In a letter to the New York Times, Robert S. Miller of Old Bridge, N.J., wrote the following in response to Richard Rogin’s article about Joe Kelly:
It seems to me that Richard Rogin’s article is slightly condescending in implying that Kelly and the ‘hardhats’ are nice guys but may not be too bright. My wife (Phi Beta Kappa) and I (summa cum laude and law school with honors) feel the same way about flag and country that Joe Kelly does-and so do most of our friends…
Do you agree or disagree with Miller’s assessment of Rogin’s article? What does Miller’s statement suggest about the class background of Americans who were eager to defend “the Establishment” against antiwar protesters at the time of the Hard Hat Riots in 1970?
March 10, 2019 at 8:37 pm
I do agree with Miller`s statement about Rogin`s article. Although the article is mostly descriptive of Joe Kelly`s life, it seemed as though Rogin wanted to drive home the idea that the hard hat movement was mostly supported by uneducated, brute working-class men.
Rogin described Kelly has a large, brawny construction worker with a patriotic yellow-hard hat. Leading the article with this description already taints the readers into thinking this is an uneducated man who only knows manual labor. Later in the article, Rogin touches upon Kelly`s academic life, and how he was not very successful. He mentioned that Kelly was an exceptional athlete, and went to college for a year on an athletic scholarship. This again drives home the idea that Kelly is all brawn and no brain. Highlighting he would not have gone to college without his athleticism.
I also thought the piece on Kelly`s political thinking was interesting. Rogin wrote, “Joe Kelly first voted in 1960, when he chose John F. Kennedy over Nixon for President because he was impressed with Kennedy’s performance in the TV debates.” This draws attention to Kelly`s easily swayed political opinions. Depicting him as someone without the intelligence to consume media representations and form educated opinions. It makes Kelly seem simple-minded and easily controlled.
Additionally, the article also painted a war-like scene between the “students” and the hard hat supporters. Stating “…overt and invisible violence: white against black, conservatives against liberals, workers against students, old against young, fathers against sons. …” This made it seem like only educated people supported the anti-war movement, while only uneducated people supported the flag and the hard hat movement.
Rogin seems to believe that only the men like Joe Kelly supported this movement. Men that worked hard for their families, men that were active members of the community, men that were honorable husbands and fathers, but not men who are educated enough to have a valued opinion on the war. Miller refutes this, however, stating his agreement with Kelly’s stance coupled his impressive educational achievements.