Troublemaker Bill Zimmerman Analysis

Troublemaker a Memoir by Bill Zimmerman Bill Zimmerman was born in 1940 to Jewish Immigrants on Chicago’s west side. In his memoir Troublemaker, he tells the story of himself, a man dealing with education, family commitments, and his broad involvement in the anti-Vietnam war movement. Zimmerman witnessed racism in the Mississippi Delta and, and spent an extensive amount of time writing and participating in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Zimmerman helped by undermining the false perception of the Civil Rights movement. (Zimmerman 1-4). Zimmerman was older than many of his peers, and didn’t start a life of activism before attempting to pursue a conventional career track. Zimmerman attended college and received his PHD. In Paris
Zimmerman began going to teach-ins and learning about Southeast Asian history. Zimmerman was shocked that the United States could be so manipulative in their involvements in Asia. He began learning more about Vietnam and following the work of Bernard Fall, an expert on Vietnam. The use of Napalm, an incendiary weapon being used in the war was the last straw for Zimmerman. The idea that citizens would stand idle while their government committed awful acts bothered Zimmerman, and he felt at that moment he had no choice but to act. He soon began protesting Napalm plants in Chicago. After the successful SDS demonstrations in Washington, Zimmerman believed that an authentic anti-war movement had been born. In 1965, it was announced that troops leaving the U.S. would increase to 125,000 men. The monthly draft called for 35,000 men a month, causing many men to fight against their will. Zimmerman didn’t feel the war would distort his life still. Science was his main focus, and his draft deferment was in place. Taking what he learned from the civil rights movement, Zimmerman knew that if people were exposed to injustice they would react morally. The next focus was to get on T.V. with an educational campaign to deliver accurate information about the war. Zimmerman came together with a few other civil rights activists to form a group and use entertainers to bring in profits to raise money for an anti-war film. No efforts would help them get
After joining an organization in Boston, Zimmerman launched A Science for Vietnam campaign. Their greatest concern during this time was Agent Orange. Zimmerman’s goal was to help the Vietnamese survive the American war. “Unlike protests that fell on deaf ears in Washington, we wanted our work to benefit the Vietnamese and strengthen their ability to survive the American war.” (Zimmerman 218). Zimmerman was then invited by the North Vietnam government to Hanoi in North Vietnam to learn about their medical needs, and shoot film proving that attacks were aimed at Vietnamese civilians and Zimmerman accepted. Soon he was smuggling medical aid to Vietnam, beginning with a stolen sample of a antibiotic that would help wounded North Vietnamese soldiers recover. He debated whether it was right or wrong and concluded that this was a life-saving expedition, since American soldiers would not be placed in harm’s way as a result. Soon after Zimmerman was under American attack in North Vietnam, and raising funds for medical supplies that went there, around the time when B-52s razed the largest and most advanced civilian hospital in Hanoi. Once Zimmerman returned to the States, Several reporters and news crew approached him and others. They accused Nixon of intentionally bombing civilians in Vietnam, and other war