Sad reality of shootings
Toolbox
Published: November 20, 2008
Walter Carpenter's Nov. 13 letter suggests that the "demons" that gunned down the Kennedys, King, and Lennon sought to prevent "change." The facts, however, tell a different story.
Yes, Martin Luther King was killed by a racist, but the others were killed by
a) a communist sympathizer (John Kennedy).
b) a Palestinian nationalist (Robert Kennedy) and
c) a garden variety American loser seeking the blood of the rich and famous (Lennon).
Additionally, three other major political figures of that era were shot, or shot at, by individuals who could hardly be considered opponents of change.
Gerald Ford was shot at by a leftist militant, and Ronald Reagan and George Wallace were grievously wounded by two more celebrity-seeking losers.
It's a sad fact that high-profile American politicians of whatever ideology need protection from all the angry young nut cases out there.
I would have been very concerned, for example, for the safety of John McCain, had he been elected, just as we all must feel protective of President-elect Obama.
After all, McCain has been among the most outspoken enemies of international terrorists for whom political assassination and mass murder is the stock in trade.
Andy Leader
North Middlesex
43