• PhilipTheBucket
    link
    fedilink
    English
    23
    edit-2
    5 days ago

    You realize that MLK was literally speaking up against racism, the Vietnam War, economic justice, to the point that they shot him, right?

    They only have a little handful of in-broad-daylight public figure bullets they can use every decade without people starting to get all up in arms about it, and out of all the people in the US, they spent one on him. He was saying that the whole of race relations was a sideshow for the deeply rooted economic injustice that every working man was facing, we need to stop the wars, stop the exploitation of everyone black and white… do you think they shot him because he was doing too good a job of sidelining everyone’s righteous anger with these horizon-spanning marches, and they wanted more of a challenge with him out of the picture and the blacks better able to organize once he was gone?

    What the fuck are you talking about?

    The whole US media was saying he was a communist, a rioter, he was going to burn down the cities and ruin everything…

    Why the fuck would I hate Malcolm X if I like MLK Jr? What the fuck are you even talking about? We need Matt Taibbi in here to come up with new metaphors for how little sense this all makes.

      • PhilipTheBucket
        link
        fedilink
        English
        9
        edit-2
        5 days ago

        Okay. Here’s the whole non-excerpted speech BTW:

        https://www.themelaninproject.org/tmpblog/2021/7/12/message-to-the-grassroots-by-malcom-x-full-transcript

        Sounds like a fine critique. I don’t really agree with it, but sure, they were both working for racial justice.

        Personally I think there was a reason why MLK was killed probably by the government, and Malcolm X wasn’t. Sure, maybe if X had lived, they would have shot him too, I don’t know. And they probably knew it was coming and didn’t try to stop it. But they definitely thought MLK was dangerous enough to kill. Whatever Malcolm X thought about it and had to say, the government themselves definitely weren’t happy like “oh we gotta keep this guy around so he can keep everyone on the plantation for us.”

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          2
          edit-2
          5 days ago

          Thank you for engaging with the substance of the argument! Personally I think you probably need both. If there is no unhinged element it doesn’t make the nonviolent one seem that threatening, but honestly I go back and forth.

          I did find it fascinating that contemporaries of MLK has such disparaging views of him.

          I also think Malcolm was probably killed by the government or at least the government used the Nation of Islam against him, but i freely admit that is somewhat conspiratorial and we won’t know, at least until all the files are released.

          • PhilipTheBucket
            link
            fedilink
            English
            75 days ago

            I did find it fascinating that contemporaries of MLK has such disparaging views of him.

            It wasn’t “his contemporaries.” It was Malcolm X, apparently.

            His liberal contemporaries, sure, they were constantly telling him to tone it down or that it wasn’t the time, or that he was making it difficult for them to make “progress.” His civil rights contemporaries, by and large, were pretty in favor of what he was doing. Sometimes they even showed up and walked around with him in some little groupings, in public, just to subtly send a message that they might have been in favor of what he was doing.

            I have no idea why you are going out of your way to shit on MLK in this particular way. It has been an interesting little window in the workings of some people on Lemmy. I think, honestly, that some of it comes from feeling comfortable expressing opinions and assertions about things where you honestly don’t know even a vague approximation of what the fuck you’re talking about.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              2
              edit-2
              5 days ago

              I actually studied this era and movement at the masters level and wrote papers related to the topic. Lol.

              Im not shitting on MLK as much as I am quoting Malcolm X. Everyone (not you, just generally speaking) always acts like black people are a monolith and always agree about who is a good guy or that to be black and disagree with the DNC or MLK makes you an republican or an uncle tom and thats it. There are actually critiques of MLK and DNC from the far left too.

              I feel like it was interesting that this perspective was completely lost to history. If it means people think im an idiot but learn more about what actually happened thats fine me.

              • PhilipTheBucket
                link
                fedilink
                English
                6
                edit-2
                5 days ago

                critiques of … DNC from the far left too.

                Theeeeere it is lmao. Starting from MLK was a creative and interesting choice, sort of a new spin on “this leftist person you like is actually BAD because he’s WORKING FOR THE MAN and as a good leftist I don’t think we should support him.” I certainly have seen that one, but not about a political figure that’s been dead for over 60 years.

                In any case I think we’re done here. At least it explains why you follow closely with the pattern of:

                1. Saying one thing and kind of sticking with it, not really varying or responding no matter what anyone says, just repetitiously talking about your thing
                2. Explaining what a lot of people who disagree with you believe (“all black people are the same or at least have the same opinions”) by way of (a) making them sound stupid by putting stupid views in their mouths (b) redirecting away from what they’re actually saying to you about what they believe / why they might disagree with you about your wild one thing that you’re saying
                3. Tying it back to the Democrats, and specifically why “a lot of people” have these important critiques of them

                Like I say… we’re done here. Have fun with your engagement on Lemmy. I hope you find some people who really take you super super seriously and listen closely to what you are sharing with them, to help inform them fully about this urgent point of view they need to understand.

                • @[email protected]
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  25 days ago

                  Wow that’s a creative take on my thoughts. I just hadn’t got to talk to anyone normal about this and didn’t realize it work be taken that way. So my apologies I guess. Didn’t mean to tar your hero or anything. I guess thats definitely one logical way to read that though. I can’t fault you for reaching that conclusion.

                  Thanks engaging with me, genuinely.

                  • PhilipTheBucket
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    45 days ago

                    Didn’t mean to tar your hero or anything.

                    Wait until I find out he cheated on his wife. My fucking head will probably explode. Don’t tell me, though, I’m super simple minded when I look at figures I admire in history.