JFK Assassination opinion poll

[Ravenhull]

Well, it's been nearly 43 years since it happens and everybody still has an opinion. Well, lets see what the folks around here think.

[Richard W]

Wahey! 100% of the sample of 1 agrees with my vote!

(eta) No option for "none"? The conspiracy theorists aren't trying...

[Ravenhull]

Oooookay, for some reason I thought I could make a poll with multiple questions... and now I don't know how to fix this.

Other questions would have been:

2) Was Lee Harvey Oswald directly involved? (Yes/probably/probably not/true patsy)

3) How many were directly involved? (1/2-5/5-20/20+)

4) Did one bullet hit both the President and Govenor Conally? (Yes/Probably/Probably Not/No)

5) Was there any direct involvement by senior elements of the US Government? (Yes/Probably/Probably Not/No)


And as for my answers:

1) 2
2) Yes, but not neccessarily a shooter
3) 2-5 (More than that would have probably had a leak by now)
4) No
5) Probably not. While I trust Hoover and company about as far as I can throw his casket, it wasn't his style.

[JoeBentley]

I put JFK conspiracy theorist in the same category as 9/11 conspiracy theorist and moon landing hoaxers, using government paranoia to create some sort of impossibly complicated scheme that would require way too many people to keep quiet for far too long.

[JoeBentley]

2) Was Lee Harvey Oswald directly involved? Yes

3) How many were directly involved? 1

4) Did one bullet hit both the President and Govenor Conally? Yes. The so called "Magic Bullet" actually traveled in a perfectly straight line.

5) Was there any direct involvement by senior elements of the US Government? No

[Ravenhull]

Originally Posted by JoeBentley

I put JFK conspiracy theorist in the same category as 9/11 conspiracy theorist and moon landing hoaxers, using government paranoia to create some sort of impossibly complicated scheme that would require way too many people to keep quiet for far too long.

Well, I don't believe there was any goverment action involved in this beyond a possible 'we need to get this settled as quick as possible.' And even that is doubtfull.

I just have my doubts about the official 'number of shots fired' and 'direction of impacts.'

And while the Zegruter (I know I mangled that) film is not perfect, I have trouble with the fact that the President is able to raise his hands up to his neck for a number of frames while the Govenor is able to continue to wave his hat with the wrist that was impacted. It just doesn't feel right.

As for 9/11, a bunch of islamic radicals succeeded in a plot that was beyond what we expected and murdered thousands. Our government was not involved in any way. That is my opinion.

The truest truth is, I doubt we are ever going to see a clearer resolution to the JFK issue. A combination of factors have left us with very muddy water.

[Christie]

Originally Posted by JoeBentley

I put JFK conspiracy theorist in the same category as 9/11 conspiracy theorist and moon landing hoaxers, using government paranoia to create some sort of impossibly complicated scheme that would require way too many people to keep quiet for far too long.

Same with the Princess Diana "Philip told them to do it" conspiracy. These all seem to rely on the ability of an awful lot of people being able to keep a secret. Aside from the paranoia and general goofiness of most of these theories anyway, this is the main reason I think they're fantasy.

[MacLloyd]

Originally Posted by JoeBentley

2) Was Lee Harvey Oswald directly involved? Yes

3) How many were directly involved? 1

4) Did one bullet hit both the President and Govenor Conally? Yes. The so called "Magic Bullet" actually traveled in a perfectly straight line.

5) Was there any direct involvement by senior elements of the US Government? No

That was easier than typing it all in myself. Which of course means I think there was only one shooter.

When I was much younger I was sure that there was a conspiracy, probably because that is so much cooler, but after much research and reading I am firmly convinced that Oswald acted alone.

Mac"boring, but much more likely"Lloyd

[Christie]

Originally Posted by JoeBentley

2) Was Lee Harvey Oswald directly involved? Yes

3) How many were directly involved? 1

4) Did one bullet hit both the President and Govenor Conally? Yes. The so called "Magic Bullet" actually traveled in a perfectly straight line.

5) Was there any direct involvement by senior elements of the US Government? No

Ditto on all points.

As MacLloyd says, it's not as cool - but I believe it's right.

2) Was Lee Harvey Oswald directly involved? Yes

3) How many were directly involved? Impossible to know, but probably just the one.

4) Did one bullet hit both the President and Govenor Conally? Yes - if we're talking magic bullet.

5) Was there any direct involvement by senior elements of the US Government? Probably not.

For many years when I was younger I swallowed the entire conspiracy hook, line and sinker. Every crackpot with an unchecked story to tell, every appeal to ignorance, every piece of made up "evidence" - I simply believed it all. It was a long and painful process of discovery through websites such as McAdams that shook me out of my stupor. Rather embarrassed by it all these days...

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Ravenhull

And while the Zegruter (I know I mangled that) . . .

Zapruder.

I don't buy the conspiracy theories either.

[stalker]

Originally Posted by JoeBentley

2) Was Lee Harvey Oswald directly involved? Yes

3) How many were directly involved? 1

4) Did one bullet hit both the President and Govenor Conally? Yes. The so called "Magic Bullet" actually traveled in a perfectly straight line.

5) Was there any direct involvement by senior elements of the US Government? No

May I be another of the "just copy JoeBentley's post" group.

Years ago I thought that maybe there was a possibility of a conspiracy. The previous attempted killing of General Walker, the attempted defection to Russia and the general mentalist behaviour swung me back to reality.

I now believe that Red Dwarf, Tikka to Ride puts forward the most convincing conspiracy theory, though.

[Singing in the Drizzle]

2) Was Lee Harvey Oswald directly involved? Yes

3) How many were directly involved? Only the one. It is possible that some people could knownely helped Lee Harvey Oswald achieve his goal.

4) Did one bullet hit both the President and Govenor Conally? I could see that the bullet traveled in a straight line at the age of 12 and just from watching the video. The car did not have normal seat placement and they both were not sitting straight up in there seat looking forward.

5) Was there any direct involvement by senior elements of the US Government? Probably not.

If there was a conspiracy. It was a small group that work thru LHO to achieve there goal. The found the right person and let them do all most all the work and they helped were needed in small ways.

...I only voted "more than two" to be the first statistic that voted it! YEY FOR ME!

[Troberg]

Well, any theory that does not contain at least Elvis, aliens and Nixon can't be trusted.

To me, it's clear that it was one shooter, and it was probably Oswald. Who put him up to it is a different matter, here is almost no real information there.

[AnglRdr]

One shooter, many conspirarists, perhaps some low-level civil servants but no "government conspiracy," as such.

And there was definintely more than one bullet.

[JoeBentley]

Originally Posted by Christie

Ditto on all points.

As MacLloyd says, it's not as cool - but I believe it's right.

I know I keep going back to this show but dammit I agree with it a lot.

On the oft quoted (well by me anyway) Conspiracy Theory episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit a guest asked "Do you honestly think that Oswald just woke up one morning and decided he was going to shoot the President?"

To which Penn replied "Yes, but that's just not a very sexy answer."

[JoeBentley]

Originally Posted by AnglRdr

And there was definintely more than one bullet.

Do you mean more then one bullet fired or more then one bullet causing the injuries in Governer Connally's wrist and chest and the injury to Kennedy's neck?

Oswald fire three shots, one missed, one caused the wounds in Governor Connally and President Kennedy's neck, and the third was the shot to the back Kennedy's head.

[chillas]

Not to "me too" here, but, welll ... me too (to JoeBentley's post).

To address (extremely briefly) the so-called "magic bullet" - the first wound to Kennery is misplace by the conspiracy nuts based on the damage to his jacket. What they don't take into account is the fact that the jacket was bunched up due to Kennedy having his arm raised and the back brace he was wearing. Keeping that in mind, as well as the different elevations of the seats in the car, the bullet clearly travelled in a straight line through Kennendy, through Connally, into his wrist, took a very slight deflection off the wrist bone (the first non-soft tissue it hit to this point) and into his thigh. There was nothing magic about it.

[I'mNotDedalus]

I think the case was handled rather poorly by the Dallas Police and FBI (muddled further by the CIA's lack of forthright cooperation). More so, I think we may still learn relevant information about Oswald when the file is declassified in years to come--particularly concerning his defection to the USSR and subsequent return to the US.

Nevertheless, the more I look at the evidence, the more I'm inclined to think he probably acted alone, fueled by madness. Ample computer diagrams illustrate the physics of the "magic bullet" to my satisfaction. Abundant documentary evidence disproves that Kennedy wanted to tone down the Vietnam War (a war in which he escalated after Eisenhower's departure)--the most common explanation for why a government conspiracy existed. In simplicity, I'm especially taken by an account Oswald's brother relates, who visited him in his Dallas cell, stating that he was beaming and grinning all the while.