To the editor: I was a student at Kent State University in Ohio on May 4, 1970. That day I was with my friend Sandy in the parking lot protesting the Vietnam War, when she was shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard.
The feelings from that time are deep and personal, and have once again returned in light of all the turmoil on college campuses in recent days over the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Vietnam War raised questions of politics, honesty, and morality. It was not primarily a question of ethnic conflict between two peoples. Protests are a proud American heritage and can force necessary changes, but protests that lead to violence are no longer accepted forms of expression.
I'm really surprised that American university leaders have apparently learned nothing from history about how best to approach protests in which participants on all sides have complex and strongly held beliefs. Sending the National Guard to Kent State was not the solution then, nor is a similar response to the protests the solution now.
In their song “Ohio,” Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young asked, “What would happen if you met her and found her dead on the ground? How can you run when you know? I met her and found her dead on the ground. I would like to think that I have not run away from my responsibilities as a global citizen.
Doug Guthrie, Manhattan Beach
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