lvc@cbscd5.UUCP (Larry Cipriani) (10/18/83)
A friend of mine wrote the following letter to the editor in one of our local papers. I think it is important enough to bring into the discussion on Martin Luther King. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In considering the goals, methods, and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, we should dispose of a myth -- that King was a man of peace. King repeatedly turned to the government as a mechanism for social change; and behind the acts of government, one ultimately finds the policeman's gun and the prison guard's night stick. King did not employ violence directly, but sought for the government to use coercion. Of course, the use of force can sometimes be justified and necessary. But, when employed, it should be recognized as such, not cloaked with the mystique of non-violence. With the illusion of pacifism removed, it becomes possible to view the life of Dr. King more clearly. He was a man possessed of great courage, who often struggled valiantly for justice. But he had inadequate regard for individual rights or economic reality; much of what he called for would subvert the human dignity that he sought to champion. Larry Cipriani cbosgd!cbscd5!lvc
hart@cp1.UUCP (10/19/83)
larry,
Where were you during the 60's? Does the name Rap Brown ring a
bell? Most people seem to forget that Martin Luther King was in a
very strange position. He had to keep the respect of the peope he
represented, while trying to keep the lid on what was a very bad
situation. Hell, he did both and he did them well. Let someone who
was involved enlighten you. If it had not been for Dr. King we would
have had bloody riots in streets throughout the 60's. The mood was
bad and people were not talking. There were people traveling through
out the country yelling "burn baby burn!", federal forces spying
on anyone with enough guts to speak out and local police forces
on the verge of panic. While all of this was going on, one person
was preaching peace. There are many people who actually think he
was wrong. Some feel that integration was a farce and that Dr. King
was mistaken. All of this crap being passed around by the closet
bigots will probably do more harm than anything that has happened
since Dr. King's death. Let's face it, the unemployement rate for
black teens isn't high because they aren't qualified for work. They
just happen to be on the bottom of the scale. I can assure you, they
do not think too much of a society that would deprive them of the
few things they can be proud of. ofut@gatech.UUCP (10/19/83)
I'm much to young to remember King very well but what I read makes me
wonder. It seems he was a man of peace but everywhere he went there
were always riots. Does anyone know how these can be resolved?
trying to start trouble...
--
-- Jeff Offutt
CSNet: Ofut @ GaTech ARPA: Ofut.GaTech @ UDel-Relay
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...!duke!mcnc!msdc!gatech!Ofutrlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (10/20/83)
Everywhere Gandhi went, those about him often engaged in violence (often, they thought, in his name), despite his opposition. The same sort of "violence in the name of a non-violent leader" has been associated with Jesus for almost 2000 years. Violence seems to follow those who would propose non-violence. It seems that they all have followers who will say, "Be non-violent, follow my leader, or I'll split your nostrils open and nail your head to the floor." Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr
shebs@utah-cs.UUCP (Stanley Shebs) (10/20/83)
Hey, some of us were in kindergarten in the 60's (all through the 60's - I flunked several times :-) ), and we don't remember a thing. My mother was taking classes at Berkeley in the mid-60's and every so often she would take us kids on campus. I have a vague memory of Sather Gate and people with signs... To me, MLK is semi-legendary. I like the idea of a holiday where the kids stay in school to learn about King, but there's parts of the country where that sort of thing wouldn't go down (like Texas, for example). stan the l.h. utah-cs!shebs
ofut@gatech.UUCP (10/26/83)
I recently had a thought. Let's look at the long-range historical
perspective. Was Washington really such a great guy? Probably not.
He was a good general and had a lot of children but I doubt if he
ever chopped down cherry trees. He is a symbol.
If we make King a hero in our generation then he will cease to be
a person as well and will become a symbol. I'm not so sure that he's
such a great guy either but I think it's a great symbol. What will
our grand-children think of when they think of King? Peace, equality,
goodness and all those good things.
Hopefully they'll respect him and those things as well.
Historically, we remember people but are affected by symbols.
--
Jeff Offutt
School of ICS, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA
CSNet: Ofut @ GATech ARPA: Ofut.GATech @ UDel-Relay
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