On the Vietnam War series, it said 58 percent of the American public

[raccoon]

At that time, thought the Kent state shootings were justified.

Considering that many people thought like that, it makes me think it's a wonder first
world countries haven't had more idiot leaders like Hitler and Trump.

But then, maybe they have and I just didn't realize it. I didn't realize Nixon was such a creep as the show has shown him to be.

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Do you recall that a huge majority of the US population was in favor of invading Iraq?

Something like 72%. This country is loaded with stupid people that are completely uninformed or brainwashed.

There was a strong belief in those days the the protesters were communists out to take over the country. They were told this by the government and they believed it.

[raccoon]

4. Yes, thanks for the reminder. Nt

[bdamomma]

8. We need more

people to embrace education to eliminate the ignorance in this country. But the powers at be are and have been dumbing down society for quite a while. Very sad and unfortunate.

[Nevernose]

11. Yet we fall for it over and over and over again

And not only do we keep falling for the same lies about whoever our enemies du jour are, we keep believing (or, worse, ignoring) the same lies about ourselves.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Oh yeah; it was very controversial, and a lot of people thought

(or wanted to believe) that the students who were shot were violent protesters - when, in fact, they were just bystanders on their way to their classes. And, yes, Nixon was a really nasty piece of work. He wasn't as out-of-control and erratic as Trump - he was a competent administrator who at least seemed sane most of the time - but he was deeply dishonest.

[ProudLib72]

6. I wasn't around then, and I haven't seen the Ken Burns series

How was that pervasive belief that the students were violent promulgated? Did the WH help promote this view?

[tonedevil]

10. It was pervasive...

there had been unrest including rioting for several years and "The Older Generation" wanted those youngsters brought to heel. I was one of those youngsters. The Democratic Convention in 1968 featured a rumble between construction workers and hippies. It cemented the Generation Gap.
When Kent State happened the default was they wouldn't get shot if they weren't doing something wrong. My father and I had arguments about this until he passed away in the mid 1990s. He was convinced they had rushed the National Guard and were shot as a result.
The WH did fan the flames for sure. One of the most colorful phrases to come out of those times was VP Agnew calling those who would protest nattering naybobs of negativism. It was probably a line from a speach writer, but it effectively communicated the contempt they felt for anyone with the temerity to question them.

[mitch96]

3. I'm curious who took the pole??

Fake news back then?? What was going on in this country at the time did not add up to the polls.
Like the "Uge" crowds at the inauguration of tRumpenführer
m

[raccoon]

5. It didn't say. Nt

[jcmaine72]

7. The sooner white are reduced to 30-40% of the population, the sooner we'll no longer see such large

majorities in favor of such acts of authoritarian brutality. That's the simple truth.

[NobodyHere]

14. Racist much?

Only whites are authoritarian?

[jcmaine72]

20. Poll data almost always invariably shows that whites favor aggressive policing more than minorities

do. So, while it is true that not all whites are authoritarians, most authoritarian support comes from whites.

[sarisataka]

15. Do tell

how do we reduce the white population?

[jcmaine72]

17. I never said "we" are doing anything, did I?

Google the phrase "the browning of America". Between immigration, interracial marriage and possessing a birth rate well below subsistence levels, whites will be under 50% of the population by 2040-50 or so.

In the end, I guess the "we" is white people themselves, but don't let that disappoint you.

[RobinA]

16. I'm Going To Disagree

when there is a new controlling majority they will act exactly like whites do now. I's not the skin color, it's the power.

[Beringia]

19. I agree

Power corrupts and many people including brown and black can be authoritarian.

[bluepen]

21. Exactly. That poster knows/understands very little history.

[bdamomma]

9. Watching now on PBS

what episode is this? and how many are left?

[Elwood P Dowd]

18. The final episode is tomorrow, so this would be Episode 9. (nm)

[doc03]

12. I remember Kent and I am surprised

it wasn't higher. I think it was a set up between Nixon and Ohio Gov. Rhodes always have. It made Nixon and Rhodes heros among the older generation.

[FuzzyRabbit]

13. I remember that time well.

All through the 1960s, and perhaps even today, the press and most people were convinced that all demonstrations by young people or blacks were violent riots. Most adults thought that everyone who participated in a civil rights protest or peace march was a communist trying to overthrow the US government.