Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
African American
Related: About this forum“‘Civil Rights’ and Violence: Who Are the Guilty Ones?”, The National Review Sept. 7th, 1965
Why am I reminded of recent criticisms of Black Lives Matter when I read this old editorial on MLK Jr. from the National Review?
Sometimes it seems that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
Will Herberg, Civil Rights and Violence: Who Are the Guilty Ones?, The National Review Sept. 7th, 1965, pp. 769-770
It did not come easy for us in this country, under the weight of the vast influx of immigrants and the residual effects of the frontier tradition, to consolidate a secure internal order based on custom and respect for constituted authority; but finally we managed. This internal order is now in jeopardy; and it is in jeopardy because of the doings of such high-minded, self-righteous children of light as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and his associates in the leadership of the civil rights movement. If you are looking for those ultimately responsible for the murder, arson, and looting in Los Angeles, look to them: they are the guilty ones, these apostles of non-violence.
For years now, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and his associates have been deliberately undermining the foundations of internal order in this country. With their rabble-rousing demagoguery, they have been cracking the cake of custom that holds us together. With their doctrine of civil disobedience, they have been teaching hundreds of thousands of Negroes particularly the adolescents and the children that it is perfectly alright to break the law and defy constituted authority if you are a Negro-with-a-grievance; in protest against injustice. And they have done more than talk. They have on occasion after occasion, in almost every part of the country, called out their mobs on the streets, promoted school strikes, sit-ins, lie-ins, in explicit violation of the law and in explicit defiance of the public authority. They have taught anarchy and chaos by word and deed and, no doubt, with the best of intentions and they have found apt pupils everywhere, with intentions not of the best. Sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. But it is not they alone who reap it, but we as well; the entire nation.
It is worth noting that the worst victims of these high-minded rabble-rousers are not so much the hated whites, but the great mass of the Negro people themselves. The great mass of the Negro people cannot be blamed for the lawlessness and violence in Harlem, Chicago, Los Angeles, or elsewhere. All they want to do is what decent people everywhere want to do: make a living, raise a family, bring up their children as good citizens, with better advantages than they themselves ever had. The civil rights movement and the consequent lawlessness has well nigh shattered these hopes; not only because of the physical violence and insecurity, but above all because of the corruption and demoralization of the children, who have been lured away from the steady path of decency and self-government to the more exhilarating road of demonstration and rioting. An old friend of mine from Harlem put it to me after the riots last year: For more than fifteen years weve worked our heads off to make something out of these boys. Now look at themtheyre turning into punks and hoodlums roaming the streets.
http://themoderatevoice.com/15520/recall-the-words-of-the-national-review/
It did not come easy for us in this country, under the weight of the vast influx of immigrants and the residual effects of the frontier tradition, to consolidate a secure internal order based on custom and respect for constituted authority; but finally we managed. This internal order is now in jeopardy; and it is in jeopardy because of the doings of such high-minded, self-righteous children of light as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and his associates in the leadership of the civil rights movement. If you are looking for those ultimately responsible for the murder, arson, and looting in Los Angeles, look to them: they are the guilty ones, these apostles of non-violence.
For years now, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and his associates have been deliberately undermining the foundations of internal order in this country. With their rabble-rousing demagoguery, they have been cracking the cake of custom that holds us together. With their doctrine of civil disobedience, they have been teaching hundreds of thousands of Negroes particularly the adolescents and the children that it is perfectly alright to break the law and defy constituted authority if you are a Negro-with-a-grievance; in protest against injustice. And they have done more than talk. They have on occasion after occasion, in almost every part of the country, called out their mobs on the streets, promoted school strikes, sit-ins, lie-ins, in explicit violation of the law and in explicit defiance of the public authority. They have taught anarchy and chaos by word and deed and, no doubt, with the best of intentions and they have found apt pupils everywhere, with intentions not of the best. Sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. But it is not they alone who reap it, but we as well; the entire nation.
It is worth noting that the worst victims of these high-minded rabble-rousers are not so much the hated whites, but the great mass of the Negro people themselves. The great mass of the Negro people cannot be blamed for the lawlessness and violence in Harlem, Chicago, Los Angeles, or elsewhere. All they want to do is what decent people everywhere want to do: make a living, raise a family, bring up their children as good citizens, with better advantages than they themselves ever had. The civil rights movement and the consequent lawlessness has well nigh shattered these hopes; not only because of the physical violence and insecurity, but above all because of the corruption and demoralization of the children, who have been lured away from the steady path of decency and self-government to the more exhilarating road of demonstration and rioting. An old friend of mine from Harlem put it to me after the riots last year: For more than fifteen years weve worked our heads off to make something out of these boys. Now look at themtheyre turning into punks and hoodlums roaming the streets.
http://themoderatevoice.com/15520/recall-the-words-of-the-national-review/
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 1941 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (8)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
“‘Civil Rights’ and Violence: Who Are the Guilty Ones?”, The National Review Sept. 7th, 1965 (Original Post)
stone space
Jan 2016
OP
Number23
(24,544 posts)1. It sounds the same because it is the same
Racists and their enablers have been blowing the same damn horn for a thousand years.
And I love how they found the token Go Along Negro to go along with the stupidity:
An old friend of mine from Harlem put it to me after the riots last year: For more than fifteen years weve worked our heads off to make something out of these boys. Now look at themtheyre turning into punks and hoodlums roaming the streets.
There's always, ALWAYS one -- or 30.
47of74
(18,470 posts)2. Yeah, I've copied our local...
...institutions of stellar journalism on this editorial.