Vietnam and Activism

Ok well on Friday we had many guest speakers, most discussing the turbulent era in American history where the Vietnam War was the most pressing issue in America. They discussed what THEY were doing, not what HAPPENED, and this was a much more interesting point. I knew about Kent State, I knew about the MLK walks and speeches. But I didn't know what these people were doing. I didn't know that David Oyster, being a Vietnam veteran, was also protesting the war. It was things like this that made me break past the generalizations that are too often made and even more often accepted.

Also we had Mrs. Holstrom come in and discuss what protest meant to her. This was intriguing because she came to the conclusion in her own life, and was trying to encourage us to realize the same, that to be a successful "protestor" one must move past protest and move on into ACTIVISM. This was a very interesting discussion that posed probably the most pertinent question I have heard in this class "What do you want to come of your protest?" To me this was the right question that now has me writing my protest in such a way where I am trying to determine what the OUTCOME will be, not just the protest.