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Remembering John Lennon

Submitted by Gene Patterson on December 8, 2010 - 8:37pm

Thirty years ago today John Lennon was murdered outside his apartment in New York City. I remember that day well. 

I was a young reporter working at night as a one-man band. That's someone who shoots his own video, writes the story, voices the script and edits the final story.

As word began to filter across the country about Lennon's death, spontaneous gatherings took place. I guess people just didn't want to be alone with this awful news.

I was dispatched to the University Center. We'd heard that a large gathering of students had assembled in the front courtyard. 

By the time I arrived, dozens of people were there.. Mostly in small groups, talking about how sad and terrible the news was about Lennon.

Many were in shock. 

In 1980, if you were a young adult or older, the Beatles and Lennon had been a big part of your life. We grew up listening to their music. And when they broke up, debated why. Most of us still blamed Yoko Ono.

What I found in that courtyard outside the University Center that night, was a desire to share this sadness together. The problem, people weren't quite sure how.

As I walked up, camera on my shoulder, I heard someone yell, "It's the news."

Suddenly, candles and lighters fired up..and the crowd began singing, "All we are saying.. is give peace a chance."

Over and over they sang, swaying in unison.

Many with tears in their eyes. "All we are saying...is give peace a chance."

It was powerful television. And a memory I will always carry with me.

But, I've often thought back to that night and asked myself, 'Would the singing have happened if the lights and cameras of television news not been there?'

I wonder.

Comments

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Comments

'Would the singing have

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 8, 2010 - 9:16pm.
'Would the singing have happened if the lights and cameras of television news not been there?' Yes.

Lennon

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 9, 2010 - 8:38am.
No. Not that the singing was not sincere~just it would have before camera arrived.

I remember this time well

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 19, 2010 - 9:44am.
I remember this time well also. Many of us were as liberal as Lennon if perhaps not as comfortable with his actions or understanding of his relationship with the horrible Ono. Together, nude, in bed, they allowed cameras and interviewers. The only explanation for this that I can figure is that everyone was high at the time. Maturing and gaining a little knowledge and it is to be hoped, a little wisdom, in our older years we can now see liberalism as a tool to bring down Western civilization and bring about a New World Order. Collectivism, its called by the experts who know about it. A few rich elites will rule over the rest of us and treat us like serfs. The great American Republic will pass into history. Any attempts on the part of the founding stock of America to save the West results in slanderous accusations of racism and results in persecution under the big government hate crimes laws. Oh the government that is supposed to exist to protect our freedoms has lots of laws to take those freedoms away. But how could we have known, should we have known? I'll leave that to Gene to answer since he works in the news media. I wonder how much freedom he has to report the facts or how long he would keep his job if he did report the truth? I wonder what subtle pressure he operates under that keeps him in line and politically correct? The PC, big government, the UN, big international corporations which shut out competition, mindless tv with its pornographic mind-destroying, tradition destroying, culture destroying programing, its propaganda which masquerades as freedom of speech but actually works to tear apart White families in order to make it easier to usher in a One World Order. Who knew. We all thought pc was a good Christian thing and helping other races was something that was worthy of us and being liberals, we were right and right wingers were stupid. Our military is hi-jacked by the One World Order as they decimate the White race, create a devastating dysgenic effect and wage wars to destroy civilization and bankrupt America. They liquidate our economy in Asia. They bankrupt one of the biggest economies in the world, California, by double digit IQ people who get in our faces and tell us they're going to reconquist the United States. Our government sits by and does nothing. What would Lennon say today if he could comment upon being used a tool by the One World Order crowd. Would he be happy with the destruction of modern civilization or would he be sober today? Realizing the way that drugs are used to destroy our children and any future hope for the West, what would Lennon say today?

The murder of John Lennon

Submitted by Bayard J. Donahoo (not verified) on December 29, 2010 - 12:32pm.
The murder of John Lennon ranks with me as the most heinous and shocking killing of a public figure. Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, Jack Kennedy were leaders of political movements and thus had a high expectation of violence against them from the extreme political fringe. But John Lennon basically just a music man. His slaughter blindsided and crushed us. As to your wondering, "Would the singing have happened if the lights and cameras of television news had not been there?" is more faceted than it first appears. Our singing on this occasion was not a ploy to advertise a political agenda, but a way to express the pain and the anger that the we felt. It was cathartic to be able to let the larger community see and hear how hurt we were. Your arrival gave us a chance to cry on Knoxville's broad, strong, shoulder. So no, we might not have sung had you not arrived, but your arrival gave us a chance to express our grief to all of East Tennessee. Your coverage was therapeutic. It helped us to loosen, a bit, the grip the tragedy had on our hearts. Thanks for being there.