Baby Boomers and the 60's

[Harlan Huckleby]

Harlan, that's about the most shameful piece of moral equivalence bullshit I've ever seen you post.

Nah, I can do better.

I do agree with you that in the big picture, the west had the moral high ground over communism.

But we also supported wretched dictators around the world in the name of the cold war. And Vietnam was a mistake, even if it was done with good intentions.

The list of U.S. abuses around the world was long. I'm not making any moral equivalencies, just pointing out the obvious truth that it was a morally confused time.

[texaspackerbacker]

I'll go along with you on the necessary evil of propping up some pretty rotten, but non-Communist dictators.

As for the abuses, though, that's just a bunch of revisionist bullshit spewed by the leftist media and education establishment--the same kind of despicable lies put out by God damned John Kerry about our troops in Vietnam.

[Harlan Huckleby]

As for the abuses, though, that's just a bunch of revisionist bullshit spewed by the leftist media and education establishment--the same kind of despicable lies put out by God damned John Kerry about our troops in Vietnam.

tell that to the torture victims of Pinochet.

[texaspackerbacker]

You're pinning THAT on America?

Besides, if there's anything that "needs killin'" more than a criminal--and maybe some torture too, it's a God damned Communist. And that--the followers of the Communist, Allende--was who was getting tortured and killed in Chile for the most part.

[Patler]

Me and about 98% of the rest of us "self-absorbed individuals"--a.k.a. normal average apolitical America-loving people--the ones not doing drugs, protesting the war/spitting on their country, etc.

I was hardly isolated. I had a front row seat to see the worst of the assholes--on display in Madison long before it was known as MadTown. It really was no big deal, though.

98%, huh?

I was tear gassed in Madison while simply walking on campus, not participating in anything other than responding to an invitation from one of the UW Departments to come there. I was there numerous times in the mid and late '60s, and frequently had to avoid sit-ins, demonstrations and National Guard lines. If you didn't, you must have been hiding in your dorm.

I was one of the "normal average apolitical (mostly) America-loving people--the ones not doing drugs, protesting the war/spitting on their country, etc." Yet, I buried 3 classmates and 2 relatives because of the '60s. I was not unusual in that regard.

I did not protest or demonstrate, but due to circumstances was put into a position where I had to chose between two positions. I did, and was threatened as a result. Not a hot-headed threat that could be ignored, it was a promise, a real promise.

You weren't affected in the least by the riots of the '60s? Where were you? They were everywhere, big cities and small, southern and midwest. The widespread looting, destruction of block after block in dozens of cities didn't give you pause? Police and National Guard responding, people dieing didn't affect you?

You didn't think at all about the kids killed in the bombings in the south, the murders of people doing nothing more than registering black voters?

You didn't wonder what was to happen when Wallace attempted to keep the University of Alabama all-white?

You didn't worry when the US and the Soviet Union were on the brink of war over the placement of missiles in Cuba?

If none of that affected you, you were self-absorbed.

[texaspackerbacker]

I was in Madison from Fall of '65 until Spring of '69. There were exactly two days in that time period of significant protesting--that needed to be busted up. And only one of those had the Guard called in.

I was in the doorway of the School of Commerce (now School of Business) cheering on the Madison cops as they gassed the God damned long haired weirdos--most of them New Yorkers and other east coast types. I got a few whiffs that day too. I also got in a few good punches and kicks to the heads of the God damned Commie trash blocking the doorway to my classroom building--where Dow Chemical job interviews were being held.

Maybe YOU were so self-absorbed that you didn't notice yourself blundering into a veritable war zone. Or maybe you had some sympathy/empathy for the gassees.

[Iron Mike]

All I remember from the 60s is going down to Hansen's gas station on West Main Street to get a dime candy bar:




Oh, and we used to have a Mars restaurant downtown. Anybody remember Marty Martian???

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Comparing death tolls between the two is foolish..and so 20th century.

Technology has made the death toll drop dramatically..but, the # of injured has risen instead.

Currently about 41K injured. Lot more money will be spent on them...flying them out of Iraq to Germany, operations, rehab, prosthetics, insurance, etc.

Gonna cost us a bundle.

The number injured in Viet Nam is generally reported to have been about 450,000.

I think you meant this for oregon...as i posted nothing about death tolls in viet nam.

However, if you want to go down that route..you are talking south vietnam civs and ARVN.

However, perhaps we should be posting the death tolls for iraqi's supporting our troops and civilian casualties. Current civ deaths from violence..around 85-95K.

[Iron Mike]

All I remember from the 60s is going down to Hansen's gas station on West Main Street to get a dime candy bar:

I also remember my Mom taking me to Downtown Green Bay. I can remember being in Woolworth's and Kaap's Restaurant:

[The Shadow]

I WAS the 60's.