OT: 50 Years Ago Today

[pixburgher66]

I think he was a decent man and president but think the fact he was killed changes a lot of people's perspectives. If he wasnt killed, I am not sure he is so loved. Admittedly I am not a big Kennedy family fan, I dont like Joe and besides John and Robert I think most of the rest are elitist and/or idiots.



I dont want my post to be thought of like that. I am sorry he was killed and wish it would have never happened. If he had not been killed I think the last 50 years would have been changed for the better. I really do.

Pretty much agree with you. So many people will say he's their "favorite" President...but I think his untimely death changed perception a LOT. He got the ball rolling on the nasty part of the 60's. Sure, maybe things don't escalate with JFK like they did with LBJ, but when it comes down to it, the same people were advising LBJ, right? I can't imagine how vulnerable people must've felt that day. Regardless of political affiliation, that's the leader of the free world being shot down. Scary as hell.

 

[BOSSMANPC]

Agreed 100%. Untimely death has a way of causing individuals to become overrated (Kurt Cobain, Chris Farley) so there is no telling what would've happened.

As for the Kennedy family, certainly some terrible people in that family tree. Like Poppa Joe forcing Rosemary Kennedy to have a lobotomy and hiding her in a psychiatric hospital so she wouldn't ruin her brother's political career.

I agree with a lot of what Nasty says. I respected JFK but I think had he lived he would not have been remembered as the great leader like he is. At the time of his assassination his poll numbers were at an all time low and even though LBJ is hated for getting us involved in Vietnam it was Kennedy that actually started the ball rolling.

It would have been interesting to see how things would have been covered by today's media that is far less friendly to the POTUS no matter what party they're in.

I was just a young pup at the time (eight) but still remember my mom crying and the shock everyone was in on that day. It was a sad day indeed.

 

[BOSSMANPC]

Pretty much agree with you. So many people will say he's their "favorite" President...but I think his untimely death changed perception a LOT. He got the ball rolling on the nasty part of the 60's. Sure, maybe things don't escalate with JFK like they did with LBJ, but when it comes down to it, the same people were advising LBJ, right? I can't imagine how vulnerable people must've felt that day. Regardless of political affiliation, that's the leader of the free world being shot down. Scary as hell.

Sorry pix, I repeated a lot of what you said, I didn't read all of the post before doing mine. Please don't sue me for plagiarism.

 

[David_son]

I just dont get it I understand he was our President at the time but he was still just 1 man and it was 50 years ago. Maybe it was because I wasnt alive but I dont look back and think ohhh this is where I was when this happened on anything.

 

[forty_three]

I always remember my mom telling me about the 60's. At the time (in her eyes) the country was beginning to doubt itself. To doubt that things were truly good. They had come through a few wars and the country was prospering like never before, but a lot of people thought it wasn't equal. And it obviously wasn't (race, sex, class). There were a lot of people, a young generation that grew up seeing war and they came of age realizing that they didn't want to keep doing it. A generation that was coming to realize that who you were, not what you looked like, should determine what life was like for you.

She always said that those three (JFK, RFK and MLK) may not have been perfect men, but what she liked most about each of them was that they connected with that Generation (she was 19 when JFK was killed) and made it seem like they weren't just "stupid kids" for wanting it to be better. She said they gave everyone reason to hope. Yeah, they served their own needs. But (at least it seemed) like they represented other's too.

And when all three died, a lot of people gave up fighting for what they really believed in. And that's the real impact. Maybe he was an ass from a family of nutjobs. But if he could have inspired people to keep fighting for everyone's rights, it would have been way better for everyone. The battles we still fight.

I'm sure some other people felt that way, which elevates his legacy.

I mean, had Lyndon Johnson been killed in Office, I doubt many people would look back at him fondly because of it. Or Nixon.

 

[Comeds]

I hope people know I'm joking - I was going to put in Edmonton, but why would anyone want to visit Edmonton?

fixed it



hey-o!

 

[mattola]

fixed it



hey-o!