MLK Also Had a Nightmare

[Octafish]

A sign in Texas, posted in the year Dr. King was born:



MLK Also Had a Nightmare

by Milicent Cranor
WhoWhatWhy.org, January 18, 2015

The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. was short. He was born in 1929 into a racist, hate-filled society with entrenched bigotry enforced by uncivilized laws. But, like Mohandas Gandhi, who took back his country from the British, MLK forced change on the United States through his inspired use of nonviolent resistance.

King had guts. Think of the courage it took for him, and for those who were with him, to work the front lines. As he explained in 1957 in the journal Christian Century:

This is not a method for cowards; it does resist. The nonviolent resister is just as strongly opposed to the evil against which he protests as is the person who uses violence…

Nonviolent resistance does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding. The nonviolent resister must often express his protest through noncooperation or boycotts, but he realizes that noncooperation and boycotts are not ends themselves; they are merely means to awaken a sense of moral shame in the opponent. The end is redemption and reconciliation. The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness…

This method is that the attack is directed against forces of evil rather than against persons who are caught in those forces…

Nonviolent resistance avoids not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love.

CONTINUED...

http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/01/18/mlk-also-nightmare/

If you have a moment, please visit Ms. Cantor's original article. Very well written, the work is filled with photos and illustrations that show exactly the kind of nation Dr. King was born into. They also show how great a difference one human life makes.

[zeemike]

1. And that sign was mild compared to some in the deep south

The one I remember hearing about is "N...r don't let the sun set on you in (this county)"

But non violent resistance is a powerful tool and King learned it from Gandhi...and it takes far more courage than trying to fight it out.
Non cooperation with evil is the smart way to fight it.

[Octafish]

4. Sign of the resiliency and determination to live and thrive of Americans of African ancestry*

Despite the work of the evil and the silence of the cowardly, America's people of color have become part of the American Dream.

What remains is to make it universal -- not communism, just applying the Constitution to EVERYBODY -- you know, Democracy.



The Champion from The Ohio State University.

* Which may in the short term, due to the nature of human beings; and is in the long term, due to evolution and history, be all of us.

[zeemike]

11. And they actually shaped American culture

They taught us music.

[Octafish]

18. For jazz alone...

...the arts give eternal thanks.

[gordianot]

2. Ghandi and King both had if not a somewhat friendly media, a media that had a conscience.

King and Ghandi responded to brutality with courage and media all the while gave them coverage. They did not have to face the likes of Fox News and 24 hour hate radio, an established political party that embraces fear and hate as central attraction. Corporate media whose sole motivation is market share continues to adhere to hate and ignorance because it sells. Violence, murder and torture are celebrated by a sizable segment of the population as patriotism in 21 st century America. I do hope non violence wins but am afraid it is falling out of fashion. I do get it, Selma is out of fashion a sniper movie sells and you better not complain about anything trivial as murder as long as there is someone left to torture.

[oberliner]

3. MLK would have been relentlessly attacked by Rush, Sean, et al

Can you even imagine the vitriol?

[gordianot]

6. They have hinted over the years what should happen to those with opposing views.

Where they make their mistake people do have limits.

[Octafish]

5. We have the Internet.

And perhaps -- due to the power of the Idea -- Democracy for the Win!

The people who most celebrate violence and murder are the "Money Trumps Peace" crowd, the ideological and financial heirs of the Dulles Brothers.

Their day is nigh. For their own sake, the question the warmongers and banksters need answer is whether they will help shape the next phase peacefully or from the wrong end their implements of "peace" like the Colt .45 or H-Bomb.

[oberliner]

8. There would probably be photos and/or video of him with a woman other than his wife

That would be the beginning of the take down by the right wingers.

[gordianot]

9. I get the feeling this is all either experimental or out of control market forces.

Who would really want the chaos American Conservatives are creating?

[Octafish]

12. Really, really, really, really dumb greedheads and eugenecists.

A great article from Katya Soldak of Forbes from a couple years' back.

Message from Condoleezza Rice to Ukraine:

"The World is Watching You"

Katya Soldak
Forbes, 9/19/2012

Recently, Condoleezza Rice, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Gordon Brown, Ukrainian president Victor Yanukovych and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan congregated at Livadia Palace in Southern Ukraine, the summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicolas II—a Renaissance style building on the top of a hill, with the Black Sea rolling below. The same place as where Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met at their famed Yalta conference of 1945.

The difference is that back then the rulers of the powerful countries met to make real decisions about the world’s future. This past weekend, Rice, and other guests of the 9th annual Yalta European Strategy meeting came to share their thoughts about the world’s challenges. Discussions today could influence policymakers and lead to making tomorrow’s decisions.

Among the matters discussed were the economic future of Europe and the role of the United States in dealing with economic and political issues of today. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian theme continued throughout the two-day conference. The government imprisoned former prime minister and opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, and this has drawn criticism by the West; Ukraine tightens conditions for independent media and freedom of speech; the parliamentary elections coming up this October have already caused concerns among democratic observers on the subject of fairness and transparency.

Condoleezza Rice made it clear in her speech that the world is interested in Ukraine and is carefully watching all its developments: “Country like Ukraine with consolidation of democracy is watched carefully,” she said. Rice emphasized the importance of freedom of speech and free elections. “If Ukraine speaks in one voice, this voice would be heard.”

SNIP...

Indeed, the 9th annual Yalta conference – by many opinions, one of the best international platforms for discussions among high-profile politicians and innovative thinkers – is organized by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk’s foundation and is taking place in Ukraine at a time when European leaders have recently boycotted the Euro 2012 soccer championship over Tymoshenko’s arrest and detainment. The fact that American politicians like Condoleezza Rice and Britain’s Gordon Brown attended, can’t be attributed to good relationships between Ukrainian and Western governments.

CONTINUED...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/katyasoldak/2012/09/19/message-from-condoleezza-rice-to-ukraine-the-world-is-watching-you/

In retrospect, it appears the Neocons -- the axis of Wall Street and Secret Government -- have stayed on top the entire time. And, like their ilk did to Iran in 1953, the Ukraine Operation will not benefit the American people as a whole. It will benefit the owners of Big Oil and Condoleeza Rice. And they just might, thanks to Frank Carlucci of the Congo and Carlyle Group.

[gordianot]

16. Maybe they should have given Condi the Commisioner of Football job then had less time for mischief.

[Octafish]

19. Dumb and Dumber in Ukraine: Out of the Mouths of the Neo-Nazis

"Hitler's Warriors: They are Good People"



Out of the Mouths of the Neo-Nazis

Dumb and Dumber in Ukraine

by WILLIAM BLUM
CounterPunch, JANUARY 20, 2015

Remember Arseniy Yatsenuk? The Ukrainian whom US State Department officials adopted as one of their own in early 2014 and guided into the position of Prime Minister so he could lead the Ukrainian Forces of Good against Russia in the new Cold War?

In an interview on German television on January 7, 2015 Yatsenuk allowed the following words to cross his lips: “We all remember well the Soviet invasion of Ukraine and Germany. We will not allow that, and nobody has the right to rewrite the results of World War Two”.

The Ukrainian Forces of Good, it should be kept in mind, also include several neo-Nazis in high government positions and many more partaking in the fight against Ukrainian pro-Russians in the south-east of the country. Last June, Yatsenuk referred to these pro-Russians as “sub-humans” , directly equivalent to the Nazi term “untermenschen”.

So the next time you shake your head at some stupid remark made by a member of the US government, try to find some consolation in the thought that high American officials are not necessarily the dumbest, except of course in their choice of who is worthy of being one of the empire’s partners.

The type of rally held in Paris this month to condemn an act of terror by jihadists could as well have been held for the victims of Odessa in Ukraine last May. The same neo-Nazi types referred to above took time off from parading around with their swastika-like symbols and calling for the death of Russians, Communists and Jews, and burned down a trade-union building in Odessa, killing scores of people and sending hundreds to hospital; many of the victims were beaten or shot when they tried to flee the flames and smoke; ambulances were blocked from reaching the wounded … Try and find a single American mainstream media entity that has made even a slightly serious attempt to capture the horror. You would have to go to the Russian station in Washington, DC, RT.com, search “Odessa fire” for many stories, images and videos. Also see the Wikipedia entry on the 2 May 2014 Odessa clashes.

CONTINUED...

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/01/20/dumb-and-dumber-in-ukraine/

[gordianot]

20. It does seem the old European disease is trying to make a come back.

Not that America is immune, the same old actors (descendants) I heard about as a boy gave a welcome reminiscent of the late 1930's to the NAACP in the small Missouri town of Rosebud on the march to Jefferson City. That is way too close to home for me and they are still bragging about it.

[ND-Dem]

7. k&r

[sabrina 1]

10. Thank you for that link, Octafish. I have read it all. It is worth reading. Along with some of the

other links on the page.

We have a horrible history of racism.

[hfojvt]

13. So his life was a nightmare?

Here's how his book "Stride toward freedom" begins.

"On a cool Saturday afternoon in January 1954, I set out to drive from Atlanta, Georgia to Montgomery, Alabama. It was a clear wintry day. The Metropolitan Opera was on the radio with a performance of one of my favorite operas - Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. So with the beauty of the countryside, the inspiration of Donizetti's inimitable music, and the splendor of the skies, the usual monotony that accompanies a relatively long drive - especially when one is alone - was dispelled in pleasant diversions....

The previous August of 1953, after being in school twenty-one years without a break, I had reached the satisfying moment of completing the residential requirements for the Ph.D. degree. The major job that remained was to write my doctoral thesis. In the meantime I had felt that it would be wise to start considering a job so that I could be placed at least by September 1954. Two churches in the East - one in Massachusetts and one in New York - had expressed an interest in calling me. Three colleges had offered me attractive and challenging posts - one a teaching position, one a deanship, and the other an administrative position. In the midst of thinking about each of these positions, I had received a letter from the officers of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church ...

The church was comparitvely small, with a membership of around three hundred people, but it occupied a central place in the community. Many influential and respected citizens - professional people with substantial incomes - were among its members." pp 15-17


So he wasn't doing THAT bad, in the old "racist, hate filled society" that was the USA, and neither was every black person in the south. There's that church with "many ... professional people with substantial incomes ..." In some ways, these people. Martin included, were already doing quite well, and fought a battle for other people.

And as for "King had guts." the article could have mentioned a few things - like the time his house was bombed. Or the time, as he related in "Why we can't wait" that he was signing autographs of one of his books and some woman stabbed him in the back and he came within half an inch of dying right there.

"Some years ago (he wrote in 1964), I sat in a Harlem department store, surrounded by hundreds of people. I was autographing copies of "Stride Toward Freedom", my book about the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56. As I signed my name to a page, I felt something sharp plunge forcefully into my chest. I had been stabbed with a letter opener, struck home by a woman who would later be judged insane...He told me that the razor tip of the instrument had been touching my aorta and that my whole chest had to be opened to extract it." p. 17

So yeah, even in a crowd of fans, he was not safe.

[heaven05]

14. great link

showing what this country, culture and a lot of it's citizens are trying to devolve to, again. The hate of racist, evil whites, like in the cases of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, John Crawford III and Tamir Rice and the many other unarmed women, children and men of color who have recently been been murdered/executed in the streets of america is the truth of my statement, along with the RW voter suppression laws so prevalent now in many states of the country. While nonviolent resistance has it's place, so do other options have theirs. While MLK is a hero, so is Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis, Malcolm X. They also said to the the evil white racist system, "no more" to living on our knees worshipping the culture that was designed for one racial occupant of this country. A system designed to strike terror and fear like was intended in allowing Michael Brown's uncovered body to lay in the street for five hours.

MLK, great man. We, though, have many others we should never forget who defiantly fought back.

[WillyT]

15. Bookmarked... Thanks !!!

& Rec !!!

[hootinholler]

17. Great article and photo essay n/t

[bigwillq]

21. Must be a lot of cat people in Texas.