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I lived in a mixed area of Milwaukee in 1968, when we went under martial law during a series of marches and riots over accessible housing for minorities. I was definitely a leftie at the time. However, I didn't hate the Guard; I was frightened seeing young Guardsmen on the backs of trucks manning huge, swiveling guns. We were under curfew. We were instructed to leave our homes slowly, w/our hands visible. We were also frightened of the rioters and had a deal w/some black neighbors that one member of each family would spend some time at each other's home so if one or the other side got violent, we could stick the right color face out the door. We really feared the rioters and being caught in any crossfire....which never happened in our neighborhood.

It was sobering for a young American mother of a toddler to experience martial law. The memory remains and it is what I expect things would be like under Code Red. It is yet another reason why I am glad I live in the country and not in a major city right now.

In the time since, I can honestly say, that except for some privately written/published memoirs of those days, I never heard anyone on either side express hatred for the Guard's actions at that time. They were nervous and frightened themselves. Some were only 19 years old. In fact, the priest who led the marches (I am blocking his name)was the person most vilified following the ordeal.

I think we all identified w/the Guardsmen who were faced w/the possibility of having to fire on fellow citizens.