7 big lies conservatives want you to believe about Martin Luther King Jr.

[gollygee]

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/213435/7-big-lies-conservatives-want-you-to-believe-about-martin-luther-king-jr/

I am reading revisionist history of MLK even here at DU, so it's time for some corrective work. Dr. King was a strong proponent of Affirmative Action. He was also a progressive in a number of other ways.

This is one of the BIG ONES. Conservatives tend to take the one thing they know about Dr. King other than that he was a Christian– the part of the “I Have a Dream” speech that goes “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” as evidence that he was opposed to Affirmative Action.

In reality? I’m pretty sure he would have supported it, given that it was pretty much his idea in the freaking first place.

Yeah. Really. King wrote a lot in support of similar programs in India to help those formerly in the “untouchables” caste, and America’s GI Bill, about how there should be a similar program here to help black people in terms of employment and access. He stated that there needed to be “a massive program by the government of special, compensatory measures which could be regarded as a settlement in accordance with the accepted practice of common law.” Given that there weren’t any Affirmative Action policies at the time, his organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference created something similar – Operation Breadbasket. Clergy would call up businesses in the area to find out how many black people they had working there, and if the percentage was significantly less than the percent of black people in that city, they’d boycott that business.

For the record, probably every single damn thing most people believe about Affirmative Action is total bullshit. It’s not a requirement, it’s a tax break– and it wouldn’t be necessary if it didn’t already exist in first place, but to the benefit of white men who generally prefer hiring white men. Also, for the record, as far as college based AA programs go? Why do I never hear anyone complaining about “legacies” the same way I hear them complaining about AA? You think George W. Bush got into Yale on his own merits?

[yeoman6987]

1. You wrote , "pretty sure and probably"

As if trying to convince yourself. What we do know is he was a great person who did a ton of good for the country. As far as legacy goes, alumni give a ton of money to the schools and that is why you don't hear a bunch of complaints but some do complain. Without the alumni, some schools would not be able to afford to give scholarships and some would actually close. Not a great situation overall. Affirmative action will always be there in some form or another that is for sure.

[gollygee]

2. I didn't write that

I copied it. But "Pretty sure" is a joke. The rest of the sentence shows that affirmative action was his idea -he started the concept. Obviously he was OK with it if he started it. And the "probably" is because the person who wrote it can't speak for what each individual conservative person believes.

[yeoman6987]

3. I am sorry about my flip reply.

It was rude and I apologize.

[gollygee]

4. kick