Posted on 01/31/2006 4:05:36 AM PST by Maria S
I just heard on the news that Mrs. Coretta King has died. Just my personal opinion, but she was a dignified, classy woman who served her country and her late husband's memory quite well.
sw is a true southern gentleman which is why he's walking me down the aisle at my wedding!
PLease tell me where I am wrong.
When I was a kid in the late 40s early 50s, we did celebrate both Lincoln Feb 12th and Washington's birthdays Feb 22 in school; however, they were only ten days apart. I think the Federal government had holidays on both days (For those who grew up in DC, the Federal workers' calendars determined a lot of the social schedule).
Twenty years ago, when pressure for an MLK day had successfully interested Congress in making it a holiday, the two February Presidents' holidays were rolled into one, Presidents' Day, and MLK was given his own day.
Having lived through segregation and having seen the disgraceful way white people acted under Jim Crow, and having seen the positive changes that have come about for black middle-class Americans, and having witnessed Dr. King's speeches and actions contemporaneously, I have to say he deserved enormous honor on the same level as Lincoln and Washington. He broke a shameful legacy through his moral stance and intelligence about it. He was head and shoulders above the Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton weenies of today - a giant intellect and a man of integrity.
I was disappointed about his sexual escapades, but sad to say, such behavior was all too common among a great many men of the time, from media images like James Bond to the real-life Demo-idol, John F. Kennedy and his family members.
Excellent post of the history behind slavery from the colonial days onward, Wallace T., thanks. Y'all go read Post 148 if you missed it.
Those who have been born since the end of apartheid in this country cannot imagine how utterly shameful the behavior of whites towards blacks was. It was utterly wrong, and MLK was martyred for his moral stand against it; but the tide he began could not be turned back.
That said, our legal system has been harmed by an overkill of legislation from the bench, a phenomenon that became entrenched in the Civil Rights dilemma. Had the Founders eliminated slavery from the beginning, we might still have our republic today, instead of this semi-socialist oligarchy. Hopefully, we can push back without harming the fate of persons of color.
That is one issue that irked me to no end about the King family leaches. MLK was brave, and with a lot of black and white help, he did great things, but his family charged a fee for his words!!!!! Is money really worth the deminishing of a great family legacy?
Agreed Michael, I wish the King family peace and solace. I always thought Mrs. King very stately, and a regal bearer of her husbands legacy. The mourning period of death is certainly NOT the time to air our political differences.
So, I am subject to your permission? I need to have you edit my posts?
Get real. This is not just the announcement of a death. I said RIP, and meant it. This is a propaganda parade, though, that will end with sainthood, whether deserved or not. Mrs King was a black woman married to a powerful man. She stood at his side, but was not able to stand in his shoes. Let her be laid to rest.
I made my points succinctly. You may be the ass, dudes, since you seek to assume the role of arbitor for a thread. Go get a life... and give it a rest.
May she rest in peace.
You absolutely made your point succintly. You have left no doubt where you stand.
Not at all subject to permission, but it is a fairly typical FR thing to do, to scratch the portions of a post with which one disagrees and "correct" the post.
You're awfully melodramatic today, a tad emotional?
LOL...apartheid in America...nothing like a bit of hyperbole eh?
Not in the least. How would you describe the situation in which blacks couldn't vote, couldn't stay in hotels, couldn't ride on trains or buses except in separate sections, were not allowed in restaurants where whites were served, could not serve alongside whites in the military or in any public office, were forced to use separate, filthy drinking fountains and bathrooms that the white owners purposely never cleaned, were called names, were avoided, were not allowed to touch any merchandise such as hats or clothing that a white person might then want to try on in a store - I could go on.
That's not even to mention the harassment, intimidation and threats, plus the actual lynchings and kangaroo justice - whites who did crimes against blacks were never convicted; blacks suspected or accused of crimes against whites always convicted, regardless of the proof or lack thereof - what would you call it? Apartheid is too kind a word.
I was there. I lived at ground zero and it was not as you describe.
It was imperfect to be sure but not how you describe.
And the soul of the black community was much much more intact in the face of that adversity...ironically.
Apparently God doesn't care about your public relations worries when he calls people home.
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