Barry Levine: "Who Killed Allison? What had she done?"

Poem from the speech of Barry Levine, close friend of Allison Krause, gunned down and killed at Kent State in 1970, while protesting against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.

Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done?

Not us says the Kent Townsfolk.
Those rotten students thought this was some kind of joke
Marchin and yellin, and singing those songs,
Why wasn't she in class where she belonged?
Her parents shoulda learned her better.
Those stinkin kids-don't appreciate what they've got
If it had been up to us, they would have all been shot.
You can say what you want, and say what you must
Just don't point your fingers at us
We're not the ones who made her fall
No, you can't blame us at all.



Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done?

Not us says the University
That girl was here to get a degree
To Inquire, To Learn, To reflect, and debate.
It wasn't her place to demonstrate - against the State
If she had something to say,
She should have said it clear
In a paper, or in the classroom, where free speech is dear.
And no one can hear, and no one can hear.
Sure she was an honor student, but she should have known better
Than to stand up and speak out in public, where did that get her?
There is a time and a place for freedom of speech
She should have known that because that's what we teach
Here at Kent State University.
But please, don't' point your finger at us
We are not the ones that made her fall,
No, you can't blame us at all.

Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done?

Not me says the Mayor of Kent
If only those kids knew what it had meant
To burn down ROTC- they left me no choice
They were all chanting "End the war" in one loud voice
I had to call the Guard- it was hard, it was hard,
But I tell you, we needed Law and Order
And anyway, she wasn't my daughter
It's a a shame she had to die that day
But when you throw rocks, well, that's just the American way.
I feel bad, I do, but I didn't pull that trigger
It wasn't me that made her fall
No, you can't blame me at all.

Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done?

Not me says Tricky Dick
I listened to my advisors, take your pick
Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean
Agnew, and Colson, they all knew the scene
Those college kids were bums-they needed a lesson
So I put out the word around this great land
To stop those damn hoodlums any way that you can
And Rhodes, he heard me, thank g-d for that
He knew exactly what to do with that group of brats
But you can't pin it on me, don't' you see?
It wasn't' me that made her fall
No, you can't blame me at all.

Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done?

Not me says Governor Rhodes
The man who made this whole thing explode
Yes, I'm the son of a bitch who pounded the table
and ranted and raved until everyone was able
to hear me call those students Brown Shirts,
the worst element that we harbor in America today
But that was my job, to incite the Guard, and I did it OK
If those kids wanted a riot to create,
They picked the wrong town, they picked the wrong state.
There will be no riots in the State of Ohio, not on my watch, not on this date
Look, the Guard got my meaning , the Guard got my drift
They did what they had to- they laid 'em out stiff.
Its a shame it had to be that way, but who's to know and who's to say
It might have been different had it not been election day.
So what are you going to do? Sue me?
I'm not the one that made the call
And I'm not the one that made her fall
So Fuck You, you can't blame me at all.
Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done?
Not us says the National Guard
Who chased those kids across the yard,
And through the fields so thick with gas
With our bayonets fixed, it became certain, there was no doubt
We would teach those little bastards what Law and Order was all about
Yes, we're the ones that climbed the hill and turned in our tracks
And aimed our rifles dead center in her back
But if we didn't act, she would have overrun us for sure,
There were snipers, she had rocks, and those curses that we endured.
We had no choice, we had to act- it was her life or ours
Yes we shot her in cold blood, it's true, it's true,
But that is what we were told to do
Don't say "murder," don't' say "kill"

We were only following orders, it was God's will.

Note From Caleb T. Maupin: I grew up in rural, OH near Kent State, hearing maligning stories of Allison Krausse designed to justify the massacre. They were most likely rooted in sexism, as she was the only female victim who was taking part in the demonstration when she was killed. It is disgusting and sad the countless times elderly people from Northeast Ohio who were alive in 1970 tell me she was a "disrespectful" "unpatriotic" followed an additional slew of more openly sexist/male chauvanist insults. When I heard her close friend Barry Levine give these touching remarks on the 40th Anniversary, followed by this work of poetry, I couldn't help but shed a tear. Allison did not deserve to die for protesting. She deserved a medal. It takes courage to oppose the status quo. It takes cowards to condemn those who endure bullets for justice, and "speak ill of the dead" while fearing what they represent.