No John F. Kennedy Anniversary thread?

[goofyernmost]

I noticed that this year as well. Almost no mention of one of the most traumatizing events of the last half of the 20th century. It is, however, a shame that there have been a brand new batch of conspiracy theories that have come out in the last few days about it.

My feeling is that was 60 years ago and any other players in that story are either dead or close to it and there is nothing that can be gained by any other new unprovable theories now. He's dead, let him rest in peace and stop Caroline from having to live it again everytime some crackpot has a new idea. It no longer matters. He was assassinated and things that can't be proven will not change anything. That's all history needs to know. Whatever, happened was unique to President Kennedy and really doesn't apply to any other president unless they are planning to ride down the streets of Dallas in an open car near Dealey Plaza.

 

[starlite_]

My parent's hadn't been born yet

 

[tvguy]

I would say that reporting on presidents' foibles at least while still in office, started with Nixon and Watergate. Before then, like FDR, Eisenhower, and others, not so much.

Frontline on PBS did a great show with retired White House Correspondents and they spent a lot of time talking about that reporting of a President's personal life being off limits. It wasn't considered news worthy. Only what the President did on the job was considered fair game.
Presidential files are sealed for 50 years after their death. 10 years ago the last of JFK files were set to be released. President Obama ordered them to remain sealed. Then President Trump issued the same order. And then President Biden also ordered them to remain sealed. Does make you wonder what is in those files that can't be made public 50 years after Kennedy's death.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

As a pp mentioned, we’d discussed it on another thread.

I didn’t see much on the news this week, other than, repeatedly, ad nauseam, the clip of Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to the president. (Is it any wonder today’s kids don’t know much about it? Focus seems skewed.)



Anyway, here were my posts from there.

I was too young to remember when JFK was killed, but I feel like it still impacted my childhood a lot. Just about everyone I knew had pictures of him in their homes, and, of course, at school. (Imagine that today? Not referencing anyone in particular, but maybe both, lol.) And I live in “Kennedy country”, so his family was still front and center around here in the news, always with references to what happened. For a time I lived near their compound down the Cape (Cod) and used to be over by there a lot. There were a few connections here and there. I always felt so bad about what happened to them. All really tragic. I also well remember the day his son was killed in the plane crash in the ocean (which I don’t even want to think about, ie my son is flying similar planes in the same waters). Just one more tragedy for that family. i have been following his nephew’s (RFK Jr) run for presidency this year. I hope nothing happens to him. (He has a stalker and other threats.) I really must get over to the JFK and Senator Ted Kennedy museums one of these days, it’s been on my to-do list forever. I’ve been to the smaller museum in Hyannis and the pictures take you back to another time and place. Thanks for mentioning the Netflix documentary, I will put it on my watch list.

View attachment 812698

I was just a baby.

Interesting article about the aftermath from a UK perspective:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ng-picture-Prince-Philip-anniversary-JFK.html

I’d guess that Prince Phillip had a special affinity for John-John because he himself had a very difficult family situation growing up and could relate. That’s my sense of it anyway. And, his own Prince Andrew was the same age.

I was a toddler in 1963 so I have no memory of it. However, I always remember the date and knew this anniversary was coming up. Such a sad day in history.

DH and I have been watching a few of the new documentaries on the subject, all very interesting. Interviews with witnesses and others directly involved are especially compelling. Even though I’ve seen it many times, it is chilling to me to see the Zapruder footage. We have been to the JFK Library in Boston and to his grave in Arlington cemetery.

Same. Which explains a lot on the music threads.

I remember it-I was on the bus, coming home from Junior H-I mean "middle school" they call it now. I lived in Massachusetts at the time, and almost everyone there idolized the Kennedy's. Almost everyone except my parents. To us, it was just several days of nothing on TV except the funeral. Almost 60 years later, our son took us into Dallas (he lives in the area) to "see the grassy knoll where Lincoln was shot". He only paid part attention in History class.

Several days of nothing? That surprises me. Seems like most of the country was devastated. Maybe I’m misreading - or misjudging?

 

[tvguy]

I didn’t see much on the news this week, other than, repeatedly, ad nauseam, the clip of Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to the president. (Is it any wonder today’s kids don’t know much about it? Focus seems skewed.)
?

As time as passed and more private information has become public, not sure how skewed that is. And I have to wonder if the reason the anniversary doesn't get much attention anymore is because, like a lot of famous people, over time we learn they were a lot more human that we knew.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

As time as passed and more private information has become public, not sure how skewed that is. And I have to wonder if the reason the anniversary doesn't get much attention anymore is because, like a lot of famous people, over time we learn they were a lot more human that we knew.

Oh, I totally get that, and I know you worked in the industry, so maybe you feel defensive. But I do find it skewed that they chose to focus on his affair, up front and center this week, rather than some of his other accomplishments.

I know, more than perhaps others, that everyone has their warts. I see people at their most vulnerable and in their most basic human state. No one’s fooling me, lol.

 

[tvguy]

Oh, I totally get that, and I know you worked in the industry, so maybe you feel defensive. But I do find it skewed that they chose to focus on his affair, up front and center this week, rather than some of his other accomplishments.

I know, more than perhaps others, that everyone has their warts. I see people at their most vulnerable and in their most basic human state. No one’s fooling me, lol.

I don't think working the media has impacted my view. But when I tell "younger" people that during the Bay of Pigs we kept a weeks worth of canned food and water in the trunks of both my parents car, and had a meeting point out of state in case of evacuation........they can't believe things ever got to that point in the U.S. I think that is what impacts my view and I am guessing, is why some of JFK's papers are still sealed.

 

[wabbott]

I don't think working the media has impacted my view. But when I tell "younger" people that during the Bay of Pigs we kept a weeks worth of canned food and water in the trunks of both my parents car, and had a meeting point out of state in case of evacuation........they can't believe things ever got to that point in the U.S. I think that is what impacts my view and I am guessing, is why some of JFK's papers are still sealed.

The Cold War paranoia of the 50s and 60s wasn't confined just to the Bay of Pigs crisis. I remember it all too well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CONELRAD

 

[goofyernmost]

My parent's hadn't been born yet

Well there's that too and I guess you are right. I don't wonder why there is no program on the Lincoln assassination in fact I don't have a clue what date that happened except 1863 I think. I, however was fifteen and sophomore in High School when the Kennedy thing happened. I remember that day vividly.

 

[Turn the Page]

Well there's that too and I guess you are right. I don't wonder why there is no program on the Lincoln assassination in fact I don't have a clue what date that happened except 1863 I think. I, however was fifteen and sophomore in High School when the Kennedy thing happened. I remember that day vividly.

...that is an excellent point. We don't stop and commemorate the Lincoln assasination do we? I think it was April 1865 but that's as far as I go.

I imagine it is partly because it was so long ago, partly because it isn't a mystery in any way like the JFK assassination is, partly because JFK's assassination is seen as a huge turning point for our country while Lincoln's was not, and also partly because we have video and photographic evidence of JFK and nothing of Lincoln. Probably had something to do with the celebrity factor of Jackie vs Mary Todd Lincoln as well.

FYI, the car that JFK was riding in at the time of his assassination and the chair Lincoln was sitting at the time of his are both on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. Fascinating to see if rather macabre.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

...that is an excellent point. We don't stop and commemorate the Lincoln assasination do we? I think it was April 1865 but that's as far as I go.

I imagine it is partly because it was so long ago, partly because it isn't a mystery in any way like the JFK assassination is, partly because JFK's assassination is seen as a huge turning point for our country while Lincoln's was not, and also partly because we have video and photographic evidence of JFK and nothing of Lincoln. Probably had something to do with the celebrity factor of Jackie vs Mary Todd Lincoln as well.

FYI, the car that JFK was riding in at the time of his assassination and the chair Lincoln was sitting at the time of his are both on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. Fascinating to see if rather macabre.

Both assassinations were turning points in terms of civil rights in the U.S.

 

[Turn the Page]

Both assassinations were turning points in terms of civil rights in the U.S.

How was Lincoln's assassination considered a turning point for civil rights? Andrew Johsnon largely continued the plan Lincoln had already laid out did he not?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

How was Lincoln's assassination considered a turning point for civil rights? Andrew Johsnon largely continued the plan Lincoln had already laid out did he not?

Not exactly, to my understanding.

 

[NotUrsula]

I don't want to make this about religion, but it relates to another important aspect of the historical impact of the JFK assassination, and those who are too young to remember it themselves are probably even less aware of this.

Religion was another factor that made the JFK assassination such a milestone for many Americans, He was the very first RC President, and American Catholics regarded that as sign that anti-Catholic prejudice in the US was finally dying out. {Catholics were discriminated against in many parts of the US at that time; not as openly and egregiously as were Jews, of course, but it did happen pretty commonly.)

When JFK was shot, *many* US Catholics took it as blow against them, too. My father had come home for lunch when it happened, and his immediate reaction was, "They just couldn't let him win, could they? They just had to kill the Catholic Irishman." Being Irish, he felt it even more keenly. (By "they" I think he was speaking rhetorically; he wasn't one for conspiracy theories, and at that time, no one had any idea what had actually happened.) The whole situation was an enormous emotional upheaval in my house; my parents immediately went to our church and said Novenas, and they kept my siblings home from school to watch the funeral. M(y parents had had a framed photgraph of JFK hanging in our dining room since his election in 1960, along with a photo of the current Pope. The photo of JFK remained there until we moved after my father's death in 1975.)

I wasn't yet old enough for school at the time, but I still remember it vividly, because my Dad was a big man who worked with his hands and was incredibly strong, and he cried for 3 days straight watching it all unfold on TV. That really unusual behavior made an impression on my consciousness; the only other time I ever saw him cry was 3 years later, when he got word that his mother had died. (And again, the extensive TV coverage was new and memorable as well; network TV was all there was in most places, and all 3 networks were covering it nearly constantly for the 4 days, starting from news of the shooting until several hours after the funeral concluded. If you remember how ubiquitous the 9/11 TV news coverage was, think about triple that.)

PS: About Andrew Johnson, you may want to read this essay by a historian affiliated with UVA: https://millercenter.org/president/johnson/impact-and-legacy

 

[amcnj]

I agree with the idea that events move into the “historic” category, and rather quickly. We may know these events occurred, learn about them in school, but often no longer feel a connection to them. I know the phrases “Remember the Alamo” and “Remember the Maine”, but am quite removed from the emotion people once had when uttering them.

WWI was ancient history to me when I was young. WWII was still kind of recent and got lots of coverage each year. Over the years that continually lessened as it began slipping into history. The same happened with the Kennedy assassination, and more recently with September 11, which to me already seems to be fading as new generations who didn’t live through it grow up.

Some events from the past can still have a lot of meaning and be emotional for people who weren’t alive when they actually occurred. For me the Lincoln assassination still resonates. As does the sinking of the Titanic. Is that because of books I have read, movies I have seen, or is something else responsible for the connection and fascination I still have for certain historic events?

 

[DisneyOma]

Frontline on PBS did a great show with retired White House Correspondents and they spent a lot of time talking about that reporting of a President's personal life being off limits. It wasn't considered news worthy. Only what the President did on the job was considered fair game.
Presidential files are sealed for 50 years after their death. 10 years ago the last of JFK files were set to be released. President Obama ordered them to remain sealed. Then President Trump issued the same order. And then President Biden also ordered them to remain sealed. Does make you wonder what is in those files that can't be made public 50 years after Kennedy's death.

I'm guessing no one wants to be the guy that tarnishes JFK's memory by releasing sensitive info? I'm impressed trump kept it sealed.

 

[goofyernmost]

...that is an excellent point. We don't stop and commemorate the Lincoln assasination do we? I think it was April 1865 but that's as far as I go.

I imagine it is partly because it was so long ago, partly because it isn't a mystery in any way like the JFK assassination is, partly because JFK's assassination is seen as a huge turning point for our country while Lincoln's was not, and also partly because we have video and photographic evidence of JFK and nothing of Lincoln. Probably had something to do with the celebrity factor of Jackie vs Mary Todd Lincoln as well.

FYI, the car that JFK was riding in at the time of his assassination and the chair Lincoln was sitting at the time of his are both on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. Fascinating to see if rather macabre.

The only reason that it didn't seem to be as traumatic at Lincoln's time is because we had the curse of instantaneous, real time experience of it. We even got the chance to watch Lee Harvey Oswald murdered on live TV. It took weeks for the news of Lincoln to get around the country. I don't think it was any less shocking to the country, just spread more slowly. And they found a whole conspiracy concerning the assassination of Lincoln decades later. There was more than just John Wilkes Booth involved.

I went to the Henry Ford Museum as a teen with my parents and saw the Lincoln chair along with my 5 year old sister. It caused her to have nightmares. I went again in 2008 and saw the Limo at that time.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I went to the Henry Ford Museum as a teen with my parents and saw the Lincoln chair along with my 5 year old sister. It caused her to have nightmares.

Same. We also visited the house across the street and the room where he died. I’ve never forgotten it. Such horrifying and tragic events. I hope we never see anything like it again.

 

[Turn the Page]

The only reason that it didn't seem to be as traumatic at Lincoln's time is because we had the curse of instantaneous, real time experience of it. We even got the chance to watch Lee Harvey Oswald murdered on life TV. It took weeks for the news of Lincoln to get around the country. I don't think it was any less shocking to the country, just spread more slowly. And they found a whole conspiracy concerning the assassination of Lincoln decades later. There was more than just John Wilkes Booth involved.

I went to the Henry Ford Museum as a teen with my parents and saw the Lincoln chair along with my 5 year old sister. It caused her to have nightmares. I went again in 2008 and saw the Limo at that time.

The Lincoln conspirators were executed in July, 1865. A mere 3 months after the assasination. It was hardly decades after and certainly nothing like the mystery that still surrounds the JFK assassination.

The chair from Ford Theater is disturbing. You can still see the blood staining the fabric. The JFK limosine is....just a car. LBJ famously had it completely redone not long after the assassination. You would never know by looking at it that it had ever been damaged in any way.

 

[goofyernmost]

Same. We also visited the house across the street and the room where he died. I’ve never forgotten it. Such horrifying and tragic events. I hope we never see anything like it again.

We did that same tour of the house across the street and the Ford Theater. It was kind of spooky but it was my 6 year old daughter that was most impressed because her first grade class had just been taught about Lincoln and was going to have a real doozy of a topic to tell the class when she got back to school.