Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

ghostsinthemachine

(3,569 posts)
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 05:59 PM Dec 2015

John Lennon died on this day in a hail of gunfire

Shot four times in the back by a guy who had enough documented mental health issues to disqualify anyone in a normal society, by a guy who came to New York with a gun in his possession and murder on his mind but then found that he could not buy ammunition in New York. He then went to Georgia and acquired it from a freind who was a police officer. The gun and the bullets that killed John Lennon.

He spent some time reconnoitring the Dakota Apartments building, the New York home of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, but encountered a major flaw in his assassination plan; the law in New York forbade the purchase of bullets by civilians. He was forced to travel to Atlanta to see a friend, who had become a deputy sheriff, who provided him with the ammunition he required. By 10th November he was back in New York, when Chapman claims that the chance viewing of the film ‘Ordinary People’, in which Timothy Hutton plays a suicidal teenager caught up in the midst of a dysfunctional family, provided a reality check to his obsession. He called his wife, told her that he loved her, that he had defeated his demons, and that he was coming home. http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/mark-chapman--the-assassination-of-john-lennon


John Lennon left behind an indelible legacy of music that evoked a range of emotions. Songs like "Real Love" (with the Beatles), "Jealous Guy" and "Imagine," to name a few, were a testament to his musical genius.

John's last day:
It was 33 years this Sunday that Lennon was fatally shot in front of his New York City home by deranged fan Mark David Chapman. Only two months earlier, on October 9, 1980, Lennon had celebrated his 40th birthday with his wife, Yoko Ono, and five-year-old son, Sean (who coincidentally shares the same birthday). The occasion was uniquely momentous for Lennon, as Ono had surprised both her husband and son with a sky-written message above their Manhattan apartment building: "Happy Birthday John & Sean - Love Yoko." That November, Lennon and Ono had released the collaborative project Double Fantasy, and only weeks before his tragic death, Lennon had been overjoyed by the news that the record had gone gold. http://www.biography.com/news/john-lennons-tragic-death-33-years-later-a-timeline-of-event


The day afterwards when talking with my dad he, never a reasonable man, said "maybe it's time to do something about guns in this country".. He was a hard core gunner, Republican racist through and through.


Also, when someone wanted to kill a Beatle in England,where in the entire country guns are banned, someone tried to stab George Harrison. he lived through the attack, John did not.
10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
John Lennon died on this day in a hail of gunfire (Original Post) ghostsinthemachine Dec 2015 OP
I heard Cosell make the announcement hifiguy Dec 2015 #1
John Lennon being interviewed on MNF in 1974, and then Howard Cosell telling the country in 1980 ... napkinz Dec 2015 #2
That's where I heard about too Dyedinthewoolliberal Dec 2015 #9
GOD.... ghostsinthemachine Dec 2015 #3
"A Working Class Hero is Something To Be" ghostsinthemachine Dec 2015 #4
One of the worst days of my life -I heard it on the radio LiberalElite Dec 2015 #5
Gimme Some Truth ghostsinthemachine Dec 2015 #6
I, like many, found out about John Lennon's death Snobblevitch Dec 2015 #7
When my brother called me from Australia HeiressofBickworth Dec 2015 #8
My favorite Lennon song Dyedinthewoolliberal Dec 2015 #10
 

hifiguy

(33,688 posts)
1. I heard Cosell make the announcement
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 06:07 PM
Dec 2015

on Monday Night Football, which I always watched.

I was devastated and will never forget that moment.

napkinz

(17,199 posts)
2. John Lennon being interviewed on MNF in 1974, and then Howard Cosell telling the country in 1980 ...
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 08:20 PM
Dec 2015

ghostsinthemachine

(3,569 posts)
3. GOD....
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 10:56 PM
Dec 2015


God is a Concept by which we measure our pain
I'll say it again
God is a Concept by which we measure our pain
I don't believe in magic
I don't believe in I-ching
I don't believe in Bible
I don't believe in Tarot
I don't believe in Hitler
I don't believe in Jesus
I don't believe in Kennedy
I don't believe in Buddha
I don't believe in Mantra
I don't believe in Gita
I don't believe in Yoga
I don't believe in Kings
I don't believe in Elvis
I don't believe in Zimmerman
I don't believe in Beatles
I just believe in me, Yoko and me, and that's reality
The dream is over
What can I say?
The dream is over
Yesterday
I was the dreamweaver
But now I'm reborn
I was the walrus
But now I'm John
And so, dear friends,
You'll just have to carry on
The dream is over

ghostsinthemachine

(3,569 posts)
4. "A Working Class Hero is Something To Be"
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 10:59 PM
Dec 2015

"Working Class Hero"

As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
'Til the pain is so big you feel nothing at all

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
'Til you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for 20 odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function, you're so full of fear

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion, and sex, and T.V.
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me

LiberalElite

(14,691 posts)
5. One of the worst days of my life -I heard it on the radio
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 11:04 PM
Dec 2015

the next morning. I was so shocked I thought, "Which John Lennon?"

ghostsinthemachine

(3,569 posts)
6. Gimme Some Truth
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 11:22 PM
Dec 2015

Lyrics

I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
I've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of hope
Money for dope
Money for rope

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
Money for dope
Money for rope

I'm sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending, mama's little chauvinists
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth now

I've had enough of watching scenes
Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
It's money for dope
Money for rope

Ah, I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now

I've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now

All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

Snobblevitch

(1,958 posts)
7. I, like many, found out about John Lennon's death
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 11:28 PM
Dec 2015

while watching Monday Night Football (I was young, I don't watch much football anymore).

A few days later I was surprised to see a photo in my local newspaper of Mark David Chapman, an unknown girl, and another young man. The third guy was from my hometown and I knew him from the YMCA. Interestingly, three years later, I met and had my photograph taken with Howard Cosell (ok he was old but he had a weak handshake, maybe because eveyone was always trying to shake his hand).

HeiressofBickworth

(2,682 posts)
8. When my brother called me from Australia
Tue Dec 8, 2015, 11:42 PM
Dec 2015

I thought it was to wish me a happy birthday -- my birthday being the next day. No, no wishes for a happy birthday, just the question "has John Lennon really been shot?" I wasn't watching TV or listening to the radio so I didn't know. I turned on the TV and waited for the news. Sad times.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»John Lennon died on this ...