Speaker on Anti-War Student Unrest and Violence
Speaker on Anti-War Student Unrest and Violence
MS unidentified middle-aged white man speaking to crowd about nationwide student unrest as a result of the Vietnam War: "I want them to realize that the price of success through violence is the destruction of the democratic institutions that preserve their freedom to protest, to dissent, and to learn. Violence in any form and in any place, whether in the alley or on the campus, must be condemned without extenuation. Now, a majority of the students on the campus do not believe in these disruptive tactics. Although doubtless many of them have one or the other grievance regarding administrative matters, their purpose is constructive and not destructive. They are not the troublemakers and they believe in the processes of democracy. Their opposites are those who label their demands as non-negotiable. The very concept of a non-negotiable demand connotes an unwillingness to listen and live together... we cannot allow our colleges to be destroyed by violence while sociologists are researching the problem."