Is public interest in the JFK assassination declining?

[Vince Palamara]

14 minutes ago, Michael Clark said:

Why not name names, Vince? I would think that if he is about to publish a book, and is so well read, he must, already, have some kind of presence in the community or in relevant social media, no?

Matt Douthit. It is a pro-conspiracy book. He interviewed quite a few still-living witnesses in the medical area including the very elusive Gregg Cross who attended the Bethesda autopsy, among others. This is in addition to much primary and secondary source work. He is much aware of all the work that has gone before him and has built on it.

[Vince Palamara]

14 minutes ago, Joe Bauer said:

Yes, quality major films always reignite more interests.

I know that almost every year, there is a major film done with the Jewish holocaust under the Nazis as a main backdrop and these keep this tragedy in the minds of new generations.

I believe it will take 2 to 3 major budget films done by great directors and with all-star casts to reignite interest in the JFK event in the minds of our younger people.

We have said this here on this forum many, many times..but a big budget film on Dorothy Kilgallen , her remarkable, high achieving and celebrity glamorous life and suspicious death with connections to her JFK/Oswald/Jack Ruby investigation would be a fine first film for this purpose.

Perhaps a new film centered on Mark Lane, Abe Bolden or even a new film on Jim Garrison might help.

Otherwise, only some death bed confession by someone close to the main suspects may spur more interest.

 

 

Definitely!

Another thing to keep in mind in the good news, bad news department: while all of Clint Hill's books (all three of them) were best-sellers with much media attention, they were very pro-government and pro-Warren Commission; the equivalent to three Posner books.

[Derek Thibeault]

We need a Netflix Documentary series. This could go on many seasons, each episode diving into different aspects of the case with debate from multiple angles, providing evidence and scholars. The Tippet case alone could be one full season. Netflix shows are hot and streaming is the big thing. Netflix and chill.

[Kirk Gallaway]

Good topic!

Re MSM:   Well CBS was trying to air a JFKA, conspiracy piece, they looked into the Howard Hunt confessions but then when they tried Judyth Baker. You have to honestly ask yourself, is there anything they won't do to air a JFK assassination conspiracy story.?    ha ha  

Those are both great stories, they would have transformed the JFK movement but unfortunately they have to be true.

As I've said, there's been no serious break in the case that would actually translate to the public for many years. Let's hope for that big break Jim's talking about.

We've talked about film as a vehicle to keep the memory of the JFKA alive. I think the ideal medium is television or say, netflix drama. Capitalize on the public's fascination with the 60's. I'd say a yearly series called "The 60's" , starting with the first year being 1960-61,  and in every succeeding year year taking up 2 years of timeline, throughout the civil rights movements,  the riots, the Vietnam War and the protests,  drugs, counterculture, the assassinations,  Nixon, and eventually the series ending in the 7th year with Nixon's resignation. We can bring in Doug  in a role as a judge just as they brought Garrison into "JFK", and give cameo parts to any number of people still living. The ideal director/producer would be Oliver Stone, but I doubt he'd ever want to get involved with something like that again.

Edited February 6, 2019 by Kirk Gallaway

[Joe Bauer]

How about a star studded "WHO REALLY KILLED JFK, RFK and MLK" or "JFK,RFK, MLK WE STILL CARE" TELETHON ?

A full one or two day event shown on public television stations nationwide?

Inter-spliced with famous video scenes, speeches and personal experience memorials to these three leaders?

Ask any major celebrity who still cares about these three tragic losses to appear and put in their two cents. Singers could perform songs that connect to these three popular leaders.

Well known conspiracy writers and researchers could share their conclusions.

Viewing audience members could be asked to donate to a fund supporting a regular yearly national remembrance and presentation venue of these historical events.

One last big national audience performance by Mort Sahl?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2019 by Joe Bauer

[Jeff Carter]

On 2/5/2019 at 2:05 PM, Denny Zartman said:

The case does look extraordinarily complex. Look at the backyard photo thread that's going on right now and try to see that through the eyes of someone who knows nothing at all about the assassination. I'd guess that they could barely make heads or tails out of it.

That’s a fair observation, but the case is in fact extraordinarily complex. Also, it is not unusual for interest in topics in American History to lead towards what could be described as obsessive cultism. Have you ever been to a Civil War reenactment?

A further example - this week I have been flipping through a 400 page minute-by-minute analysis of the Custer’s Last Stand battle. That is a very famous event which most Americans have at least heard of, which has received varying degrees of focussed attention since it happened, and has retained a sort of generalized public interest, including visits to its rather remote location which is a popular national park. Beyond that, a much smaller number of persons have cultivated a more intense personal interest, which would include debates over how many members of C Company went over which ridge at what time and other similar topics addressed in, for example, the book I have been flipping through, which is not really directed to anything like a mass audience.  What can be seen as obsessive interest can also be understood as a healthy interest which attracts a small but devoted number of persons as a naturally occurring phenomenon which underlines and confirms a recurring general interest.

[Ron Bulman]

6 minutes ago, Jeff Carter said:

That’s a fair observation, but the case is in fact extraordinarily complex. Also, it is not unusual for interest in topics in American History to lead towards what could be described as obsessive cultism. Have you ever been to a Civil War reenactment?

A further example - this week I have been flipping through a 400 page minute-by-minute analysis of the Custer’s Last Stand battle. That is a very famous event which most Americans have at least heard of, which has received varying degrees of focussed attention since it happened, and has retained a sort of generalized public interest, including visits to its rather remote location which is a popular national park. Beyond that, a much smaller number of persons have cultivated a more intense personal interest, which would include debates over how many members of C Company went over which ridge at what time and other similar topics addressed in, for example, the book I have been flipping through, which is not really directed to anything like a mass audience.  What can be seen as obsessive interest can also be understood as a healthy interest which attracts a small but devoted number of persons as a naturally occurring phenomenon which underlines and confirms a recurring general interest.

And may confirm a recurring underlying problem?

[Cliff Varnell]

2 hours ago, Jeff Carter said:

That’s a fair observation, but the case is in fact extraordinarily complex.

Which case?

The murder of JFK?

The assassination of Oswald?

The assassination of Tippit?

"JFK experts" are dedicated to a fetish for complexity in order to make their expertise more essential in the eyes of non-experts.

Me, I'm a student in the Vincent Salandria School of Research into the Obvious.  The universe of the obvious in the murder of JFK isn't all that complex.

Edited February 7, 2019 by Cliff Varnell

[Denny Zartman]

7 hours ago, Jeff Carter said:

That’s a fair observation, but the case is in fact extraordinarily complex. Also, it is not unusual for interest in topics in American History to lead towards what could be described as obsessive cultism. Have you ever been to a Civil War reenactment?

A further example - this week I have been flipping through a 400 page minute-by-minute analysis of the Custer’s Last Stand battle. That is a very famous event which most Americans have at least heard of, which has received varying degrees of focussed attention since it happened, and has retained a sort of generalized public interest, including visits to its rather remote location which is a popular national park. Beyond that, a much smaller number of persons have cultivated a more intense personal interest, which would include debates over how many members of C Company went over which ridge at what time and other similar topics addressed in, for example, the book I have been flipping through, which is not really directed to anything like a mass audience.  What can be seen as obsessive interest can also be understood as a healthy interest which attracts a small but devoted number of persons as a naturally occurring phenomenon which underlines and confirms a recurring general interest.

I'm glad there are people out there who will micro analyze every detail of this case. I'm not knocking them or their efforts, nor am I saying that they shouldn't be micro analyzing. The case is important enough to deserve close scrutiny. I'm saying the complexity and the amount of details being analyzed might initially seem overwhelming to a beginner, and that might explain some of the perceived waning interest.

As someone who's been reading JFK books for years, I'm still bewildered by the sheer amount of information that I still need to study. I'd imagine that for someone coming in cold, it would be utterly mystifying. If I were a beginner I would be daunted by the mountain of minutia being endlessly debated. I'm not a beginner and I'm still daunted.

[Denny Zartman]

5 hours ago, Cliff Varnell said:

Me, I'm a student in the Vincent Salandria School of Research into the Obvious.  The universe of the obvious in the murder of JFK isn't all that complex.

You and I may find what we believe to be simple and obvious explanations for a lot of these details. There's a reason I haven't participated in the Prayer Man threads. But the truth is that this case is complex because there are others who look at the same details and also find a simple explanation which just happen to be completely at odds with our own "simple" explanation. If Oswald didn't go to Mexico City, the explanation for why the authorities insisted that he did is not simple and straightforward. We can not agree that he did or did not go. If he did go, why? If he didn't go, why do they continue to insist that he did? If after more than half a century we can't answer the question "could Oswald drive?" that's not a simple case.

A lot of the evidence has been destroyed or hidden or falsified, a lot of testimony changed, a lot of witnesses intimidated or even eliminated, and a lot of intentional disinformation has been spread. Probably more than we will ever really know. Saying that the murder of JFK isn't that complex given that we are relying upon a distorted, incomplete, and often contradictory record IMHO doesn't reflect the true nature of this case. We also possibly have a number of participants who were actively trying to hide their roles and pretending to be other people. Piecing together what really happened from that distorted, incomplete, and contradictory record isn't an easy task. If it were truly simple, I doubt we would still be battling over these details today.

[Andrew Prutsok]

How much of the fading interest could be due to the fact that conspiracy theory is now so in our face all the time? Everything’s a conspiracy, from Sandy Hook to Trump-Russia? Alex Jones is now the face of conspiracy theory. As soon as headlines break on a story, for instance, Jones, 4-Chan, 8-Chan, Breitbart, Reddit, Fox, Limbaugh and Trump are all over it, proclaiming conspiracy for anything that remotely exposes the moral decay at the heart of their white nationalism, fascism, grift or whatever in the hell the right wing noise machine actually is. How many young people with no background in history automatically lump JFK in with current conspiracy thinking? JFK’s assassination is now the moral equivalent of claims Hillary fornicates with and then eats children in a DC pizzeria. Maybe that’s the goal?

[Derek Thibeault]

Alex Jones being on our side is a problem. He is just a performance artist/conman. He is everything wrong with the conspiracy community. People think we are nuts because of that. I think TV or film is the best medium to push it back into the nation's conscience by scholarly people.

[Joe Bauer]

When I was attending high school waaay back in the late 1960's, we had classes such as "Social Studies," "Civics" and "History" where young people could learn about our society's and country's political and social history right up to real time issues in these areas.

We had art classes, music classes including actual singing and a full fledged band.

P.E. and afternoon sports was a serious part of everyday high school life. We had many beginning trade classes such as metal shop, wood, auto, electric, even mechanical drawing.

Today most of these areas of instruction have been eliminated or cut back so drastically with only the core areas of instruction ( reading, math, science ) left remaining.

With the social studies area of high school so diminished, our young people never have a forum to learn about and discuss issues such as the ones we feel are so important here.

Our own kids never showed any interest in our boomer generation history, especially the political history aspects.  Mostly, they have been focused on how to make enough money just to survive financially ( student loan debt hangs like a dark depressing cloud over everything ) and not fall into being dependent on their parents into their thirties or even becoming homeless.

It seems the dream of just being independent financially takes up most of their mental thoughts and energy.

Things like the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK and who perpetrated them and why are the farthest thoughts in their minds.

 

[Derek Thibeault]

I think it depends where you live. As a teen in the 80's I somehow(can't remember how)  got a copy of Henry Hurt's Reasonable Doubt and did a social studies report on how Oswald was innocent. Now my kids can take a Vietnam War course in High School, something I never had a chance to take. The offerings in our small city high school are surprisingly good, now they would never have an assassination class. The other issue is my kids won't take a class like that. College look at more of the science, math, English classes. they look at history classes as easy blow off classes. Which I do not agree with.

[Vince Palamara]

I think a few factors will always keep interest in the assassination:

1) the internet- there are many blogs, forums, images, etc., not to mention You Tube videos;

2) books- like I said previously (this is not to brag but to make a point), my books sell every week with 0.0 mainstream press. They are basically just "sitting there", so to speak, yet people are going to Amazon and buying them. That is a good sign. Likewise, I see interest in several other titles;

3) the Kennedys- countless color (and black and white) images and films/videos exist to make them "come alive", despite the 55+ years since the assassination. Interest in all things Kennedy (not just JFK) is alive and well---books continue to be best-sellers, networks still produce popular programs from time to time, etc.

4) President Kennedy was "only" 10 presidents ago and was OUR LAST ASSASSINATED PRESIDENT: in a weird sort of way, that "helps", too (example: if we had a president assassinated since that time, perhaps it would quell interest in JFK's murder somewhat or even a lot);

5) Interest in other big historical topics (WWII, Vietnam War, Lincoln, Civil War, etc.) is alive and well, albeit in concentrated (academic) groups...so interest will never truly die.

Again, keep in mind: the first 30 years after was still very recent: Jackie was still living, the Connallys, JFK Jr, Ted Kennedys, etc. We had the Stone film, it was still the 20th century and pre-9/11. I think it is an awful lot to ask for the same amount of enthusiasm existing 55 (+) years later. That said, the 5 points above are evidence that the interest is still there. I believe the public can be injected with enthusiasm via another QUALITY movie like "JFK" (not crap like "Parkland"). Just look at the media stories involving Ted Cruz's dad "knowing" Oswald, the 2017 file releases, etc. It is "there"...just a little more dormant now.

 

Edited February 7, 2019 by Vince Palamara