Oswald did not act alone Fundamental to all conspiracy theories about the assassination Oswald innocent or part of a conspiracy Based on the evidence of: –Witnesses, eye and ear –Bullet ballistics and wounds –Photographs and filmsġ) Witnesses 600 in Dealey Plaza 50/50 that shots came from behind, from the Schoolbook depository or from in front to the side, the “grassy knoll” But can we trust witnessing? –Jean Hill, very close to events, saw a white dog in the car… actually a bouquet of flowers –Physician in Trauma Room Number 1 with the dying President said he observed the First Lady in a white dress… She was wearing a pink suit. Political Rorschach Test 1960sRight wing Texas oilmen 1960s/70sCuban exiles (right wingers) 1960s/70sCuban govt (left wingers) 1960s/70sSoviets… or LBJ 1970sMafia Hit Men 1970s/80sRogue CIA 1990s +The “Shadow Government” NowAll of the above Undeniable Plausibility Plausible denial = intelligence agency to term insulate officers from suspicion Invert term, use to indicate that certain events fuel our prior suspicions about those who are held responsible So the JFK assassination has become a barometer of US presuppositions of villainy since 1963 McHoskey article – “confirmation bias” and the polarisation of views among young people 1963) And frustrated by movement from the public event to closed investigations Assassination both a conspiracy and a cover up State of the nation Murder took place in contexts of a) the Cold War and b) domestic dissent, both of which polarised America into Left and Right Both would suggest possible theories Nation was frustrated by the ordinary nature of the apprehended assassin, Lee Oswald (who was murdered on live TV on 24 Nov. Was a “splash” event And the actual event took place in public, in an ordinary setting, and was viewed by hundreds and photographed by dozens of witnesses The First modern theory Not the first murder of a President, but took place at the dawn of our modern mediated culture – reported on live TV (though murder was not shown), not just in US but internationally via new satellite technology. The Motherlode Has become the emblematic conspiracy theory Continues to resonate and produce new theories, new evidence, new stories still Not perhaps that we know too little about it, but that we know too much? As Mallon notes, would any event seem so odd, inconsistent and coincidental if examined very closely? But why so significant - in itself and for later conspiracy theories?Ī Conspiracy so vast… Estimated 2000 books on the assassination –Huge majority attack the official explanation vs 26 volumes of official Warren Commission Report –Some recent defences (Bugliosi) But rise and extent of conspiracy theories/beliefs has to be tied to other developments of the Sixties, which raised suspicions – Vietnam, Civil Rights, other assassinations, the internal security state which made suspicion wholesale As a result, today to be a JFK assassination “researcher” is a recognised activity JFK assassination now phenomenon of huge size (web), and Dealey Plaza a tourist zonetourist Oswald 1939 - 63."- Presentation transcript:
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