The Slow Moon Climbs

[thelittleslowmoon]

[thelittleslowmoon]

About atomic bomb

*This post is almost unrelated to Bobby* *The text turned out to be completely incoherent!*

Today marks the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Recently, I came across a debate suggesting that children should be allowed to choose for themselves whether or not to study materials regarding the atomic bomb. The reasoning behind this is that the content is invariably extremely shocking. Naturally, I disagree with that view. It reminds me of my own high school days. Before our school trip to the Atomic Bomb Museum, we watched documentary footage of atomic bomb survivors filmed by the U.S. military in the school gymnasium (not all high school students watch this footage). The U.S. military came to study the injuries and illnesses suffered by those exposed to the bomb. Of course, they didn't provide treatment. They recorded footage of children who had lost all their skin all over the body and children whose eyeballs had collapsed into their faces before leaving. As far as I recall, there was no additional commentary by Japanese speakers. The audio itself may not have been recorded. The only thing I remember is the sound of students fainting from the shock of what they saw and falling from their chairs to the floor. The lights in the gymnasium were turned off and it was very dark, so it was very scary to suddenly hear a loud noise while watching the charred corpses and severe injuries of so many people. That is precisely why, I believe, I have managed not to forget about the atomic bomb. At the same time, we can also feel a greater sense of gratitude toward foreigners who take an interest in the atomic bombing. I also remember President Obama. He came to Hiroshima. He hugged the atomic bomb victims. Never before had a sitting American president come to Hiroshima and shown interest in the atomic bomb. I particularly remember Secretary of State John Kerry. Most foreign politicians are very busy and leave the Atomic Bomb Museum without seeing much of the exhibits. But I heard that he said, “I'd like to see a little more of the exhibits,” and took the time to look around. I don't know how they are regarded in the United States, but I don't care about that. They came all the way from far away and took the time to come, and that's what matters most.

While over a dozen Americans lost their lives in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima—a fact the U.S. government took some forty years to acknowledge—investigation into the situation in Nagasaki seems to have lagged behind. What I want the world to know is that a Catholic church, where Mass was underway, stood almost directly beneath the bomb; the priests and parishioners were killed instantly, and the church was destroyed. I have come across the opinion that Japanese people who expressed the view that white people would likely remain indifferent upon hearing that Asian Christians had died, or that the victims would simply be told they got what they deserved for having been born in an "evil country." Yet, knowing about Bobby, I believe there must be at least some people whose hearts would be moved by this story.

though I recall this only vaguely, I love the way Bobby countered a racist who claimed that “Black people are savages and should be ruled by white people.” He asked, “Was Stalin Black? Was Hitler Black? Was it Black people who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima?” It was a remark that came up by chance during a completely different conversation, but for me, those are words I will never forget. It is no exaggeration to say that Bobby's life was completely transformed by the attack on Pearl Harbor. Moreover, at the time, many people believed that the atomic bomb had actually helped avert further casualties. That is why it is truly gratifying that he—an American politician—spoke out and called the atomic bomb barbaric.

In Japan, the phrase “May Nagasaki be the last place to suffer an atomic bombing” is often used. I pray that this becomes a reality. I would be happy if people around the world shared this same wish.

[thelittleslowmoon]

I never can talk about it without just going crazy. I was working on the road for him for President, and I got home one weekend and my son David, who was about nine years old, had a black eye. I said, What happened, Dave? He said, Oh, I got in a fight in school. I said, What was it about? Well, all the kids in school are for Gene McCarthy, and I’m for Bobby Kennedy. So I said, Dave, look, just because I’m for Bobby Kennedy, you don’t have to be. If it’s easier, why don’t you say you’re for Gene McCarthy, and you’ll get along. He said, No, Dad, I’m for Bobby. So I ran into Bobby a couple of weeks later and I asked him about it. I said, Do you ever have troubles like this with your children? And he looked at me with those cold eyes of his and he said yes, and he walked off. And I thought. What an unfeeling person you are. I got home a few days later and the family was in ecstasy. What he had done is gone in the next room, and Bobby had handwritten a letter to my son, It said: Dear David, your Daddy has told me how much courage it took for you to stand up for me against all odds, and I will never forget you. Your friend, Bobby.

─ Lester Hyman

Two weeks later, Hyman saw Bobby again on the campaign trail in Indiana. “Bobby!” he called out sharply, to get Bobby's attention. Bobby turned and looked at him, his blue eyes quizzical. “Why didn't you say something to me?” Hyman demanded. “I was so angry at you and you do this beautiful thing for my son. Why didn't you tell me?” Bobby looked at Hyman, puzzled and annoyed. “Jesus, Lester,” he said. “You're not the one with the problem ─ your son is! Don't be such a baby. It was for your son, not you! It wasn't about you!” Lester Hyman felt his face flushing red. He couldn't respond. “Look,” Bobby said, perhaps aware of his staffer's embarrassment, “I'm coming up to Boston for a speech next week. I'm staying at the Statler. I'll give you my room number. You put your son in my room. I don't want you there. Just put your son in there and I will spend some time with him and teach him how to handle these difficult things. Okay?” ... It was June 2, 1968.

A Common Good by Helen O'Donnell

[strryhaze]

bobby in the following months after jfk's death working under president johnson’s administration

[thelittleslowmoon]

I'm in the process of replacing my PC, so I haven't been able to check Tumblr very often. Thanks to who left a comment!

[thelittleslowmoon]

There are many reasons why Bobby's presidential campaign is heartbreaking, but one of them is that all the people he met during his campaign, especially the children, never saw him again after that. Each and every photograph and video from that time captures their final farewell.

[thelittleslowmoon]

I don't think that we're automatically correct or automatically right and morality is on our side or God is automatically on our side because were involved in a war. I don't think that the mere fact that the United States is involved in the use of force with an adversary makes everything that the United States then does absolutely correct. So I ─ the idea that we're involved in this kind of a struggle, if there are those within the United States that feel that the struggle could be ended more rapidly with less loss of life, that the terror and the destruction would be less if we took a different course, then I think that they should make their views known. I don't think they're less patriotic because they feel that. In fact, I think that they would be less patriotic if they didn't state their views and give their ideas, just because the United States is involved in this kind of a conflict as we are at the present time. Not to state any opposition, or say that we can't state an opposition because of the ─ the fact that we're involved in a struggle I think is an error. This is a difficult period of time, but the mere fact that we're shooting one another across the world doesn't make the United States automatically right.

─ Robert Kennedy

“The Image of America and the Youth of the World,” with Gov. Ronald Reagan, CBS Television and Radio, May 15, 1967

[thelittleslowmoon]

If there were a biographical novel about Bobby, I thinkthis record jacket would be perfect for the cover. This Bobby's photo, taken at the DNC in 1964, captures a precious moment when he broke down his emotional barriers in public. Here, he is a man who has finally lost the need to be ruthless, a man who has come far too late to shake off his ruthless image, and a man who is far too delicate and fragile to be called ruthless.

[thelittleslowmoon]

Despite the passing years, Bob's appearance and mannerisms remain vivid in my memory ─ the perceptive blue eyes, the tousled brown hair, the large forearms and his hands, trembling during a speech; the sloping shoulders and the hunched, leaning walk; the angular nose; the quizzical look and his broad, crinkling smile; the vulnerability that a child could penetrate, but an adult could not...

We Band of Brothers by Edwin Guthman

[justbobbythings]

Rome, 1966

[thelittleslowmoon]

I've seen it in other videos too, but he sits with his knees together in such a cute way. Sometimes I worry he might fall on his bottom like that...

[thelittleslowmoon]

It might be a little obsessive, but I'm making a timeline of Bobby's life. I probably won't finish it…

[thelittleslowmoon]

Jack was a precious commodity and was not to be scratched, worn down or irritated… A campaign is a difficult thing and there are endless decisions to be made. Not only must the candidate be saved from making them in order to conserve his time, but more ─ a lot of the decisions are cruel, they have an element of rejection in them, and they can make enemies. Thus a person whose campaign idea or campaign role is rejected must not be made to think that it was the candidate who had turned him down. He must think that it was unsympathetic underlings. In this case it was the illiberal Bobby who was blocking him out. It was also Bobby who had to separate the endless fights between the local reform groups and the local machines, while keeping both in the Kennedy camp. It must always be the Good Jack and the Bad Bobby.

The Unfinished Odyssey of Robert Kennedy by David Halberstam

When he himself became a presidential candidate, he was scratched and worn down, denied the luxury of pacing himself. Reflecting on that, even the version of him known as “Bad Bobby” looks truly beautiful. He was able to do for others what had never been done for him.

[justbobbythings]

April 22, 1968 — Evansville, Indiana — Senator Robert F. Kennedy pulls a boy getting crushed in the crowd, to safety during a campaign rally at the Roberts Municipal Stadium where he spoke to an estimated crowd of 2,000 people.

[thelittleslowmoon]

Actually, I finally bought a book by Evan Thomas the other day. I had been hesitant to buy the biographies he wrote for a long time. If I translated the book, I'd be at a loss as to what to read next. But I couldn't resist and ordered one of them. I think it's probably crossing the ocean by now. I think I'll refrain from buying any more books by Schlesinger for a while. I want to cherish the time I spend thinking about Bobby.

[thelittleslowmoon]

in 1964

Physically, it was a miserable start. Day after day, he was scratched, squeezed, pummeled, and thrashed. He began wearing suits off-the-rack since they were shredded within a few days. He sported cloth cuff links instead of the gold ones Jack had given him since they were repeatedly torn from his wrists. He bled mostly from the hands, though a woman gashed his chin. In Plattsburgh, a large man squeezed the back of his neck and pounded his back with exuberance. “Bobby! Bobby!” Flowers, confetti, and rice flitted in the air like a disorienting dream. Three times , they bowled him over, Markham and Guthman holding fast to his legs and belt. Riding away from Plattsburgh’s dedication of the John F. Kennedy Bridge, Bobby asked in a weak voice, “Do I have to make another speech?” “One more here, Bob. There are a lot of people waiting in town.” Each day ended by cleaning the scratches with ointment to ward off infection.

The Revolution of Robert Kennedy by John Bohrer looks back at the 1964 Senate elections

[justbobbythings]

[justbobbythings]