How Ohio is Slowly Ruining the World

Kent State. Jeffrey Dahmer. Columbine. The Ku Klux Klan. Terrorism. These five seemingly radically different concepts all have one unfortunate common link: Ohio. Two incidents, maybe three, could likely be labeled a coincidence. Four incidents? Strange. But, still, most likely purely coincidental. But five? Five of the deadliest tragedies in American history all connected to Ohio? Now that’s a trend.

Let’s begin with Kent State, the most obvious incident. In May of 1970, following the questionable bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces, a group of anti-war protesters assembled at Kent State University to publicly declare their opposing stance. There, they clashed with the Ohio National Guardsmen, resulting in four young lives lost and the attention of the country. The Kent State shootings served as the initial trigger that prompted the downward spiral Ohio was unknowingly racing towards. This incident, occurring at a time in which the nation was already on the brink of complete division due to the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War, seemed to be the final straw. But, this could’ve happened anywhere, right? Wrong.

In the years just following the Kent State shootings, Jeffrey Dahmer began his murderous spree of killing in 1978. The infamous serial killer, cannibal and rapist grew up in none other than Northeast Ohio’s very own Bath Township. And, after attending Revere High School–just a 25 minute drive from Hoban– Dahmer stayed true to his Ohio roots and committed his very first murder in his hometown and buried the victim’s remains in rich Ohio soil. But, it’s probably just a coincidence that one of the world’s most brutal, well-known killers happened to live in Ohio, or is it?

Next, let’s move on to Columbine, the devastating school shooting that, arguably, prompted every similar incident to follow. Committed by students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the horrific massacre ended with twelve students’ lives lost and one teacher’s. And where did Eric Harris live during a portion of his childhood? Dayton, Ohio, of course.

Continuing this undeniable trend is Ohio’s connection to the recent White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia occurring this past summer that ended in the death of a young woman. The rally, composed of hundreds of White nationalists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members, quickly turned from chaotic to deadly when a vehicle plowed into the unsuspecting crowd, injuring at least 19 people and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyes. What license plate was the car proudly sporting? Where did the driver of the car live? Yep, you guessed it.

Another example of how Ohio is basically at the root of all the nation’s current problems is the state’s connection to the Manhattan terror attack on Oct. 31. The incident, which claimed the lives of eight innocent people and injured 12 others, began when a 29-year-old man in a rented pickup truck drove down a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center in New York City. The man, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, came to the United States in 2010 on a diversity visa, the Department of Homeland Security said. Seven years prior to his act of terror, Saipov settled down, married his wife three years later and began to start the rest of his life. Where did he do all of this? None other than the Akron suburbs of Cuyahoga Falls and Stow.

This trend doesn’t end here. There are countless other catastrophes that somehow always seem to originate in the Buckeye State. These five incidents are only a small fraction of the state’s connections to tragedy. So, essentially, the question we as citizens of this great state have to ask ourselves is why? Why is our state the state that breeds terror and catastrophe? Why do we have to constantly bear the burden of tragedy? Why is disaster so deeply rooted here? And, perhaps the most important, why are we not doing anything about this?