The reading 1968: A Year of Protest is about a worldwide
political revolution of mostly college students who around the world started a
rebellion against the American war against Vietnam and issues they faced in
their own country. One of the first large rebellion happened in Berlin’s Free
University which called for “an international manifestation of solidarity”
which spread to Madrid Warsaw Rome, Sao Paulo and London. Because riots spread
so rapidly charges of police brutality, disseminated in televisions and
newspapers which lead to more protesters and longer riots. In France protesting
became so bad that factories were shutting down. In Mexico City protesters
rioted for a revolution that would cure poverty in the county instead of
holding the Olympic Games. When the student count turned to 10,000 machine guns
arrived and 100 to 200 students were killed. These protests eventually dwindled
down with the Soviet shutting down the “Prague Spring” and president Nixon
promising to end the war in Vietnam.
Why do you think all the riots start with college students?
Why did the Mexican government turned to machine guns instead
of tear gas or other means while other countries did not?