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The White washing of Dr. Martin Luther King

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Heroman

Banned
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Over the past few days I have seen people using the Martin Luther King quotes , you know the four or five quotes people using when talking about Dr King and the unrest across this country.All people remember is I have dream but forget the other things he talks about. King and his methods were far more complex than that.The same man felt our with joy with I have Dream but same gave a fiery and heartfelt view on America in the Letters from Birmingham .These quotes make seem like Dr King was this just peace loving colorblind preacher which he was and wasn't. He was radical, a extremist even to many people back then, who loved his blackness and was killed because of his views.

In no way did King see race or the recognition of blackness and whiteness as a problem in society; his issue was with the ways in which race had been exploited to create social and economic oppression.

In King’s final book Where Do We Go From Here, he continued to name white supremacy as the cause of oppression, not the existence of race itself, and recognized that the plight of black people needed to be addressed:
“White Americans must recognize that justice for black people cannot be achieved without radical changes in the structure of our society. The comfortable, entrenched, the privileged cannot continue to tremble at the prospect of change of the status quo.”



And while Dr. King was against violence but he understood the cause for it

"...I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense, our nation's summers of riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention."

King believed in nonviolence and championed it But he knew that non-violent civil rights movement was overlooked there would be violence

“If they continue to use our nonviolence as a cushion for complacency, the wrath of those suffering a long train of abuses will rise.”


At the end of the day, Dr king was just one man in the never ending civil movement , a movement drenched in violence and injustice, with people Stokely Carmichael, Ida B. Wells, and Malcolm X and the man and women who are not remember by time. Please remember the man, not the version you learn in school.
And please stop Whitewashing MLK and the Civil rights movement.
 
Is this faux outrage?

I respect the information posted, but disagree with your premise.

How many times when there is any sort of outrage or outburst by a minority community have you heard "But MLK preached non-violence!" in an attempt to shut them down?
 
Thank you, OP. I appreciate your thread. It's fucking tiring, especially in BHM, especially right now with Herr Dump.

It's a shame the first post in it is pure, drizzling shit.
 

NandoGip

Member
OP is right and racists think MLK is this picture perfect "one of the good ones" when in reality he'd be an advocate for black lives matter in today's world
 
Pay attention class.

“If they continue to use our nonviolence as a cushion for complacency, the wrath of those suffering a long train of abuses will rise.”
 
The right only likes MLK because he is dead and can be used to shout down minorities

He was hated as much as people like Fidel Castro when he was assassinated.

Something people also tend to forget. Not like he died peacefully in his sleep. He was shot and killed standing on a hotel balcony preparing to give yet another speech on inequity in America.
 

ZaCH3000

Member
How many times when there is any sort of outrage or outburst by a minority community have you heard "But MLK preached non-violence!" in an attempt to shut them down?

I haven't. How many examples are there of this happening?

Considering I'm a supporter of BLM and the use of violence if necessary as a last resort, perhaps I'm out of touch with these tactics as I have no exposure to it.

EDIT: Of course Fox News and Bill O'Reilly...
 

jay

Member
I always find it funny how moderates love evoking MLK Jr. when he would have despised them

They like him because he is already dead and so no longer poses an active threat but rather can be used as a narrative to always be peaceful when disagreeing.
 

Mortemis

Banned
Great OP. It's bullshit seeing people who'd be outraged and angry if they saw MLK protesting when he was alive try to use his image as a deterrent.
 

Slayven

Member
I haven't. How many examples are there of this happening?

Considering I'm a supporter of BLM and the use of violence if necessary as a last resort, perhaps I'm out of touch with these tactics as I have no exposure to it.

There you go. Some times it is a good idea to sit back.

MLK jr being a bludgeon has been a thing since his death
 

Shabutaro

Member
I haven't. How many examples are there of this happening?

Considering I'm a supporter of BLM and the use of violence if necessary as a last resort, perhaps I'm out of touch with these tactics as I have no exposure to it.

EDIT: Of course Fox News and Bill O'Reilly...

If you don't have much exposure why try to shut down the conversation by saying it's faux outrage? Why not try to learn or ask questions?
 

Enzom21

Member
OP is right and racists think MLK is this picture perfect "one of the good ones" when in reality he'd be an advocate for black lives matter in today's world
They don't love him, they love to use his name as a cudgel to silence black people.
He would have been hated if he was still alive, they only like dead civil rights leaders.
 

ZaCH3000

Member
There you go. Some times it is a good idea to sit back.

MLK jr being a bludgeon has been a thing since his death

I don't think sitting back would have been beneficial. My question sparked numerous posts providing examples missing from the OP.

I'm not sorry if my phrasing upset some folks. Thank you to those that posted links and quotes of this shit happening.
 

Slayven

Member
I don't think sitting back would have been beneficial. My question sparked numerous posts providing examples missing from the OP.

I'm not sorry if my phrasing upset some folks. Thank you to those that posted links and quotes of this shit happening.

Then why didn't you just ask instead "Faux Outrage"? You instantly tried to dismiss the conversation
 

Enzom21

Member
I don't think sitting back would have been beneficial. My question sparked numerous posts providing examples missing from the OP.

I'm not sorry if my phrasing upset some folks. Thank you to those that posted links and quotes of this shit happening.
Just asking questions, huh?
 

Caelus

Member
I'm not sorry if my phrasing upset some folks.

"Could I have links to articles / stories / pieces where people invoke MLK Jr. as a Pokemon to silence minorities? I'd like to see instances where he's being misused."

It's not like people would've been unwilling to oblige had you put that in your first post.
 

LionPride

Banned
I don't think sitting back would have been beneficial. My question sparked numerous posts providing examples missing from the OP.

I'm not sorry if my phrasing upset some folks. Thank you to those that posted links and quotes of this shit happening.

You don't start with the term faux outrage and then expect people to be willing to be cordial
 

jay

Member
It's ok. The thread does not need to be about one poster who may have made an error in good conscience.
 
I've seen this very thing in GAF threads. If you haven't been seeing it then either you are wilfully blind or you haven't been playing any attention at all.
 
It's also kinda telling that MLK is the only black pokemon that anybody seems to be able to name. Him and Jesse Jackson are the black monolith to 95% of people trying to discuss issues of race.

Real talk, name the guy in my avatar without googling him.
 
Non-violence is a load of horse shit that the government teaches people so that they will stay in line.

True change comes from upheavel and the threat of upheavel. a government that is not afraid of its people has no reason to be responsive.
 

Enzom21

Member
It's also kinda telling that MLK is the only black pokemon that anybody seems to be able to name. Him and Jesse Jackson are the black monolith to 95% of people trying to discuss issues of race.

Real talk, name the guy in my avatar without googling him.

Byron King, Martin's cousin?
I'm a big fan of Martina Luther King:
Rosa_Parks_Booking.jpg
 

LionPride

Banned
Like, people HATED MLK Jr. but he dies and suddenly people wanna act as if he was beloved. Same shit happened with Ali, and will happen with any civil rights activist who is still alive
 

Matty77

Member
So much truth. The best analogy I have seen is conservatives using him like a Pokémon. Most of them would hate him if they knew half of what he said or he was still alive.

It's part of why I have no problem with the idea of black people cutting off and not wanting to educate. If I as a white guy cannot get other white people to listen no matter how many times I have to correct and educate the same people I cannot even begin to imagine it from the perspective of PoC trying to explain to people that don't want to listen to them even though their voices matter most.
 

Nepenthe

Member
Black GAF already has a running joke that MLK Jr. is an underhanded Yu-Gi-Oh trap card that white people like slamming down in any conversation about modern racial protests in order to undermine them (although they tend to be unaware that we believe in the Heart of the Cards more than they do and have our "disappointed in the white moderate" counter ready at our disposal at all times.)

If you're not aware of this phenomenon, well now you know.
 
I haven't. How many examples are there of this happening?

Considering I'm a supporter of BLM and the use of violence if necessary as a last resort, perhaps I'm out of touch with these tactics as I have no exposure to it.

EDIT: Of course Fox News and Bill O'Reilly...
Stop it.
This is the complete opposite of faux outrage.
 
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