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[Foffy]

I think it goes deeper than whitewashing, as the narrative of MLK really has been hijacked to give him more of a sugary, cookie cutter perspective.

I am quite sure that many people who hype on MLK as an ideal person probably run away to the hills at the notion of a UBI, or to the idea that America as a country is one of the largest actors of violence on the planet, and both were core key elements about MLK that stand against the current status quo.

It's as if people look at him and pick the "feel goody" parts of his life and advocacy, while ignoring a great deal of the deeper, more profound, social callings and spotlights he put on our society. Of course, this is what people do, as they do it with religion too, and that's particularly bad as it's done to weaponize and vilify one's own ego.

MLK was anti-establishment from a perspective of social justice, and it wouldn't be too far to say that the GOP hate that entire element of his person, so they act like it didn't exist.

 

[Nightbird]

Serious question: do people get MLK confused with Ghandi, or something?

Yes

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Serious question: do people get MLK confused with Ghandi, or something?

Not really sure if many people really care to understand who Ghandi was. He wasn't Buddha. He was a populist nationalist who decided that a non violent transfer of power was better than a violent one. On that level of analysis he isn't any better than Trump and Trump is just unlucky that he has no evil British Empire to expel from his borders.

As for Dr King the man is dead so he can't speak for himself and can't be argued against. He should be remembered but not treated like he is directly talking about current events.

 

[Lois_Lane]

Could anyone suggest a good book on Dr MLKs life and his work for me please?

I like you

 

[LilWayneSuckz]

Thank you for this thread. Every time I see a republican on some Sunday morning political show invoke MLK, Jr. I internally scream.

 

[petran79]

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.

It is sad also that there is a feud in his family regarding the selling rights of his books

 

[OG Shaka Zulu]

A clip of MLK talking about reparations. I think this was around the Poor People's March

I have an MLK question. What period of US history is he talking about in this clip?:

https://youtu.be/_NNvzVCVhIM

Is he talking about Manifest Destiny or the poor huddled masses Ellis island era?

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Could anyone suggest a good book on Dr MLKs life and his work for me please?

Death of a King by Tavis Smiley. Talks about the last year of his life.

 

[kswiston]

This will get worse going forward. MLK has been dead for almost 50 years. We are about 25 years away from losing all first hand knowledge of that era from people who were actually old enough to comprehend what was going on at the time.

When our kids are young adults, it will be like WW2 is now. Kids born a decade from now will be almost as far removed from the civil rights era as I was from WW1 (I was born in 1982).

 

[SyenceLabb]

Serious question: do people get MLK confused with Ghandi, or something?

Serious question: do people get MLK confused with Malcolm X, or something?

 

[Heroman]

A clip of MLK talking about reparations. I think this was around the Poor People's March

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Death of a King by Tavis Smiley. Talks about the last year of his life.

Probably about the homestead acts

 

[SamVimes]

Not really sure if many people really care to understand who Ghandi was. He wasn't Buddha. He was a populist nationalist who decided that a non violent transfer of power was better than a violent one. On that level of analysis he isn't any better than Trump and Trump is just unlucky that he has no evil British Empire to expel from his borders.

Furthermore we can go on a even more shallow level of analysis and say that FDR and Trump are both presidents so really FDR is not any better than Trump and Trump is just unlucky that he has no evil nazis to kill.

I don't think going for that level of analysis is relevant in any way.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Thanks OP. Pure truth.

 

[hypernima]

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.

Kinda looks like Bayard Rustin?

 

[Clefargle]

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.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

People talk about MLK like the entire country fell in love with him and decided racism was over the moment he gave his million man march speech.

Please don't mind the way he died!

 

[Kai Dracon]

People talk about MLK like the entire country fell in love with him and decided racism was over the moment he gave his million man march speech.

Please don't mind the way he died!

In part, it's the result of the hazy, pop-culture perception a lot of people have of history. Mostly what they half-remember from brief snippets of a hundred different TV shows, movies, and commercials.

So MLK is like "black jesus who materialized from thin air in the 50s, or 60s or maybe the 70s? Anyway everyone loved him and agreed all black people should be like him, too bad he was shot by the last racist in America but at least he ended slavery."

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Furthermore we can go on a even more shallow level of analysis and say that FDR and Trump are both presidents so really FDR is not any better than Trump and Trump is just unlucky that he has no evil nazis to kill.

I don't think going for that level of analysis is relevant in any way.

People often don't understand that you can't just separate people from their time and place in history. You might think that it's a trite point but it's one that people often do not show that they understand. People are made to look more heroic and saintly than anyone could be in real life because that's the way they need to be seen for their vision of the world to move forward.

 

[Aaron Strife]

MLK got fucking shot, what the fuck are you talking about?

Go back to making shitty movies that literally no one enjoys

 

[Mammoth Jones]

People forget how hated MLK was and how many considered him a part of the problem and a commie agitator.

Some motherfuckers cheered when he died.

They forget MLK was all about civil disobedience.

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Right wing people want to sanitize him because he close to merging civil rights movement with worker rights, the anti-Vietnam movement and advocacy for the poor. Alternative timeline I think he would replace Reagan as President.

 

[mr jones]

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.

I.... I can't.
Can I get my limited edition black card back after I educate myself?

*EDIT*
Well damn. Thank you for getting me to learn something. Fascinating man. Movie worthy.

 

[Real Hero]

it's because he started talking that godless commie bullshit.

 

[Lil'DigiOp]

The biggest mistake people make is thinking the Civil Rights Movement ended....

It has never ended. The book will be long. We are in the latest chapter. MLK would have def made sure people knew this.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

MLK was a Republican!

-republicans

 

[Mr. X]

Remember when the CIA or FBI wrote a letter to MLK to kill himself?

 

[legacyzero]

And please stop Whitewashing MLK and the Civil rights movement.

Can somebody PLEASE tell me what this means?

Ok. I read the OP and tried to interpret it.

Oh...

Jesus fuck. As a grown white man, I got nothin to say to shit like this.

 

[ultratruman]

'white washing'
'weak liberals'
'we go high'

The opposition to physical violence is so much more important and complex than these terms.

I am sick of people on the Left twisting MLK Jr's compassion for rioters into saying physical violence is ever morally justified or effective. He made it so clear that, along with the establishment for causing suffering, riots also deserve condemnation.

People who suggest MLK would have supported the punching of Richard Spencer, or the streetfighting to protest far-right speakers, are not simply misreading his words. They are deliberately twisting history to justify their naive desire for symptomatic healing: terrorising the opposition.

 

[nOoblet16]

Most people who were effective in bringing about a change were what people would call "Radical" and "Extremists". It's the nature of the things, if you aren't those then you probably aren't doing much to change things...it's right there in one of MLK's quotes where he talks about how freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor and it must be demanded. Remember Nelson Mandela was once called a communist terrorist and the African National Congress a terrorist organisation.

All of those was ofcourse forgotten because the people who said that ended up in the wrong side of the history and they don't like to think that at some point they were wrong about all of it. Which is why it happens even today and I shake my head in disbelief whenever people call someone who is capable of bringing an actual change a radical or an extremist.

 

[Condom]

'white washing'
'weak liberals'
'we go high'

The opposition to physical violence is so much more important and complex than these terms.

I am sick of people on the Left twisting MLK Jr's compassion for rioters into saying physical violence is ever morally justified or effective. He made it so clear that, along with the establishment for causing suffering, riots also deserve condemnation.

People who suggest MLK would have supported the punching of Richard Spencer, or the streetfighting to protest far-right speakers, are not simply misreading his words. They are deliberately twisting history to justify their naive desire for symptomatic healing: terrorising the opposition.

Naive desire? Isn't wanting to respectfully debate yourself out of oppression the native thing? How did that ever work in history? I'll wait.

 

[Heroman]

The biggest mistake people make is thinking the Civil Rights Movement ended....

It has never ended. The book will be long. We are in the latest chapter. MLK would have def made sure people knew this.

If you tell someone it's over , people will stop working to better themselves.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

If you tell someone it's over , people will stop working to better themselves.

I honestly can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.

 

[Sweeney Tom]

People forget how hated MLK was and how many considered him a part of the problem and a commie agitator.

Some motherfuckers cheered when he died.

They forget MLK was all about civil disobedience.

I truly don't think it's "forgotten" so much as "intentionally ignored". The story of this man peacefully overcoming racism is wonderful, and the ending where he got shot and racism lived for decades after is far too grim to fit there, so it's erased.

 

[Heroman]

I honestly can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.

I'm simplifying it a bit but there is a huge problem with for the civil rights movement and MLK is taught and talk about. In school we barley talked about civil rights movement beyond the 60s. It was the story Dr King use peaceful marches and ended racism which isn't the case.

 

[Farooq]

I love MLK.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

I'm simplifying it a bit but there is a huge problem with for the civil rights movement and MLK is taught and talk about. In school we barley talked about civil rights movement beyond the 60s. It was the story Dr King use peaceful marches and ended racism which isn't the case.

ok, I think I must've misunderstood your other post

 

[JesseEwiak]

As always, a reminder :

62% of white people in America said that black people were treated equally in 1963. In 1967 it was 75%.

Since 1962, it's held almost steady that 8 in 10 white Americans think that black children
have equal chances for good education in their own communities.

In 1964 most white Americans believed that mass demonstrations for racial equality were actually hurtful to black Americans' cause.

In 1966 that number had risen to 85%.

http://www.crmvet.org/docs/60s_crm_public-opinion.pdf
http://media.gallup.com/GPTB/specialReports/sr010711.PDF

 

[Heroman]

More than simplified, and I'm not sure what you're saying now has to do with your post that I quoted. What you said implies that peoples incentive to do better is rooted in their holding illusions about where we are right now in terms of equality-- that being consigned to social death automatically makes people take on a defeatist stance. Do you think black people before the 60s did nothing to better themselves? Your post was really inconsiderate, bootstrap rhetoric. People love to talk about personal accountability, but don't give a damn about collective accountability.

Of course they did thing to better themselves before the 60s bit sadly it not taught to today. I'm saying that if you teach kids in school that the movement is over then they be less likely to fight and better themselves.

 

[Prototype Viktor]

He's still black til Matt Damon or Ben Affleck saved him in a movie and he will inspires them to create GoGurt or something

 

[Mr. Blonde]

'white washing'
'weak liberals'
'we go high'

The opposition to physical violence is so much more important and complex than these terms.

I am sick of people on the Left twisting MLK Jr's compassion for rioters into saying physical violence is ever morally justified or effective. He made it so clear that, along with the establishment for causing suffering, riots also deserve condemnation.

People who suggest MLK would have supported the punching of Richard Spencer, or the streetfighting to protest far-right speakers, are not simply misreading his words. They are deliberately twisting history to justify their naive desire for symptomatic healing: terrorising the opposition.

Concur.

 

[Slayven]

'white washing'
'weak liberals'
'we go high'

The opposition to physical violence is so much more important and complex than these terms.

I am sick of people on the Left twisting MLK Jr's compassion for rioters into saying physical violence is ever morally justified or effective. He made it so clear that, along with the establishment for causing suffering, riots also deserve condemnation.

People who suggest MLK would have supported the punching of Richard Spencer, or the streetfighting to protest far-right speakers, are not simply misreading his words. They are deliberately twisting history to justify their naive desire for symptomatic healing: terrorising the opposition.

"a riot is the language of the unheard."
--MLK JR

He might not agree with it, but he probably would have understood

 

[Slayven]

Remember when the FBI sent a nice letter to MLK JR?

TLDR: Kill your self -------The FBI

 

[Niftyartwork]

Death of a King by Tavis Smiley. Talks about the last year of his life.

Thank you!

 

[Shadynasty]

I'm simplifying it a bit but there is a huge problem with for the civil rights movement and MLK is taught and talk about. In school we barley talked about civil rights movement beyond the 60s. It was the story Dr King use peaceful marches and ended racism which isn't the case.

Besides the fact that what was taught was compressed into the month of February or at least it was when I was in school. I don't imagine it being much different now.

 

[rjinaz]

'white washing'
'weak liberals'
'we go high'
They are deliberately twisting history to justify their naive desire for symptomatic healing: terrorising the opposition.

Concur.

"Opposition" Is that what we call Nazis nowadays?

 

[Shadynasty]

Remember when the FBI sent a nice letter to MLK JR?

TLDR: Kill your self -------The FBI

So this is the letter they were talking about in Drunk History.

 

[Glix]

I think MLK is doing terriffic things and more and more people are recognizing his work

 

[Izuna]

I was told MLK ended racism, though.

He did that one speech and no one was racist anymore.

Spoiler

nice thread OP, I'm still catching up on history

Remember when the FBI sent a nice letter to MLK JR?

TLDR: Kill your self -------The FBI

 

[excelsiorlef]

'white washing'
'weak liberals'
'we go high'

The opposition to physical violence is so much more important and complex than these terms.

I am sick of people on the Left twisting MLK Jr's compassion for rioters into saying physical violence is ever morally justified or effective. He made it so clear that, along with the establishment for causing suffering, riots also deserve condemnation.

People who suggest MLK would have supported the punching of Richard Spencer, or the streetfighting to protest far-right speakers, are not simply misreading his words. They are deliberately twisting history to justify their naive desire for symptomatic healing: terrorising the opposition.

What's with all the scare quotes? Whitewashing of MLK isn't just in the response to violence.

This isn't really about freaking Richard Spencer and it is certainly not all about violent protests.

This is about folks weaponizing MLK to say BLM is doing things wrong. We've had multiple threads where BLM say blocked traffic and folks have waltzed into to say MLK would not approve of that, even though he did exactly like that.

 

[*Splinter]

As a white person in the UK this definitely seens like faux outrage...



...ah, okay. I see your point.

As a fellow white person in the UK, kindly shut the fuck up

 

[LookAtMeGo]

As a fellow white person in the UK, kindly shut the fuck up

I think they were being sarcastic.