Conspiracy Month

November is the month that seems to pull the conspiracy nuts out of the woodwork.  Of course, this month seems destined to bring them out more than even a normal November.  The first reason this month always brings them out is because John F. Kennedy was assassinated toward the end of this month.  Nothing makes the average conspiracy nut salivate more than mention of Dealey Plaza, the Texas School Book Depository or Lee Harvey Oswald.  If you want to make them really get upset and possibly injure you I dare you to bring up the Warren Commission as well.  God forbid you even hint at the idea you might believe what the commissions said in their findings.  This month is also supposed to see the release of the movie “Bobby” which is about the last hours of Bobby Kennedy’s life. 

I have talked about conspiracy nuts before.  I can speak about them with some kind of authority because I can freely admit that I was one.  When you want to find out about sin you need to go out and ask a sinner.  If you want to find out what being a conspiracy nut is like you need to seek one out.  How bad was I?  Well, I was into UFOs and I thought an entire committee was hidden behind the fence on Dealey Plaza and shot Kennedy, Connelly, four policemen, a dog and somehow were responsible for the Paris Hilton sex tape.  I was pretty out there. 

The thing about it was that it was just cool to believe you had some kind of secret that no one else should have.  Of course you forget the fact that there are about six million other people who also believe aliens are dissecting cows and multiple people shot Kennedy.  The thing was that there was always an aura of danger around the whole thing.  I remember having ambitions of wanting to discover some great nugget that would prove the government had killed Kennedy and then being on the run from the government myself. On that day in November Kennedy was supposed to be visiting Dallas because there had been a lot of political turmoil in the area at the time.  Nixon had been there and been pummeled by protestors.  In fact, a lot of people forget that Kennedy was not particularly popular when he was killed.  In fact a lot of the glow of his office had worn off at the time.  The Cuban Missile Crisis was a great moment for him but much of what happened during has handling of the crisis would not even be known for decades.  By sheer force of will he and his cabinet managed to keep the Soviets away from Cuba. 

It was an idea to make his entire parade there as public as possible.  A lot people say that the infamous “bubbletop” should have been on the limousine and that it was left off deliberately because they wanted him killed.  It had been raining the day before his visit and all that morning.  Actually the idea was to keep him in an open car so people could see him.  It was hoped that seeing Jack and Jackie would provide some good will to a place that had turned so hostile to politicians recently.  The only way that damn bubbletop was going to be used was if it was still raining.  Also, apparently the bubbletop was made out of plexiglass and wasn’t even bulletproof.   There are those who say it was impossible for Oswald to have made those shots with just three bullets.  They always point to the supposed “magic bullet” and say this is the proof.  What a lot of people forget is that the Zapruder film was not the only film taken during the event.  In fact there were other film cameras in operation on the plaza that day.  Also there were a lot of people there all taking pictures as the car went along.  That’s what was put together during this special I recently saw on the Discovery Channel. 

They assembled the pictures, analyzed the scene from every angle and started to put together the crime scene.  They used ballistics gel and these fake bodies that had actual bones and fake muscle tissue to as closely approximate bodies as it is possible to do without shooting actual people.  They then lifted a basket using a crane and hired a sharp-shooter to take shots at it.  They positioned the bodies in the exact way they had been positioned when that supposed “magic bullet” was fired.  What happened?  Well, it was pretty amazing. Turns out that the bullet did start to tumble as it passed through Kennedy’s neck so that it was cart wheeling in the air when it exited.  This meant it hit Connelly sideways and ripped open a good-sized wound in his back.  All of that tumbling caused it to continue to do so through his body.  Essentially when the bullet came out it hit what would have been the guy’s wrist and ended up in almost the exact area where Connelly’s thigh would have been.  By that time the bullet didn’t have quite enough momentum left for it to come out the other side.  Also, the type of bullet used was meant to actually go through people and do maximum damage as it did so.  So the excellent condition of the bullet might have been possible. 

Now, I am not saying this is definite proof of Oswald acting alone.  He may have had people handling him.  There may have been others involved.  For all I know the people who actually killed him put together this documentary, I am just saying it was pretty cool watching a guy in a crane shooting ballistics gel, really…that’s all. No one wants to believe that someone who carried so much hope was taken so randomly.  I can understand that too.  A lot of people project hopes and dreams onto Kenney without having a clue whether or not he would have really done.  They say he would have pulled us out of Vietnam.  Considering his moves put our advisors there it’s hard to say he would have just immediately pulled out.  Would the world have changed and would we all be flying around in jet packs in perfect harmony had he lived?  Who knows?  Maybe his flings with Marilyn Monroe and others would have just been too tempting for too many reporters and he would have ended up ending his Presidency in disgrace.   

The same can be said for his brother Bobby.  There are almost as many rumors and theories about his death as there area about JFK.  Bobby seemed even more full of hope and since so many people were heartbroken over the death of his brother they projected their hopes about him onto Bobby.  Who knows what actually happened in that hotel kitchen?  Did Sirhan act alone?  There seems to have been a lot of bullets fired judging from the holes they always show in the pictures.  I have this feeling Bobby might have been shot by an over-anxious bodyguard rather than any conspiracy.  In the end, it is impossible to know.  We do live in a world where our heroes can be killed stupidly.  Look at the death of John Lennon for a prime example.  It is sad, but it’s true.  So, all this month, listen with an open mind, but think with a skeptical brain. Bryan W. Alaspa’s novel Dust is available for sale at his website www.bryanalaspa.com and www.amazon.com.