Getting inside Oswalds mind - his library books

[Richard Smith]

The BOP and Cuban Missile crisis were a big deal. If Oswald didn't hate JFK after those well documented confrontations between the US and Cuba, what in 1963 could've changed his mind? And there's no evidence that his opinion of Kennedy changed. 

LBJ was a bigger anti-Communist hawk than JFK. He also favored escalation in Vietnam while JFK resisted.

So with that in mind, I don't see how Oswald might've concluded that eliminating JFK would change US policy towards Cuba.

Per Det. Will Fritz, Oswald acknowledged during his interrogation that he didn't think LBJ's policies would be different from Kennedy's.

As you mentioned, Oswald was a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. I think that, not Cuba, is what fueled Oswald's hatred of Gen. Edwin Walker who led violent demonstrations again Integration...

Oswald was a malcontent with a screw loose.  You can't find tidy motives for his actions.  His lack of apparent animosity regarding JFK is not relevant.  He didn't assassinate JFK.  He assassinated the President of the United States.  He did so primarily because the opportunity fell right into his lap.  Unlike most assassins who have to venture out in search of their targets who they have to pick from anyone else in the world, JFK's motorcade came right past Oswald's place of work.  His action was a giant middle finger to the American society that he detested.  This was Oswald's way to be someone important.  In his fantasy world, he was waking every one up with a revolutionary act.  In reality, he was just an angry, pathetic guy.  His actions have political elements but are mostly driven by subjective psychological factors of Oswald himself.

[Charles Collins]

You're using circular logic.

Even if we assume Oswald, alone or as part of a conspiracy, did it, we don't know what his motive might've been.

There's no evidence that he disliked Kennedy personally. If he did it, he had other motives.
 

I agree but I was noting that LBJ was more of a hawk on stopping Communism in Asia, than Kennedy. It's one of the reasons Eisenhower liked LBJ and disliked JFK.

https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/an-exceptional-alliance-johnson-eisenhower-and-the-vietnam-war

No one could've predicted that LBJ would decide not to retaliate against Cuba despite his suspicion that Oswald was part of a Communist conspiracy. Conventional wisdom is that a State actor involved in the murder of a US President would be treated a an act of war.

LBJ later admitted that he believed there was a conspiracy despite his endorsement of the Warren Report.

Oswald had an above average awareness of Foreign Policy. I doubt he figured that LBJ would be better on Cuba than Kennedy.

It’s possible that LHO admired JFK for some of his qualities. But one also should consider that the extreme wealth of the Kennedy clan is something that LHO abhorred about the capitalist system. He felt that the wealthy took advantage of the not-so-wealthy to become even more wealthy. Plenty of those feelings still around these days.

We will never know for sure what he was thinking. At the very least it can be said that Castro was LHO’s hero. And that he wanted to help Castro’s cause. The publicity in the papers and other media surrounding the war of words between Castro and JFK would have inflamed LHO. As would the book The Shark and the Sardines. Whether or not that was enough to cause the assassination is a matter of opinion. The motorcade passing right by his workplace apparently just coincidentally was too tempting for him in that situation.

[Jon Banks]

It’s possible that LHO admired JFK for some of his qualities. But one also should consider that the extreme wealth of the Kennedy clan is something that LHO abhorred about the capitalist system. He felt that the wealthy took advantage of the not-so-wealthy to become even more wealthy. Plenty of those feelings still around these days.

LHO wasn't shy about his political opinions and he made no secret of his hatred of Gen. Edwin Walker. He expressed it in his writing and to witnesses.

In contrast, there's no paper trail or witnesses supporting your assumptions about his personal dislike of JFK.

It's equally possible that he believed Kennedy would be better for Civil Rights and could bring peace between the US and USSR because of the things JFK said publicly in 1963 like his American University speech for example.

There were people like Allen Dulles for example, who did in fact dislike Kennedy due to the perception that he wasn't tough enough on Communism. Maybe LHO saw the same thing and that gave him a favorable opinion of JFK.

We will never know for sure what he was thinking. At the very least it can be said that Castro was LHO’s hero. And that he wanted to help Castro’s cause.

I'm not sure what LHO really thought of Castro. It's possible that he, like other Americans, initially romanticized the Cuban Revolution but the opinions of Americans, even on the Left, shifted as soon as Castro revealed himself to be an authoritarian.

I say that because we don't really know the complete story behind his fake "FPFCC" stuff and his association with anti-Castro reactionaries in New Orleans (and allegedly Dallas).

His brother Robert seemed to think Lee grew disillusioned with Soviet style communism and wasn't as much of an ideologue as some think he was.

The publicity in the papers and other media surrounding the war of words between Castro and JFK would have inflamed LHO. As would the book The Shark and the Sardines. Whether or not that was enough to cause the assassination is a matter of opinion. The motorcade passing right by his workplace apparently just coincidentally was too tempting for him in that situation.

Given the lack of a motive for shooting Kennedy, it maybe shouldn't be dismissed as a possibility that Governor Connally was the real target.

We at least know that Oswald held a grudge against the governor.

[John Tonkovich]

Has anyone perused the "Historic Diary"?

[Denis Pointing]

Has anyone perused the "Historic Diary"?

Yes John, you're right. No ones getting 'inside Oswald's mind' by viewing his books (I read books about serial killers, doesn't mean I am one) But as I said way back in post #2; If you want to "get inside Oswald's mind" you may be better off reading some of what he wrote and actually said. Here are some speech notes written by Oswald: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/speechnotes1.htm Also a summary of a speech by LHO: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/parnell/ce2649.htm. Oswald's radio interviews can be found here: https://ponderwall.com/index.php/2019/06/07/oswald-radio-interview-august-1963/ And finally, Oswald's diary here: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/historicdiary.htm

[Jon Banks]

Yes John, you're right. No ones getting 'inside Oswald's mind' by viewing his books (I read books about serial killers, doesn't mean I am one) But as I said way back in post #2; If you want to "get inside Oswald's mind" you may be better off reading some of what he wrote and actually said. Here are some speech notes written by Oswald: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/speechnotes1.htm Also a summary of a speech by LHO: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/parnell/ce2649.htm. Oswald's radio interviews can be found here: https://ponderwall.com/index.php/2019/06/07/oswald-radio-interview-august-1963/ And finally, Oswald's diary here: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/historicdiary.htm

I'm familiar with most of those links.

What seems clear based on his own words is:
 
- after having lived in Russia he preferred the US over Russia

- he wasn't a communist

- he was very knowledgable about foreign policy and politics

[Denis Pointing]

I'm familiar with most of those links.

What seems clear based on his own words is:
 
- after having lived in Russia he preferred the US over Russia

- he wasn't a communist

- he was very knowledgable about foreign policy and politics

Yes Jon, but be careful, personally I wouldn't accept anything from Oswald at face value..always look/expect a possible lie.

[Jon Banks]

Yes Jon, but be careful, personally I wouldn't accept anything from Oswald at face value..always look/expect a possible lie.

He was an enigma wrapped in an enigma.