Many commentators are calling 2024 the new 1968, and it’s not hard to see why. Consider all the callbacks: a dramatic return of antiwar activism on college campuses, another guy named Robert Kennedy running for president, a Democratic National Committee convention in Chicago, weed and psychedelics everywhere—even a new Planet of the Apes movie showing at theaters.
But don’t squeeze into those old bell bottoms quite yet. The new Apes is bananas, this version of RFK has literal brain worms, and most notably, the Gaza protests are a mere shadow of the Vietnam demonstrations of a half-century ago.
In particular, two key elements are missing from “Biden’s Vietnam” and the current “war at home” narrative: veterans and the working class. Plenty of union members and ex-military types individually oppose the way Israel has waged the war when asked in opinion polls. But unlike during the Vietnam War, beyond a few high-profile examples—such as the self-immolation of Air Force serviceman Aaron Bushnell and some pointed remarks by UAW president Shawn Fain, who ultimately voted against disinvestment from Israel—there has been considerably less organized opposition from those not living near a quad.