Posted on 08/23/2003 6:23:59 PM PDT by nwrep
MLK Rally marked by Bush, Ashcroft bashing & absence of US flags; Speaker Praises Mugabe
The rally on the US Capitol today to mark the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was broadcast live on C-SPAN. The event was attended by Democratic presidential contenders Howard Dean, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton. The following are my personal observations, facts hidden from you by puff-pieces appearing on the wire services.
The most stunning aspect of this rally was the almost complete, seemingly choreographed absence of the Old Glory throughout the vast crowd, estimated by organizers to number 50,000. The fact that not a single black person thought it proper to show appreciation to a country that freed his forefathers from the clutches of slavery by proudly flying her flag, seemed almost offensive to me. Seen among the crowd were various pro-Palestinian banners and others denigrating America, one calling it "The greatest purveyor of violence in the world".
The ceremony started with various songs and religious intonations, including one involving a beer bottle and a potted plant by a so-called "African" leader representing an "African religion", but the singing of the Star Spangled Banner was, alas, not deemed worthy of the effort by the organizers. I found this to be extraordinarily ungrateful, as if they were going out of their way to avoid any association with American symbols.
What followed this remarkable opening was a long flow of speaker after speaker, spewing anti-Bush, anti-Ashcroft and sometimes, anti-American screed. First up was Martin Luther King III, and he set the tone for the afternoon's speeches by attacking the war on Iraq and Afghanistan, and blaming the Bush administration and the US military for all ills under the sun. He listed "homophobia" as one of the greatest contemporary evils facing mankind.
Following him were an assortment of speakers sympathizing with the "Palestinian cause", including terrorist appeaser James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute, and brother of the allegedly independent pollster John Zogby. Racism, discrimination and denial of civil rights were some of the things blamed by these individuals on the Bush administration. Ashcroft came in for several rounds of liberal criticism, particularly from Zogby and a young Arab woman dressed in a head-scarf, who levelled the usual charges against the administration, unhappy at our success in the war on terror.
The "Rev." Al Sharpton spoke and reeled off whatever DNC talking points might have been missed by the previous speakers, and he was followed by the "Rev." Jesse Jackson.
Following his rather long and boring speech, Jackson started soliciting donations, which were collected by the volunteers in what looked like paint buckets with slits. Jackson finished off with the obligatory phony prayer, which was well received by both the blacks and the guilty white liberals in the audience.
Rounding off this round of speakers dissociating themselves from the founding ideals of our Republic as well as Dr. King's color-blind vision were Kim Gandy, the NOW chief, and a representative of the National Gay and Lesbian Alliance. Only Corretta Scott King and Rep. John Lewis seemed to depart from the script which had turned this event into a defacto blame America outing.
As the afternoon started to wear, the crowd got restless and started to leave. The dark, depressing vision of America highlighted by the speakers did not help.
Towards the end, someone calling himself Obi Egbuna of the Pan-African Liberation Organization took the stand. What followed was virulent anti-western and anti-American rantings that even I was not prepared for. This gentleman, if you could call him that, placed the blame of all the problems facing the continent of Africa on the shoulders of President Bush.
Apparently in an effort to establish his credentials as even more radical than the previous speakers, he heaped lavish praise on Robert Mugabe for "reclaiming African lands from the colonialists", never mind the fact that this despicable tyrant has turned a once prosperous country into an ecological disaster by the systematic starvation of this people, while forcefully stealing farms from white farmers who had owned them for generations. In the twisted mind of this speaker, Mugabe was an example worth emulating across the continent.
The rally almost fizzled towards the end, as the dignitaries on stage started leaving in the middle of the speeches, walking past hundreds of empty chairs in the stands, a scene perfectly captured by C-SPAN.
This event raised a lot of questions in my mind: Why the almost enforced absence of US flags? Why no singing of the Star Spangled Banner? Why no mention of the greatness of America? Why no invitee from the right of the political spectrum? Why was this event not billed as a DNC rally, even though it appeared to be little more than that? Why the emphasis on "hip-hop", gay rights and Palestinian Liberation at a rally commemorating MLK's speech? What do these things have to do with civil rights, which, at this point in time, should be a non-issue?
Why does an Arab woman in a headscarf think she has the right to tell Americans that we have "a long way to go in our struggle for freedoms"? Why did the NAACP invite so many Arabs to speak at this rally? Why were there so many Palestinians at this rally? Why was someone from the more moderate civil rights groups (such as the Congress for Racial Equality) not invited to speak? And lastly, why the non-coverage by the media, with the notable exception of C-SPAN?
Doesn't look like 50,000 by these pictures.
This event raised a lot of questions in my mind: Why the almost enforced absence of US flags? Why no singing of the Star Spangled Banner? Why no mention of the greatness of America? Why no invitee from the right of the political spectrum? Why was this event not billed as a DNC rally, even though it appeared to be little more than that? Why the emphasis on "hip-hop", gay rights and Palestinian Liberation at a rally commemorating MLK's speech? What do these things have to do with civil rights, which, at this point in time, should be a non-issue?
Because the real MLK had Republican values. They can't acknowledge him, and still get the uninformed to vote for Marx.
LOL...
But in the immortal words of Bones McCoy: "He's dead, Jim."
Maybe they went there to honor MLK. It didn't happen. I'd leave too.
Why should we care?? Because these anti-American, anti-decency anarchists have slandered and demonized MY country and MY countrymen, while spitting and defecating on the legacy and graves of all who have fallen FOR this America.
Reason enough?
These people have killed it.
I'm afraid you are right. I remember seeing the 30th anniversary of the "I Have A Dream" speech. I expected the event would attract a few of the far left groups out to look for an excuse to make noise, but I figured most of the people would be there to have a respectful celebration of the Civil Rights movement. I was wrong.
There was no spirit of reverence or rememberance during the 1993 event -- at lest not that I could detect from watching the network news. The whole event had been taken over by a mixture of radical environmentalists and militant homosexuals. I swear that one news report I saw focused on a large group of leather fetish freaks cavorting about -- men wearing weird S&M black leather outfits. No doubt they carried signs demanding society show them respect, as they whipped one-another on the rear-end. It all looked like "Carnival" as organized by gay communist leather fetish freaks (yuck). I swear I am not making this up -- my imagination is not vivid enough to make something like that up, and what imagination I do have is not spent thinking about leather, or about men -- and certainly not about men in our out of leather! I can joke about it a little, but it really was horrible. When I saw the mockery they made of Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement, I was very angry and sickened. To me it felt like they were assassinating Dr. King all over again -- I don't know how else to describe it.
There could not be a greater contrast with the 1963 event -- The next time you see a tape of Dr. King giving the "I Have A Dream" speech, look at the crowd all around him. It shows thousands and thousands of people, all well-behaved and most of the people are wearing their best clothes -- as if they were going to church or to a business meeting. The people who witnessed the "I Have A Dream" speech in 1963 and the people who were using the 30th anniversary as an excuse to party seem to be from different planets. It is worthwhile to beg, borrow, or steal a video recording of the "I Have A Dream" speech -- you will witness one of the greatest American speeches of the 20th Century. It is impossible for me to reconcile that with some of the scenes I saw in news reports of the 1993 celebrations. The 1993 event looked like something out of a nightmare of a mad man.
No that is Carol Moseley Braun.
And are using "tolerance of all sin" as a legitimate reason to rule the country through facist litigation. The trial lawyers are their thought police.
Leave them alone? We did, and look what's happened to the U.S. simply because we looked the other way!
Destro, we care because these people should show more gratitude for living in the greatest, freest country in the world. Its an American thing.
You are so right.
Al Qaeda same same as today's leftist/African-American/Palestinan-Islamic-Arab/Homo-rights Rally that disgraced the legacy of MLK.
Try pulling that kind of BS over at DU -- Regarding this issue, your currency hold no value.
Coming from you Destro, that's a little like the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?
Doesn't his being there do just that?
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