MLK to me

by Defianttruth 3 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Defianttruth

  I thought I would talk about one of my personal heroes. Yesterday in the USA, we celebrated MLK day. I was in the 7th grade and we were studying American Civics. I never really cared for school very much, or anything else for that matter. One day, we are studying the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Being white and from the South, this part of history can be uncomfortable.

  I'll set the scene. I am a 12 year old white redneck in a class with a bunch of people just like me except one Black kid. I am not to interested in this subject. To be honest, I was not interested in any subjects at this time. Our teacher Mr. Patterson announces to the class he would be playing a recording today. He plays the "I Have a Dream" speech and for the first time ever he has my undivided attention. I listen to the whole speech and I am blown away with the commanding orator I had just heard. I raise my hand to ask a question after the speech. Mr. Patterson looks at me with trepidation. I have been nothing but trouble in his class all year. He hesitated to call on me, but reluctantly did so. For the first time ever in his class, I asked an honest question, "Mr. Patterson, Where did he learn to speak like that?"

  Like a skilled boxer he had been dodging my childish, ignorant blows for months. He waited for me to lower my guard and this tiny man delivered the one, two punch of my adolescent academic career. He knew the time to strike was then and he knew the perfect thing to say. He called all of us Mr. and Mrs.

  "Mr. Defiant, He speaks in the manner he does because he is educated, well read, a student of both academia and life, and if anyone ever wants to be able to speak like he does that individual should study and read anything and everything he or she can."

  TKO. I knew then if I ever wanted to really leave this godforsaken one horse town, my abusive father, and the cult I was a captive of Mr. Patterson and Dr. King just showed me the way out. The rest was History.

  Thank you Mr. Patterson and Dr. King.

  Regards,

  Dr. D
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  LoveUniHateExams

  I have to admit, I don't know a great deal about MLK as he was before my time.

  But he did stand up for civil rights and equality at a time when the KKK was active and a big threat to black people who 'didn't know their place'.

  Note, he stood up for equality and integration - he wasn't like those loony black groups (e.g. Black Panthers, Black Muslims) that believed in black supremacy, wanted the US to cede territory to black groups, or wanted revenge against whites in general. I think one of King's speeches went along the lines of "I want my children to have the opportunities of white children and be treated like any other children" - amen to that.
  
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  WTWizard

  I wish they would discuss Marcus Garvey as well. He was about empowering the Black race to be all they could, without interfering with the other races. This is what would have been used as an example had joke-hova refrained from interfering.

  And, without that thing meddling, joke-hova's "chosen" would never have barged into Africa to kidnap Blacks and enslave them in the first place. (And nor would people have invaded Black lands with the destructive power of Christi-SCAM-ity to force it to Africans, ruining the countries the way they did to Europe.) No joke-hova, no enslavement, no creation of racist situations and compromises that actually ruin it for everyone except joke-hova itself.

  Then, when Marcus Garvey tries to do anything about it, joke-hova has him marginalized so full communism can be imposed. No culture is allowed to survive in its purest form, and in the name of diversity, they are all dumped into a bucket and messed up to form one blur of a "culture" where there used to be distinct cultures.
  
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  Simon

  I think the genius of MLK was to talk about right for ALL people and to be inclusive, even while campaigning for rights for a specific group.

  This meant ALL people could support it.

  It's an approach sadly missing today where every identity group wants to have their own campaign, their own marches, their own everything and blame, blame, blame, the groups that they actually need to help bring about change.