I was in the Army in Germany when I heard the news that Martin Luther King had been assassinated in Memphis. Safe to say I am part of the older generation who has real memories of King. He was not just a figure in a history book. He was a transformative figure in our history, one of the most important Americans of the 20th century, and it is right that we honor him.
In the years after his death, much information came out about King's extra-marital life. Like others, he had his personal flaws, which were chiefly brought out with the FBI wiretaps and bugs planted in his hotel rooms. The revelations are troubling, especially coming from a man of the cloth, but they do not take away from his accomplishments. Arguably more than any other figure, he taught whites that racial hatred and discrimination were wrong, and that segregation was against our stated ideals of equality. His "I have a dream" speech is arguably the finest piece of oratory in the English language.
Not long ago, I heard an older African-American friend state at a public rally at UC-Irvine that history had shown that those blacks who preached non-violent protest had been proven correct while those who preached violence were proven wrong. That is another reason to honor Dr. King's memory.
5 comments:
Anonymous,
You are an idiot. You obviously have not read everything I have written regarding Muslims. You are obviously too ignorant to see that I have about 4 (good) Islamic websites on my blog. You should read them. You might learn something.
Being anti-Jihadist, anti-terrorism, anti-Shariah does not mean one hates Muslims as a people. Nor does pointing out anti-Jewish, anti-Christian hatred spewing from the mouths of certain Muslims, including leading imams and muftis make one a hater.
You need to clean your own house before you accuse others of hatred.
Do yourself a favor. Stay anonymous. Smart move on your part. Otherwise, as I say, you are an idiot. A cowardly one at that.
@ Anon,
At Harvard University shortly before his death, a student stood up and asked King to address himself to the issue of Zionism. The question was clearly hostile. King responded, 'When people criticize Zionists they mean Jews, you are talking anti-Semitism."
I beg the question, is MLK a racist?
Squid
Enjoyed your post Gary
Matan,
I am stunned.
Keep it up Matan. Gary is stunned every time I agree with him too. In time, Gary, and maybe even Miggie, will realize that live human beings don't fit into neat little stereotypes, and that - not taking delight in annoying him - is why we hang out here. There is always something worth talking about. Hell has frozen over more than once between me and Findalis, and I think Miggie said something positive about one of my comments once.
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