tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6502187932910780823.post1613286932101262294..comments2024-03-06T12:16:49.012-05:00Comments on Fire on the Mountain: Earth Day At 40!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6502187932910780823.post-78946688385506424352010-04-23T13:11:27.543-04:002010-04-23T13:11:27.543-04:00"Nice" kids of 1970? Yeh, I and my whole..."Nice" kids of 1970? Yeh, I and my whole high school cohort were among those who participated in the first Earth Day. We cleaned beer cans and other trash from the banks of a local river while wearing "Our Planet -- Love It Or Leave It" teeshirts. Of course those around today who still recall the chauvinist slogan in support of the then current imperialist rape of Vietnam that this slogan was echoic of will not be surprised by the fact that our clean-up project got no press coverage. <br /><br />And when a month or so later the local high school shut down over student rights issues (and coincidentally in solidarity with the student victims of the Jackson State and Kent State massacres) that walk-out was largely led by these same "nice kids." That summer we began an extended "underground newspaper" project, publishing for the next two years a newsletter that editorialized against the war and in support of the NLF-PRG.<br /><br />And yes, as part of their new-found radicalism, college kids who shut down their campuses came back to "teach" locals about the war and were overwhelmed (as well as confused) to find an existing local anti-racist/anti-war movement. And this had grown out of that first "non-confrontational" Earth Day.Just a little youngernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6502187932910780823.post-54851095103734117602010-04-23T07:52:05.129-04:002010-04-23T07:52:05.129-04:00As often happens, you nailed it, Jim.
I certainly...As often happens, you nailed it, Jim.<br /><br />I certainly had the "more radical than thou" attitude you spoke of in 1970, but hadn't thought of all the later ramifications. (Raised a few of those later generations myself.)jknoreply@blogger.com