The Whole World is Watching

1968 Chicago, generally the thing that comes to mind (if anything comes to mind at all) is the infamous protester versus police riots that occurred. In the Chicago Tribune article, "Democratic Convention 1968" an overall picture is give of the violent chaos that played out over those infamous days. The clash took place in August of 1968 during the Democrat's presidential nomination convention. Over 10,000 anti-war demonstrators under the satirical direction of the Youth International Party, most commonly known as the Yippies, had gathered not only to protest the ever unpopular Vietnam War, but also the potential re-nomination of Lyndon B. Johnson. They were met by a police opposition 12,000 strong as well as 6,000 National Guard troops. Ignoring the order of the police, the protesters continued with their mission of civil unrest. What happened next was nothing less than a police riot. The mass of news media present filmed and photographed the shocking violence and brutality used by the police to subdue demonstrators amid shouts from the crowd of "The whole world is watching." The chant was true. The alarmingly violent fiasco went down as an embarrassing blemish in Chicago's law enforcement and civil history.
Such an event grabs my attention. How does order fall apart like that? Was the riot planned by militant extremists? that's what the city thought when they put organizers of the demonstration on trial. Or, as others believe, it was the protesters that instigated the violence. However, I don't think that's how it all went down. I tend to side with the arguments that the bulk of the chaos was wrought by the police and guardsmen. Yes, they were following orders. Yes, the demonstrators were resisting and fighting back. But, that does not give excuse for the brutal methods used to dispel the marchers as is described here, "Officers pushed people through a plate-glass window and then, according to witnesses, attacked the dazed victims as they lay amid broken glass"(Chicago Tribune). On the flip side, I also know that history rarely has a single one cause for something, and that there are more than just one or two sides to a story. That's why more research is necessary to understand what went wrong at this free expression movement.

"Democratic Convention 1968" Chicago Tribune n. pag. Web. 24 Mar 2010. .