Today in Labor History February 4, 1974: The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) kidnapped Patty Hearst, granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, in Berkeley, California. One of the SLA’s demands for releasing Hearst was for her family to pay for millions of dollars’ worth of food to be given out free the poor and unhoused of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Hearst complied, with various community organizations distributing 100,000 bags of groceries at 16 sites in 4 counties, before violence brought the program to a halt. The violence occurred because the crowds were bigger than expected and workers started throwing boxes of food off of moving trucks. As a captive, Patty Hearst was held in a closet, blindfolded, with her hands tied, raped and threatened repeatedly with death. She was later offered the choice of freedom, or joining the SLA. She chose the latter. Consequently, she was later sentenced to 35 years in prison for her complicity in SLA robberies. After several years in prison, her sentence was commuted by President Carter. President Clinton pardoned her. Congressional Representative Leo Ryan was murdered by the Jim Jones cult in Guyana several weeks after collecting signatures for her release. Actor John Wayne, of all people, expressed frustration that everyone accepted the idea that Jones had brainwashed hundreds of his followers into mass suicide, but wouldn’t accept that the SLA could have brainwashed a teenage girl. After her release, Hearst went on to become an actress, appearing in several John Waters films, as well as many others.
Today in Labor History December 23, 1947: Pres Truman pardoned 1,523 WWII draft resistors. However, he let the remaining 14,282 war resisters continue to rot in prison. John Wayne was one of the most famous World War II draft dodgers. However, he never served time. On the contrary, while other leading men, like Clark Gable, were fighting to protect the interests of Capital, Wayne was busily scooping up their roles and making a name for himself in Hollywood.
SPOILERS I just saw Oppenheimer, and I am appalled by the number of historical inaccuracies in it:
Oppenheimer only spoke in the third person. In the movie he says "I'm hankering for a ham sandwich, when he should have said "Oppenheimer is hankering for a ham sandwich".
Oppenheimer had a severe phobia of chairs. Yet the film confusingly shows Oppenheimer sitting in numerous chairs without screeching or sobbing.
Oppenheimer was married to John Wayne, but no mention of this is made.
@lowqualityfacts
🥥 I believed you, Low, til I got to "fact" number 3.
Then I went back and checked them all. #JohnWayne was in fact married to #JEdgarHoover.
Also, it is #BillyBobThornton who had a furniture phobia -- a REAL, not a fake fact.
Late, great, #Republican Presidential candidate #BobDole is the man most noted for referring to himself in the 3rd person, NOT #Oppenheimer.
Am I to scrutinize ALL your facts henceforth?
Did Fishy the cat get his 10-billion boosts?
How is one to know? 🥥