While I Have A Dream is the most famous, the speech that resonates the most with me is Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from a Birmingham Jail. The statements in that speech are literally applicable RIGHT NOW, today, in 2015. Over the last exhaustive 5 months, Ive talked a lot about race. Seeing what memes my FB friends like, their statuses, and their comments on news articles has really opened my eyes. Its disheartening. Ive read so many MLK would be rolling in his grave if he saw these protester thugs! comments, that I dont really believe most know anything about MLK other than his most famous speech. Thats why I keep talking about race as much as Id rather talk about anything else in life. I thought we were all mostly on the same page, but were not, and the discussion really MUST be had. I dont believe any of you reading this are outright racists, nor or you extremist in your views on race. Most of you are moderates. But moderates are the issue... As Dr. King stated: I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negros great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another mans freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a more convenient season. Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. The moderates are easily the majority of the people commenting on articles. They dont want to discuss race, the use terms race baiter and race card liberally. They keep posting that video of Morgan Freeman saying the way to get over race is to stop talking about (he was wrong). They dont like the protests because theyre tired of hearing about them, dont want to be unconvinced, or stuck in traffic. They want every one airing their grievances to stand on the sidewalk where they can be ignored. Theyre tired of reading news articles and Op Ed pieces on race in America. They dismiss the Anti-Police brutality marches as just a bunch of rioters and looters. They stand by police unabashedly and believe that holding police accountable means you hate law enforcement. They want people to just obey the law, even if the law is unjust or administered unethically. The problem with moderates is that they never see how their stances and thoughts contribute to our racial climate. We can easily identify overt racists. At least with the KKK, everyone, including themselves could see their bias. Moderates seem to LACK that ability, and become incredibly defensive when someone exposes them. You have to be honest with yourself. Read up on Dr. King. Go further than just that one speech. Read his quotes on war, Vietnam, the poor... He was so much larger than what we haver reduced him to be.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:05:56 +0000
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