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Author Topic: The Reactions  (Read 2560 times)

Online Charles Collins

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The Reactions
« on: May 01, 2023, 03:30:32 PM »
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In the immediate aftermath of the assassination there were various human reactions. From Alyea’s reactions to Zapruder’s reactions (A to Z) and everything in between, the reactions were varied. Some people tend to react to crisis situations with calmness, while others tend to have emotional breakdowns. Much has (understandably) been written about Jack Ruby’s reactions. But there was almost universal human reaction to the assassination around the world. Initially, there was a lot of confusion, uncertainty, and speculation. And the resulting fear was widespread. From the Secret Service’s response (keeping LBJ out of sight and rushing him away from Dallas, etc.), to Governor Connally’s large security forces that were stationed at Parkland Hospital, the fear was real and widespread.

This thread is intended for discussion of some of the reactions. I will begin with one that most people have probably never heard of:

Thirty-two miles to the west of Dallas, Ft. Worth Chamber of Commerce President Raymond Buck, a prominent insurance executive, was plunged into deep depression at the shocking news. Only hours earlier, after all, he had presided over a triumphant high point of the Texas tour. Now, having been one of the civic leaders who had pleaded with the president to come to Fort Worth and other Texas cities, he felt a personal responsibility for his death. His despondency was so deep that he refused to go in to his office for three months, according to his daughter, Kay Buck McDermott.

Julian Read, “JFK’s Final Hours In Texas”, page 80.

Your turn…

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The Reactions
« on: May 01, 2023, 03:30:32 PM »


Online Charles Collins

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2023, 07:53:16 PM »
Saturday morning at Parkland confirmed that all that had happened was not just a bad dream. Newspaper headlines, radios, and television screens still screamed the shock that we had just lived through and continued to face.
Evidence of the nightmare continued to abound. Armed state troopers seemed to be everywhere.
Still uncertain about a possible larger security threat, they had painted the hospital windows black in Governor Connally’s area and had installed thick steel plates to deflect any incoming gunfire. …

Julian Read, “JFK’s Final Hours In Texas”, page 92
« Last Edit: May 01, 2023, 07:54:58 PM by Charles Collins »

Offline Jerry Organ

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2023, 08:30:39 PM »
Jack Ruby would get a lot of fan mail. Surprised there weren't wholesale public lynchings of "commies".

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2023, 08:30:39 PM »


Online Charles Collins

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2023, 09:23:45 PM »
Jack Ruby would get a lot of fan mail. Surprised there weren't wholesale public lynchings of "commies".


There was a lot of emotional reactions. Many people have said that some of the crowd gathered in front of the Texas Theater when LHO was arrested was ready to lynch him…

Online Charles Collins

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2023, 12:17:54 AM »
Dr. Shaw and other dedicated staff members at Parkland had worked their medical magic by now, and thanks to their skills, the governor had survived a very close call. Beyond physical trauma, he experienced recurring nightmares in which a gunman always chased him.

Julian Read, “JFK’s Final Hours In Texas”, page 99.

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2023, 12:17:54 AM »


Online Charles Collins

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2023, 01:05:22 AM »
Many declared Dallas the “City of Hate” for the first crime. It’s police department was derided as “Keystone Cops” for permitting the second.
There were quick, broad, and brutal expressions of anger. Dallas Mayor Earle Cabell received death threats and required police protection when he and San Antonio Mayor Walter McAllister attended the Kennedy funeral services in Washington D.C. Texas Attorney General Waggoner Carr was forcefully pinned against the back of a hotel elevator by an antagonistic crowd when he represented Texas at the same events.
A prominent Dallas business leader was thrown out of a New York taxicab when the driver learned he was from Dallas.
As further evidence of the fury toward Dallas, Southern Methodist University historian Darwin Payne points to a sheaf of letters in the school’s DeGolyer Library attacking Cabell for the two murders. Payne covered the assassination as a young reporter for the Dallas Times Herald.
A current Dallas leader remembers that as a youngster he and fellow Boy Scouts were warned in advance about reaction they might receive on an upcoming visit to Pennsylvania when people saw the Dallas patch on their uniforms.
Then twelve-year old Robert Decherd, now a chairman of Dallas’s Belo Corporation, had a similar experience on a trip with his parents to England and Ireland.
“When they found out you were from Dallas, their entire expressions changed, and in clear indications… they let you know they didn’t want to know you,” he recalls.
A Dallas business owner dependent on direct-mail orders was forced to change her postal address to nearby Arlington, Texas, when her orders dropped 90 percent following the assassination.

Julian Read, “JFK’s Final Hours In Texas”, pages 105-106.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2023, 01:07:21 AM by Charles Collins »

Offline Patrick Jackson

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2023, 09:28:49 PM »
Apart from emotional reactions, it is very interesting to see that very few people dunked or made any sudden move when heard gun shots in the very near distance. Gun shots are very loud, making people to dunk, ley down, search for cover, look at the sound direction... Very few reactions like this after three fun shots.

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2023, 09:28:49 PM »


Online Charles Collins

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Re: The Reactions
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2023, 11:33:53 AM »
Apart from emotional reactions, it is very interesting to see that very few people dunked or made any sudden move when heard gun shots in the very near distance. Gun shots are very loud, making people to dunk, ley down, search for cover, look at the sound direction... Very few reactions like this after three fun shots.


Yes, it is interesting to see the various reactions. I think it was very sudden and unexpected and was finished within only a short time. Many people apparently didn’t realize they were gunshots until after it was over. Zapruder, Altgens, Dillard, and some others kept right on taking their images. While some of the others “hit the dirt”, etc. And then there was some others who ran towards the area where they thought the shots came from. Definitely a varied response.
« Last Edit: May 04, 2023, 11:38:43 AM by Charles Collins »