| On this day in 1971, according to the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities:
Over 450 anti-war protesters occupied the historic Lexington Green and refused to leave. The Vietnam Veterans Against the War had organized a three-day march from Concord to Boston -- Paul Revere's route in reverse. According to Lexington's by-laws, no one was allowed on the Green after 10 PM, so the selectmen denied the protesters permission to camp there. With many townspeople supporting the veterans, an emergency town meeting was held. When no agreement was reached, the veterans and their Lexington supporters decided to remain on the Green. At 3 AM on Sunday morning, they were all arrested in the largest mass arrest in Massachusetts history. After being tried, convicted, and fined $5.00 each, they continued their march to Boston.
Hindsight has shown that the Vietnam Veterans Against the War were right -- and the intolerant and reactionary Lexington selectmen tragically wrong. If the U.S. had ended its support for the South Vietnamese government in 1971, rather than waiting to be thrown out in 1975, our interests would have been better served. The same lesson applies today: instead of increasing the number of troops in Vietraq, and spending additional billions, we should begin to withdraw immediately, rather than attempt to stay until we are forced out in a bloody and expensive fiasco. |
