JFK Lancer Virtual 2020 Conference

[Larry Hancock]

Happy Birthday indeed Ron,  and on the conference wish us luck and good weather for this weekend.  We will be recording a virtual walking tour of the Plaza.  Gabby has the walking script I used for years and I will coach her by phone as she records and then dub in the narrative for the conference.  Its our first try and pretty ambitious but if it comes out well it ought to be really helpful for folks who have never made it to Dallas before.

And a lot nicer than many years when I led the tour in high north winds or even in sleet...

[James DiEugenio]

I did mine last Friday and Gabiella, who is recording the speeches,  was good.

From a technical standpoint, everything should be fine with her.

[Larry Hancock]

That's good to hear Jim,  I've done a couple with her as well - and yesterday afternoon she fought Sunday traffic jams in Dallas to get downtown and film the walking tour I normally did at the in person conferences ,  in this case the weather was beautiful (much better weather than later in the month).  I'll be narrating it for the conference.

In a strange quirk of fate, as she was filming down from the railroad overpass looking at Elm and Main, a giant skeleton figure came down the street (from the area Day of the Dead celebration last week).  

Its hard for things to get stranger in 2020...

 

[James DiEugenio]

They are tonight Larry. That was an omen.

[Larry Hancock]

I'm afraid it was.....today I'm channeling 1970, a place in time I had hoped the nation would never experience again.  Painful.

But to keep this thread current, check the following link for the most current list of speakers.  As always there are last minute adds and drops but at present we are working with over 30 speakers.  Over the weekend I invited Alan Dale to do a presentation on he and Malcolm Blunt's new book and I hope we will be able to add that to the series as well.

http://jfklancer.com/Dallas2020/index.html

 

 

[Pamela Brown]

Update on my presentation and ebook -- Deconstructing Murder Most Foul -- an in-depth look at Bob Dylan and the assassination of President Kennedy...

https://dylagence.wordpress.com/2020/10/17/deconstructing-murder-most-foul-an-in-depth-look-at-bob-dylan-and-the-assassination-of-president-kennedy/

[James DiEugenio]

Larry:

Is Steve Roe your new Jerry Dealey?

 

 

[Larry Hancock]

Well Jerry (whom I always enjoyed) played a number of roles in the conferences, one of the major ones being an expert on the physical layout and history of both the plaza itself and the TSBD - his detailed presentations on the TSBD were always extremely well received.  He also played a great role as a tour guide given how extensively he knows Dallas.

On the other hand Jerry was an avowed and rigorous non- partisan in discussions, stating most often that he was neither pro nor anti conspiracy, but just interested in vetting things based on the facts he could produce.  That was certainly frustrating for some, personally having come down on the conspiracy since of the fence long ago myself it never troubled me and I think we need residents in the JFK community who are hard nosed in fact checking.  To my mind we still carry considerable baggage, myths and legends accumulated over the decades and when we can we need to parse things down as much as possible.

Having said that, I really don't know Steve personally but he seems to me he may well fill at least something of that role - I'd need let him comment for himself.  In terms of speakers though, we have always sought balance in the conference, considering it a historical conference as well as a research conference.  The last thing I would want would be a conference that was essentially a "fan" event...

[Douglas Caddy]

[Ron Bulman]

Here's an article by Mr. Roe.

https://srhistorical.wordpress.com/tag/jfk/

[Larry Hancock]

If you are interested in the conference you might want to follow the news provided on the Lancer Facebook page linked below...and join in the contest that's in progress there:

https://www.facebook.com/jfklancer

[Allen Lowe]

On 10/30/2020 at 10:44 PM, Larry Hancock said:

 

 

I am amazed to see Steve Roe listed as a speaker, Larry. In my various encounters with him on Facebook he was a dedicated LN'er who insisted no one in the motorcade heard 2 shots together, and that there were no inconsistencies with the rifle as Oswald supposedly ordered it. Among other regular anti-conspiracy posts. He is entitled to his opinion, but isn't this like letting the fox into the hen house because he says he needs some eggs?

Edited November 10, 2020 by Allen Lowe

[Larry Hancock]

Allen. honestly I'm somewhat surprised to see a few posts that seem a bit like a call for censorship of a sort (possibly a defensive overreaction on my part).  I can say as a long term speaker chair that we have indeed had people present in the past who both questioned a conspiracy in general or were "on the fence" about it. In other instances they presented information to refute long term, accepted points supporting conspiracy. A few years ago we have one individual present a detailed photo analysis which refuted the motorcycle acoustics study and strongly questioned the acoustics findings which all us conspiracy types loved at the time.  And yes he was and remains a lone nut, but his presentation was well developed and factual and is now sometimes accepted even on this forum.

We have also had speakers present who were pretty violently opposed to each others positions on various points - enough so to provoke shouting matches. 

Beyond that I can recall a couple of occasions when very well known speakers took the floor to introduce someone in their slot who they ceded their time to without telling us - in one case a purported security expert who proceeded to give his reasoning as to why Jackie was involved in the plot and had helped set up Jack inside the car to be shot (and yes that was embarrassing and yes he got booed).

While I resented that last sort of activity, I always thought it was valuable to have reasoned and factual point counter-point in the presentations. As for myself I've never learned anything much from talking to people who totally agree with me about my own views. That's nice and enjoyable but not productive.

So to answer your question, yes I realize Steve's position and I'm interested to see him present it in detail - that doesn't mean I will accept it or defend it, but I do see the value of hearing contrarian views as long as they are factual and reasoned. Of course everyone is free not to listen to that session just as they were free to walk out on various sessions in the in-person conference.

But I'll stick by my response to Jim's earlier post about Jerry Dealy; I have no interest in a conference where everyone is simply presenting material or views which are so "acceptable" that everyone else will just nod to or respond in some sort of fan like manner (that conference is being held elsewhere). On occasion I issue invites intended to stir things up just a little, as long as the contrarian presenter seems to be organized and factual.  Since this conference allows for an expanded format and actually many more speakers, I even invited a couple of folks (who declined) who might have also have been considered contrarian even if not anti-conspiracy.

And for that matter, some of the speakers other than Steve may tread on a few toes as well....heck, I'm pretty sure one or more of my own presentations well not be well received by some and panned by others. But if a conference is to be dynamic and not just a social event, that's one of the risks.

So, in my usual long winded fashion, that's my view of things - and as transparent a response as I can make...

 

[Anthony Thorne]

I think multiple viewpoints are useful. Keeps everyone on their toes. And if we’re not prepared to listen to those who disagree with us, why should they listen to us?

Even a disingenuous presentation can often be interesting, just from who is presenting it, and what they’re presenting. 

[Larry Hancock]

Here is the most current speaker schedule for the NID conference.  As always we are still working with a few presenters and facing last minute deadlines but this should be pretty close to final:

http://jfklancer.com/Dallas2020/index.html