07-09-2012, 10:54 PM
"By way of introduction, I'll say the following: though I've been a member of this forum for some time now, I have never posted a single thread here. Though I've been a JFK assassination researcher from age nine forward (I am now 39), and studied assassinations as they pertain to the maintenance of the perception of America, I've published exactly zero writings on the subject (I was commissioned to once, in 2008, but when I failed to portray JFK assassination researchers as some sort of fanatical fringe group, my work was tossed into a virtual waste bin). However, I follow the research community very closely and have shared thoughts and observations of various elements of the JFK assassination, and the community, with many researchers.
From this vantage point it is apparent that those of you who are at odds with Professor Fetzer and by extension, Ralph Cinque, are missing the core of Prof. Fetzer's assertion (and yes, the proper mention of, or salutation for a former professor is, "Professor", or alternatively you may refer to him as "Dr. Fetzer").
All of you ascribe to the notion that there are myriad pieces of evidence exonerating Lee Harvey Oswald in the murder of President John F. Kennedy. What you ascribe to is true...
...and yet.
None of you - you who are truly innocent in your failure - seem to comprehend that all of the evidence you present, or allege that can be presented, is only circumstantial. What Prof. Fetzer and Cinque - there also exist researchers who privately agree with them - are offering is the opportunity to present clear and convincing evidence using documentary material (in this case the Altgens TSBD Doorway Photo) to present relevant and most importantly, real evidence for LHO's innocence
Though we all agree that LHO is completely innocent of the killing of JFK, the evidence for his innocence has, for 49 years, been circumstantial. So-and-so saw him drinking a coke (Dr. Pepper, actually, as Dr. Pepper - created in Texas - was LHO's favorite and was/is the soda of Texas), so-and-so saw him in the lunchroom. He could not make it across the 6th floor and down the steps to the 2nd floor soda machine in "X" amount of time or without passing so-and-so. There were no powder burns on LHO associated with firing a rifle. Why would LHO mail order purchase a rifle when he could go to his local Woolworth's and purchase a rifle - and a better rifle than the M-C? And on it goes.
None of the aforementioned pieces of evidence, or any other evidence so far conjured, are any more than circumstantial; most, as a result, can - are by the naysayers and the disinformationists - be dismissed.
However, if it can be proven that Lee Harvey Oswald was the man photographed accidentally by Ike Altgens in the TSBD doorway, we have the only piece of evidence we need to exonerate Oswald of murdering the 35th President of the United States. It is, therefore, worth the time and effort to deal with the Prof. Fetzer/Cinque hypothesis; to argue its merit, prove or disprove it ---- or, leave it to be determined at a later time, if necessary.
But to dismiss it out of hand, and to do so with such petty vehemence, is unconscionable, and beneath a community of people who seek the truth about an event that impacts, not only all of us in the JFK assassination field, but every American - and likely every human on Earth."
So, is this a "litmus test" for JFK researchers? Yes, very much so. It is a litmus test of the community's collective openness to taking existing information and re-examining it. It reveals a pecking order of who in the JFK assassination community acts as "authoritarians" (or feels that they can, at least) - and who is willing to acquiesce to the so-called authorities, even if it comes in the form of special pleading (and those who perceive themselves as, or who seek being perceived as authorities would, and perhaps will, turn this sentence around and aver that it is Prof. Fetzer who is engaging in special pleading, when, in fact, he has drawn conclusions based on the very real premise that the responses to his LHO in the Doorway work has largely been devoid of critical thought). It reveals "group-think" within the community - a negative for any research community, to be sure.
No matter how uncomfortable it may be for some, because of the manner in which people have responded to Prof. Fetzer's and Ralph Cinque's efforts to find one piece of concrete evidence to exonerate LHO ---------- this is a litmus test.
I hope this response is received with the sincerity with which it was written. Thank you for your time.
-DK Wilson
From this vantage point it is apparent that those of you who are at odds with Professor Fetzer and by extension, Ralph Cinque, are missing the core of Prof. Fetzer's assertion (and yes, the proper mention of, or salutation for a former professor is, "Professor", or alternatively you may refer to him as "Dr. Fetzer").
All of you ascribe to the notion that there are myriad pieces of evidence exonerating Lee Harvey Oswald in the murder of President John F. Kennedy. What you ascribe to is true...
...and yet.
None of you - you who are truly innocent in your failure - seem to comprehend that all of the evidence you present, or allege that can be presented, is only circumstantial. What Prof. Fetzer and Cinque - there also exist researchers who privately agree with them - are offering is the opportunity to present clear and convincing evidence using documentary material (in this case the Altgens TSBD Doorway Photo) to present relevant and most importantly, real evidence for LHO's innocence
Though we all agree that LHO is completely innocent of the killing of JFK, the evidence for his innocence has, for 49 years, been circumstantial. So-and-so saw him drinking a coke (Dr. Pepper, actually, as Dr. Pepper - created in Texas - was LHO's favorite and was/is the soda of Texas), so-and-so saw him in the lunchroom. He could not make it across the 6th floor and down the steps to the 2nd floor soda machine in "X" amount of time or without passing so-and-so. There were no powder burns on LHO associated with firing a rifle. Why would LHO mail order purchase a rifle when he could go to his local Woolworth's and purchase a rifle - and a better rifle than the M-C? And on it goes.
None of the aforementioned pieces of evidence, or any other evidence so far conjured, are any more than circumstantial; most, as a result, can - are by the naysayers and the disinformationists - be dismissed.
However, if it can be proven that Lee Harvey Oswald was the man photographed accidentally by Ike Altgens in the TSBD doorway, we have the only piece of evidence we need to exonerate Oswald of murdering the 35th President of the United States. It is, therefore, worth the time and effort to deal with the Prof. Fetzer/Cinque hypothesis; to argue its merit, prove or disprove it ---- or, leave it to be determined at a later time, if necessary.
But to dismiss it out of hand, and to do so with such petty vehemence, is unconscionable, and beneath a community of people who seek the truth about an event that impacts, not only all of us in the JFK assassination field, but every American - and likely every human on Earth."
So, is this a "litmus test" for JFK researchers? Yes, very much so. It is a litmus test of the community's collective openness to taking existing information and re-examining it. It reveals a pecking order of who in the JFK assassination community acts as "authoritarians" (or feels that they can, at least) - and who is willing to acquiesce to the so-called authorities, even if it comes in the form of special pleading (and those who perceive themselves as, or who seek being perceived as authorities would, and perhaps will, turn this sentence around and aver that it is Prof. Fetzer who is engaging in special pleading, when, in fact, he has drawn conclusions based on the very real premise that the responses to his LHO in the Doorway work has largely been devoid of critical thought). It reveals "group-think" within the community - a negative for any research community, to be sure.
No matter how uncomfortable it may be for some, because of the manner in which people have responded to Prof. Fetzer's and Ralph Cinque's efforts to find one piece of concrete evidence to exonerate LHO ---------- this is a litmus test.
I hope this response is received with the sincerity with which it was written. Thank you for your time.
-DK Wilson