I was hoping you'd slog this Josh.

Heard the story on NPR yesterday...I can't tell what she's saying...it could be fuckers, but my hearing sucks and even enhanced the quality of the recording is really bad.

What a day. I was skipping school when the news came through and immediately headed down to the Mall and then over to the Capitol. By late afternoon, early evening there were thousands of people congregating...from high school kids to federal office workers. Even those who weren't inclined to street protest came out. There was this deep sense that some invisible, unspoken line had been crossed.

One of the rare times when I have to give the DC police a nod for showing common sense. The mood of that crowd was seriously ugly and if the police had done anything confrontational, things probably would have spun out of control fast.

Sounds like it.

Damnit, I had always hoped that it was just an accident, that someone really had just panicked. That's just devastating.

I do believe she is saying Fuckers. As you will now doubt readin John Hodgman's next opus, throught the 1970s residents of Ohio where known as Fuckeyes. Often this was shortned to Fuckers. Later in the 70s as the culture of free love lost it's grip on popular culture, the epithet was changed to the inoffensive yet meaningless word Buckeyes.
So the woman was no doubt appealing to the gaurdsman's sense of solidarity as fellow Fuckeyes. Of course what failed to realize was that the culture of free love was highly represented by the national gaurd as most of them had to rent prostitutes for their sexual gratification, suffering from various venereal diseases as a consequence, veneral diseases that would eventually qualify many of them for disability pensions.

Interesting part of the story is that the FBI has apparently had the tape all along. Another cover-up, what a surprise.

wench --

Interesting point.

In the aftermath of Kent I was utterly convinced that this was a deliberate act…ordered by the president even. Or at least someone high up in the Guard. I held that belief for many years…convinced there was a cover-up…a conspiracy.

They were trying to make an example of the protestors and shut down dissent. This was another step in our inexorable slide into a police state. Things like that.

But over the years I changed my opinion. Up until a few days ago I was pretty sure it was a deadly, tragic mistake. A bunch of young, poorly trained, and incredibly scared kids put in a situation they never should have been in and overreacting.

I had a cousin who grew up near Kent and joined the Navy in his senior year of high school (1969) in order to avoid being drafted into the Army. Many of his friends joined the Guard. These are 18 year old kids we’re talking about. A week after Kent he went AWOL for Canada. He knew that if he’d been there he probably would’ve fired too. And knew there was no excuse under the sun for it.

During the first couple of years of our current idiotic war. I was doing shitload of flying between Europe and the US. I was frequently on flights with kids returning from Iraq. They’d talk. Sometimes a lot. What were they? A bunch of young, poorly trained, and incredibly scared kids put in a situation they never should have been in. And often they overreact. They shoot people without any reason. They torture. They lie. It’s a children’s crusade. And, once again, America is largely oblivious.

It may have come down to one idiot throwing a rock, and one scared guardsman (or one angry old timer) firing a shot and all hell breaking through.

In a much more benign way, this reminds me of what happened at the WTO in Seattle and May Day in L.A. two days ago. A peaceful protest, a couple dickheads throwing ricks, and the authorities taking their fear or anger on everybody in sight.

Elswinger -

Did you even listen to the tape? The point is that it wasn't some random Guard firing his gun, it was an organized aim and shoot at the kids, that's why people are excited about the tape.

Bob, I listened to the tape but I'm sorry, besides "fuckers" it wasn't clear to me what else was being said. I give you the benefit of the doubt that someone was giving orders to fire, but tell me who that person was.

I listened to it and I didn't hear anything like a distinct order to fire. And I'm saying that as someone who wouldn't be surprised in the least if they hadn't simply opened fire on the crowd. Now, if you could isolate the sounds, then you might have something conclusive. Otherwise it sounds like a lot of noise. The extremely vage "1, 2" could easily be a crowd chant.

Hello everyone, wanna be part of some kind of community, possible here? anyone here?

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