The Odd Plaques of Dealey Plaza, Dallas @ AMERICAN DIGEST

August 28, 2012

The Odd Plaques of Dealey Plaza, Dallas

"National Significance"

"One thing that always stuck me as odd on my various trips to Dealey Plaza over the years is that there is a plaque at the side of the road where Kennedy as assassinated that reads: “This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America”. Why not say what actually happened?" -- Laughing Squid

Why not indeed? And also, what's with the "allegedly"? Did the city fathers of Dallas just get tired of beating back the whackos?

"Allegedly shot"

Posted by gerardvanderleun at August 28, 2012 5:46 PM

It says "allegedly" because Lee Harvey Oswald was never convicted of (or, indeed, indicted for) the murder of John F. Kennedy. There was no time for a trial at law. The only trial Lee Oswald got was held in the basement of Dallas City Hall two days after the assassination. He was found guilty of being Lee Harvey Oswald.

Case closed, says Mr. Posner. Well, one can tell oneself that. I was born and raised in Dallas and I've never met anyone from here who believes it.

When one looks at Lee Harvey Oswald, and all the utterly weird and inexplicable shit that surrounded the man his entire life, one can only suspect what strange forces hand a hand in his destiny. From his Marine Corps career to his defection to his return, from the people with whom he was associated to the utter strangers who came to be involved with him, from Atsugi to Moscow to Mexico City, one becomes astonished at the sheer incomprehensibility of his life. The Tippitt affair alone is worthy of a lifetime of scrutiny. (Oswald ate a meal beside the man only days before he died. I mean, WTF?) One might easily find onself giving in to the notion that Lee H. Oswald was a time traveler, a dimensionhopper, an agent of Tomorrow sent into the past to steer America down the road to wherever the hell it is we're going.

It could be worse than that: Oswald might have been part of an attempt to hack the source code of the universe on behalf of the International Association Of Mortar-butterers. It's worth noting that the 20th Century's most famous killer is buried beneath a stone titled simply OSWALD. "Oswald" means "divine ruler" in old Anglo-Saxon.

I know one thing about JFK's murder: if it were so obviously the work of a lone nut, no one would be talking about it fifty years later. Nobody gives a damn about Leon Czolgosz.

I was going to bang on about this, but to hell with it. Nobody's mind is going to be changed, and I've got work to do. Instead, I offer this parting thought: Reality is sometimes viewed most clearly through narrowed eyes.

I'll leave it at that.

Posted by: B Lewis at August 28, 2012 6:49 PM

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Did the city fathers of Dallas just get tired of beating back the whackos?

Yes. They still turn out, every day, rain or shine. Moth to a flame. Come see 'anniversary' day some year.

Posted by: Scott at August 29, 2012 6:12 AM