnam War that I had really never been exposed to before. I knew about the crazy radicals who were beaten by police, or the stoned hippies making circles around trees, or even the guy next door who was just ticked off at the government- but this article reveled a more harmonious, humble side of 2 opposing forces. It’s like when you’re English teacher has you write a persuasion or debate paper, and you’re immediately turned off to it because it’s required to examine the other side of the argument you’re on (which you instinctively give a “that’s dumb” in your head). This is that. Exactly. The government stepped backed, said “let them do their thing as long as nobody’s getting hurt,” the people expressed their feelings, and the government responded [at the event]… positively.

     Personally, this is the reason I enjoyed this assignment. It gave me the opportunity to experience an unfamiliar aspect of the Vietnam War history that I might not have been otherwise.