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Poster: ghostofpig Date: Feb 16, 2007 11:09am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: 1970 - a very good year

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."

1970 was a watershed year for music. At least for lps. But, alas, Jimmy, Janis, and Jim Morrison kicked the buckets. There was political and social turmoil all over the place, and that music was a fine respite. Oh--and add to the pile the Stones' classic, Sticky Fingers.

May 4, 1970; an event as important as Altamont--in some ways more so. Kent State.
Peaceful protest turned to anarchy. II happened to be there, as I was a freshman at another Ohio college. We heard that a well organized anti-war rally was to be held that day--in specific to protest Richard Nixon's illegal incursion into Cambodia. We went up there in the morning and were met by disarray bordering on anarchy. Don't think for a minute that this was born of frustration. It was born of a significant number of assholes who felt that "the time (was) right for violent revolution," as Mick Jagger put it. They weren't concerned about Cambodia, Nixon, sanity--they just wanted to have a good time throwing rocks and pretending to be heros.
There's was not a political motivation; it was a selfish one.

So there we were, staring at the lunatics and the National Guard (many of whom were fellow students!), and we saw the inevitable. "I saw things gettin' out of hand, and I guess they always will." We did what we felt was the right thing--we lit out of there as fast as we could. We had the radio on and heard the news as we pulled into our own quiet campus.

We were outraged--initially at the Governor and the guard, but soon we realized that it was members of our own species that were to blame. I doubt that one guardsman wanted to fire his rifle--they were as scared as the rest of us.

Peaceful protest my ass. Throwing bottles and rocks and you don't like war?

Ha.


But the music was great.

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Feb 16, 2007 11:48am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: 1970 - a very good year

Great post, man but I do have to correct you just a little. Sticky Fingers was 1971 - 1970 was Get Yer Ya Yas Out.