MLK's assassination and memory
From iGeek
- MLK was a great plagiarist and pastor that gave some of the most inspirational speeches (and helped organize many of the marches) of the civil rights movement, and became the voice and face of that movement.
- His contributions to helping "his" people can't be diminished and should be remembered and celebrated. And the world and U.S. are better for having had him as the voice/face of that time/movement, than any of the alternatives.
- However, nor should we forget that he was a philanderer that surrounded himself with marxists, and was devolving into something far less savory than his earlier and more famous self, by the time he was murdered -- and like JFK and other good but flawed men, the best thing he could do to save his reputation was take an assassins bullet, before the full truth and consequences of his darker side came to light. (E.g. if it wasn't for JFK getting shot, his self destructive streak would have eventually caught up with him. And MLK shifting towards reparations and other causes might have devolved him into becoming just another Al Sharpton or other race hustler, if given enough time).
- I sincerely think the nation was better off because he was shot when he was, rather than the friction that would have been caused by the clashing of those who idealized his accomplishments versus those that admitted the reality of his flaws (or sensationalized them for other darker reasons). By dying it made the argument much more one-sided, and that was much better for the nation and the movement. (Dead martyrs are better than living hypocrites).
- In some ways, I sort of wish that we went with others as the image of black accomplishments like Leidesdorff, Douglass, Washington, or even DuBois. But it was easier to pretend that blacks couldn't accomplish anything until they got civil rights and MLK had given us that, rather than celebrating the incredible accomplishments of those who did so in spite of the nearly insurmountable headwinds/biases against them. But to me, that set the wrong tone. (I want to celebrate black achievements over injustice, rather than just wallowing in the injustice or the fight to overcome it).
Thoughts on MLK and his contributions to America and the world... both good and bad.
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Thoughts on MLK and his contributions to America and the world... both good and bad. more... |