No wonder they killed him: MLK was working for economic justice for ALL the poor.

[riqster]

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/no-wonder-they-killed-him-mlk-was-working-for-economic-justice-for-all-the-poor/

"Racial equality wasn’t all that big a deal to the plutocracy (AKA the 1%), because they weren’t going to lose any money from it. But when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. started the Poor People’s Campaign, that’s when s*** got real. A multi-racial, cross-class movement for economic justice? That was gonna cost some change.

And if you think about it, the leaders of every movement that tried to empower the many and free them from the oppression of the few have been so treated. Jesus, and Gandhi, to name a few. Others survived (like Mandela) but suffered horribly as they were made an example of by the 1% of their day.

Because ultimately the color wars, the culture wars, the party wars, all are of relatively little import to those who would use the world as their own private slush fund. They matter to US, we who are not of the Plutocratic Elite, but all they care about is cash and control. When wealth and power are put on the table, that is when people start getting killed, to protect the fortunes and privileges of the few. If they can mute the voices of freedom and justice, they will do so: but kill they will, if they deem it expedient and to their own benefit.

The leaders of Occupy managed to avoid King’s fate, because they refused (wisely) to have one single person as their capital-L Leader. Their message was marginalized by less drastic means. But marginalized it was, because when it comes to wealth, any and all means will be used to maintain the positions of the Plutocrats.

Remember, Gentle Reader, as you honor Dr. King on this day: he did not only die because he wanted people of color to be free: he died because he wanted all of us to share in the fruits of our labor. That is why he was murdered, as were other warriors before him. And we can best honor him by carrying on that fight.



PS: This is not intended as slight on those who have bravely fought for justice based on color, creed, class and culture. Those are serious struggles and are very important to the vast majority of us. This post is about the economic aspect of Dr. King’s legacy, which is ofttimes overlooked."

Source material at the link.

[JaneyVee]

1. And he was killed while rallying with public workers trying to unionize.

[riqster]

2. Very true!

It's convenient for the 1% to reframe this as a color-based issue: but that does the man and his movement an immense disservice.

[senseandsensibility]

3. Good point, and should be brought up often.

[rurallib]

5. so they could earn a living wage

it is like nothing has changed for the better

[riqster]

9. That is, indeed the point.

MLK, like others before and since, was killed because he threatened the 1% and their ability to maintain and enhance their ability to control the wealth of the world.

And until that battle is won, nothing will change for the better. But it won't even be fought until we look at MLK and his entire legacy.

[gaspee]

4. Proud

to be the 5th rec - I also liked the Eric Dyson piece about why MLK made so many uncomfortable.

[riqster]

6. I also like the Rude Pundit's take on MLK.

He points out that the good Dr. was quite a radical. That makes a lot of people uncomfortable.

[gaspee]

7. Yup

That was one of my favorite things about the good Dr. King. The world needs more radicals.

[riqster]

11. He was a radical who understood that violent revolutions hurt the underclass the most.

Last edited Mon Jan 20, 2014, 12:42 PM - Edit history (1)

That, to me, is what makes him so amazing. Like Gandhi.

[riqster]

17. One of his most radical speeches:

http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/Vol6/7Mar1961LovingYourEnemies,SermonDeliveredattheDetroitCouncilofChurches%27NoonLentenServices.pdf

[johnnyreb]

8. I agree.

They even had a three week trial in 1999, the King family that is, and embarrassing as the six-black six-white jury verdict was to the official myth, your neighbors Never Heard About It. Pretty spiffy!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3101300

http://www.thekingcenter.org/assassination-conspiracy-trial

[riqster]

10. Whoa. Please make this an OP.

It deserves it.

[johnnyreb]

14. I'm on a tiny screen

unworthy of typing a good OP. Just note how some will swarm to any such non-sinking thread, to instruct us how all the testimony is Wrong and all the players misguided, diverting from the point that nobody you know has ever even heard about this epic human-interest story.

[riqster]

16. If you don't mind, I will post one later today.

When I have a real keyboard available. I had forgotten about this event, and I bet a lot of other folks have, too.

[villager]

12. exactly. - that's when ge became a real threat

n/t

[Octafish]

13. He also had the audacity to publicly point out the immoral War on Vietnam.

...and how it profited the few at the expense of the many.

I am convinced that it is one of the most unjust wars that has ever been fought in the history of the world. Our involvement in the war in Vietnam has torn up the Geneva Accord. It has strengthened the military-industrial complex; it has strengthened the forces of reaction in our nation. It has put us against the self-determination of a vast majority of the Vietnamese people, and put us in the position of protecting a corrupt regime that is stacked against the poor.

SOURCE with more: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/resources/article/king_quotes_on_war_and_peace/

[riqster]

15. And pointed out the role of money in the equation.

[johnnyreb]

18. Does tv news ever mention Vietnam with MLK?

Not that I've seen. No, tv news glowingly speaks of him as a "civil rights leader", maybe showing pictures of a couple marches and talking about racial harmony. From what I've been able to scrape together, he turned fiercely against the Vietnam war as the ultimate civil rights and human justice issue, with his Riverside speech precisely one year to the day before he was put out of the elites' misery.

[hunter]

42. This too.

.

[Archae]

19. Just who is "They?"

And no vague accusation like "The FBI" or "The CIA."

Names. And actual evidence that backs up the accusation.

The murder of MLK was like the murder of JFK.
How could a loser like Ray kill such an important man?

Simple. James Earl Ray was a vicious racist, and a chronic liar.
In fact he changed his descriptions of "Raul" several times, before he died.

I do think he had help from racist groups like the KKK.
But all the available *CREDIBLE* evidence says Ray shot King.

[iamthebandfanman]

21. id imagine

delusional right wingers was what the op was going for by 'they'.. not government agencies specifically... could be wrong..

[Archae]

22. Unfortunately, even that is too vague.

Right-wingers did hate King. Hated him enough to want him dead.

But like so many of the right-wingers who want Obama to be dead now, them actually doing the deed, killing the person they hate?

No, they want "someone else" to do it for them.

[hedgehog]

23. "I do think he had help from racist groups like the KKK. "

That's the key point - the investigation stopped with the gun man, and never proceeded to the money men!

[riqster]

24. Dingdingding!

If you never LOOK for something, you'll never FIND it.

The trial looked, and found.

[Progressive dog]

32. I keep asking the same question

but never see a response.There is always an unidentified they in conspiracy theories.
James Earl Ray murdered MLK.

[riqster]

43. Sorry that it has taken so long to respond.

Here's my take: just as the Birchers and the city of Dallas were rightfully called out for creating the climate that encouraged the assassination of JFK, so too did various and sundry groups within the USA create a climate that encouraged the killing of MLK.

Not are these unique cases: consider the killings of abortion providers and the rhetoric that encouraged the killers to proceed. Or for that matter, Beckett and "will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?".

Technically you are right in that one man did pull the trigger. However, to pretend that he operated in a vacuum is overly simplistic, and tacitly excuses many odious individuals and groups from their roles in creating that climate of hatred that helped set up the criminal act itself.

[iamthebandfanman]

20. he was a socialist...

of course 'they' hated him.

"I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems it falls victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes." -MLK Jr.

[heaven05]

26. says it all

[socialist_n_TN]

34. And that is an VERY Marxian analysis of capitalism......

nm

[heaven05]

25. + 1000 and you're right

threaten the bottom line of the 1%ers, you're marginalized at the least or end up like Dr. King.

[joanbarnes]

27. So true.....often forgotten that he was fighting for striking janitors in Memphis.

[Gman]

28. Absolutely. Just like Bobby

Because he was going to be the next president and be able to make the changes.

[frwrfpos]

29. important op

More people need to learn about mlks views regarding capitalism..i have no doubt thats why he was taken out. A certain alphabet agency is very good at offing left leaning politicans and activists

[Yo_Mama]

30. Yes, he was.

A man way in advance of his times.

[Wilms]

31. I believe that is correct. n/t

[Progressive dog]

33. "They" did not kill him, James Earl Ray did

The "evidence" used in the "trial" was debunked here. That is why no sane adult reported on the "trial."
[link:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/mlk/memphis/memphis.htm|

[former9thward]

40. No debunking.

This is typical Posner crap. He makes assertions that only could be known if he was physically present. He says Ruby was never in Houston. How would Posner know that? Was he following him around? He says Oswald was alone on the 6th floor. Was Posner there? That is how Posner "debunks" things. He just makes things up.

[WillyT]

35. K & R !!!

[fishwax]

36. it is false to say that "Racial equality wasn’t all that big a deal," even to the elite

First because, of course, there were plenty of racist attitudes among the elite (as in the broader culture) and second because the system itself was dependent upon racist structures, and so MLK and the Civil Rights movement, by assaulting that power structure, were very much threatening the PTB.

Yes, MLK had been working to expand his campaign of civil rights into one that would unite the poor across color lines. But it isn't as though he was seen as innocuous until he made that move. MLK was dangerous to the powers that be because he advocated for the advancement of the African American community in a heavily racist system. The didn't need another reason to hate him or to try to shut him down (using J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, for instance). The institutional and extralegal force (including harassment by authorities, physical violence, and so on) waged against MLK and others in the civil rights movement is evidence of that.

I have no problem with pointing out that the economic aspect of his legacy may be overlooked, but I don't think it is necessary to diminish his core mission in order do that.

[riqster]

37. That was not my intent.

But the current narrative that focuses on his work for racial equality minimizes his economic message, and to rectify that was my intent.

[fishwax]

38. I can appreciate that -- but I think the opening sentence does just that

Last edited Tue Jan 21, 2014, 01:23 AM - Edit history (2)

You start off by saying that racial equality was no big deal and your last sentence sets his message of racial progress aside in arguing that the best way to honor him is by pursuing his economic message. I agree that his economic work is important, but this structure is a misstep, in my opinion.

The current narrative focuses on his work for racial equality because that was the focus of his work. Shedding light on his economic message is a good thing, but it requires a sensitivity to his core legacy and an understanding of how the messages were coordinated rather than setting them as separate projects.

[Quayblue]

41. +1

[Bobbie Jo]

39. Agreed.

Good post.