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Author Topic: Oswald's Motive  (Read 17850 times)

Online Richard Smith

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2022, 03:38:55 PM »
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Robert Oswald, in his PBS Frontline interview, said Lee “wasn’t a political extremist” when he returned to the US from Russia.

In 1963, Lee wrote a speech or letter where he criticized the USSR and American communists.

He had no friends or associates in the US who were communists.

The problem with applying political motivation to LHO is that there’s so little evidence of his dislike of JFK or devotion to communism.

Oswald was a lifelong malcontent.  Angry at mainstream society.  He disliked pretty much anything, and everyone associated with authority.   JFK was the symbolic representative of that society as President.  LHO would have assassinated Nixon, LBJ, or any other political figure who had driven by the TSBD if they had held that position at the time.  I don't believe it was personal to JFK.  An act of opportunity fueled by Oswald's anger and desire to make his mark.

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2022, 03:38:55 PM »


Online Steve M. Galbraith

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2022, 03:46:42 PM »
Oswald was a lifelong malcontent.  Angry at mainstream society.  He disliked pretty much anything, and everyone associated with authority.   JFK was the symbolic representative of that society as President.  LHO would have assassinated Nixon, LBJ, or any other political figure who had driven by the TSBD if they had held that position at the time.  I don't believe it was personal to JFK.  An act of opportunity fueled by Oswald's anger and desire to make his mark.
But he was a political person, he read political material, biographies on major political figures. He had little money but subscribed to Marxist publications, followed Marxist politics, wrote about Marxism. He condemned the Soviet system as being a betrayal of real Marxism, that it had replaced a corrupt Czarist system with an even worse bureaucratic and cruel one. In other words, he compared it to true Marxism. Why would a person who wasn't a Marxist use Marxism as a guide? Robert Oswald said he and Lee had a "tacit" agreement to never discuss politics, that it was something they just didn't talk about.

WC testimony:
Representative BOGGS. He never discussed political matters with you?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; he did not. I would say we had a tacit agreement it was never brought up.
Representative BOGGS. By tacit, do you mean that----
Mr. OSWALD. An unspoken agreement that we never would discuss it.
Representative BOGGS. I understand. Had you arrived at this agreement because on previous occasions you had disagreed about political matters?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; that was not the reason. We just never discussed politics.

The idea that he never showed any favoritism towards Marxism - as he understood it - is, I think, not true.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2022, 03:49:08 PM by Steve M. Galbraith »

Online Jon Banks

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2022, 03:48:09 PM »
Oswald was a lifelong malcontent.  Angry at mainstream society.  He disliked pretty much anything, and everyone associated with authority.   JFK was the symbolic representative of that society as President.  LHO would have assassinated Nixon, LBJ, or any other political figure who had driven by the TSBD if they had held that position at the time.  I don't believe it was personal to JFK.  An act of opportunity fueled by Oswald's anger and desire to make his mark.

His lack of a clear political motive doesn’t exonerate him of course.

But I’m not convinced by the “he did it because he was a loser” theory.


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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2022, 03:48:09 PM »


Online Jon Banks

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2022, 03:56:05 PM »
But he was a political person, he read political material, biographies on major political figures. He had little money but subscribed to Marxist publications, followed Marxist politics, wrote about Marxism. He condemned the Soviet system as being a betrayal of real Marxism, that it had replaced a corrupt Czarist system with an even worse bureaucratic and cruel one. In other words, he compared it to true Marxism. Why would a person who wasn't a Marxist use Marxist as a guide? Robert Oswald said he and Lee had a "tacit" agreement to never discuss politics, that it was something they just didn't talk about.

WC testimony:
Representative BOGGS. He never discussed political matters with you?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; he did not. I would say we had a tacit agreement it was never brought up.
Representative BOGGS. By tacit, do you mean that----
Mr. OSWALD. An unspoken agreement that we never would discuss it.
Representative BOGGS. I understand. Had you arrived at this agreement because on previous occasions you had disagreed about political matters?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; that was not the reason. We just never discussed politics.

The idea that he never showed any favoritism towards Marxism - as he understood it - is, I think, not true.

The fact that LHO didn’t associate with people who were marxists (he more often associated with people who opposed marxism) calls into question his devotion to marxism.

His closest friend in Dallas, George DeMorenschildt, was rabidly anti-communist.

Do you think it’s possible that after living in the USSR and experiencing the difficulties of life under communism, his views on marxism/communism became more pragmatic on politics and less idealistic?

I believe he most likely was genuinely left-leaning politically but not a political fanatic.

Online Steve M. Galbraith

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2022, 03:58:32 PM »
Sorry, this Oswald wasn't a "Marxist" argument is not convincing.

A person who subscribes to/reads fascist publications, praises fascism, praises fascist figures, call himself a fascist is a fascist whether he openly associates with other fascists or not. He doesn't have to attend fascist meetings in order to believe he is one or be one.

Substitute any other ideology for fascism - Marxism, Monarchism, Feudalism - and the same thing applies.

« Last Edit: December 01, 2022, 04:00:38 PM by Steve M. Galbraith »

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2022, 03:58:32 PM »


Online Steve M. Galbraith

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2022, 04:02:35 PM »
The fact that LHO didn’t associate with people who were marxists (he more often associated with people who opposed marxism) calls into question his devotion to marxism.

His closest friend in Dallas, George DeMorenschildt, was rabidly anti-communist.

Do you think it’s possible that after living in the USSR and experiencing the difficulties of life under communism, his views on marxism/communism became more pragmatic on politics and less idealistic?

I believe he most likely was genuinely left-leaning politically but not a political fanatic.
Did he try to shoot Walker or not?

Do you think this below is not evidence of a person with extreme views?


Online Richard Smith

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2022, 04:06:00 PM »
But he was a political person, he read political material, biographies on major political figures. He had little money but subscribed to Marxist publications, followed Marxist politics, wrote about Marxism. He condemned the Soviet system as being a betrayal of real Marxism, that it had replaced a corrupt Czarist system with an even worse bureaucratic and cruel one. In other words, he compared it to true Marxism. Why would a person who wasn't a Marxist use Marxism as a guide? Robert Oswald said he and Lee had a "tacit" agreement to never discuss politics, that it was something they just didn't talk about.

WC testimony:
Representative BOGGS. He never discussed political matters with you?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; he did not. I would say we had a tacit agreement it was never brought up.
Representative BOGGS. By tacit, do you mean that----
Mr. OSWALD. An unspoken agreement that we never would discuss it.
Representative BOGGS. I understand. Had you arrived at this agreement because on previous occasions you had disagreed about political matters?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; that was not the reason. We just never discussed politics.

The idea that he never showed any favoritism towards Marxism - as he understood it - is, I think, not true.

It's debatable whether Oswald's attraction to Marxism was fueled by a belief in its ideology or whether Oswald turned to Marxism because it stood in contrast to American norms.  Robert Oswald said exactly that:  "If everybody had been Marxist, he would have been an American, vice versa."

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2022, 04:06:00 PM »


Online Martin Weidmann

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Re: Oswald's Motive
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2022, 04:09:11 PM »
Did he try to shoot Walker or not?

Do you think this below is not evidence of a person with extreme views?




Did he try to shoot Walker or not?

Did he? Walker didn't think so...

Do you think this below is not evidence of a person with extreme views?

Only to a biased mind.

More reasonable people consider it to be evidence of somebody, for whatever purpose, holding a rifle and some papers.