Interview+Criss

Topic: MAY 4, 1970 SHOOTINGS AT KENT UNIVERSITY Subject: Mr. Robert J. Mitchell (Grandfather) and Mr. Robert J. Mitchell Jr.(Uncle)

Question 1: Do you remember what you felt when you heard about the Kent State University protest? Answer: I felt as if the government was overstepping its bounds by sending the National Guard, which is a military unit, not a peace keeping force. They should have sent the police.

Yes, it was a very sad situation. The protests against the war were wrong. Sad violence took place, resulting in unnecessary deaths. All protests that got violent were improper.  Question 2: What stands out in your memory about the incident? Answer:  It crystalized the two sides of the issue in the country. There were two completely diverse opinions. One group said the country was completely lawless and needed more laws, and another side said the country had too many laws and that the government was to controlling. People were angry at the government in general. There was just a lot of anger in the country at the time. The violence... The unnecessary violence.   Question 3: What were the common feelings of your peers? Answer: I was part of the younger generation and we wanted changes in society and felt that the changes were going too slow. We felt the protesters were right and the way the government handled it was wrong. We younger generation felt that our participation in the Vietnam War was unnecessary.

 Most agreed with me, but a lot of others were against the war. I am very conservative and I thought the war was proper. I was for the war, and most of my friends were for the war. The protesters were very unfair and disrespectful to the service men who were dying.  Question 4 (Grandfather): If any of your children were at Kent State, would you have supported their decision if they had participated in the rally? Answer: No, I would not have supported them. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; display: block;"> Question 4 (Uncle): Had you been in college, would you have participated in the rally? Did you participate in any similar rallies at the time? Answer: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Well, not so sure. I don't know how I felt about protest. Protests don't really change anything. I feel it is better to get inside the system than work outside. If I remember correctly, Kent State got violent. I would not have been a part of a violent protest, but I am not sure. Question 5: Did you feel empathy for the National Guard or for the protesters? Why? Answer: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Well, I feel empathy for both. The National Guard guys were all about the age of the people who were protesting. It was really hard for these young guys who were mostly armed college guys to shoot and unarmed college guys. They were trying to keep law and peace. I feel empathy for both sides. I understand what the National Guard was trying to do and also the protesters. The people I have no empathy for were the decision makers. Like the Senior military advisors and the Governor. They put The National Guard guys in a bad position. They were not trained to do that.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; display: block; color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">I feel empathy for the national guard, because they were protecting the public from these out of line protesters. The protesters were totally wrong. The National Guard was there to protect public overall. I do not feel empathy for the violent protesters.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; display: block;"> Question 6: What were your feelings towards the decision to invade Cambodia? Answer: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; display: block; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Um...tough decision too. The reason that decision was made was because the North Vietnam was using Cambodia to bring troops in and supplies. Its clever to do that. Used something called the Ho Chi Minh trail. The Cambodian government was wrong, by allowing that to occur. They put themselves in a position on the side of North Vietnamese. I felt it was justified. Cambodia put itself in that position.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; display: block; color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">We were chasing the communists. I completely agree for going after the North Vietnamese. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; display: block;"> Question 7: Did your opinion on that decision change at all after May 4, 1970? <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center; display: block;"> Answer: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">No, not at all. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">No, not at all.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(0, 255, 101);">**REFLECTION** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(128, 0, 128);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I really found it interesting how, both my Grandad and Uncle, remember the event. My uncle was a freshman at the time and my Grandad was in his 40's. They both had very condradicting views. I watched a 45 minute video, which was very un-biased. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">