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Comparisons between Student Protests in 1968 and 2024 Are All Wrong

(MSNBC) Michael A. Cohen - There is increasing talk about how the campus protests today bear similarity to those opposing the war in Vietnam. These comparisons are wildly off base. In 1968, there was a national draft scooping up 18-year-olds into the military, while 17,000 Americans were killed in Vietnam and more than 87,000 were wounded that year. Today, college students might be enraged about the situation in Gaza, but virtually none of them has that kind of skin in the game. In 1968, Vietnam was one of the pre-eminent issues on the minds of American voters, forcing incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson to bow out and end his bid for re-election. The war in Gaza is not a primary issue of concern for voters; it doesn't even crack the top 10. In a recent Harvard poll of voters aged 18-29, Israel/Palestine ranked 15th out of 16 on their list of the most important issues facing America. Even among Democratic voters 18-29, Gaza ranks 13th. For all the coverage that campus protests are receiving, we're talking about a tiny number of students on an issue that the vast majority of young voters either don't care about or don't understand.
2024-05-09 00:00:00
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