http://www.mecca.org/~crights/dream.html

We've gone all of Martin Luther King's Birthday without a discussion.  I have posted a link to the his most famous speech, the "I Have A Dream" speech. 

There are some who believe America has realized King's dream in the 41 years since he delivered it at the Licoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.  There are others---I among them--who believe America has a long journey ahead before we can call King's dream fulfilled.

Thoughts?

Long way to go. It's like this country gets off of one type of hatred and goes on to another. Not saying that African-Americans are living the dream now, but it seems like intolerance and hatred have now spread to Muslims (because of 9/11) and homosexuals (because, God forbid, they love someone). At least that's how I see it.

http://www.mecca.org/~crights/dream.html

We've gone all of Martin Luther King's Birthday without a discussion.  I have posted a link to the his most famous speech, the "I Have A Dream" speech. 

There are some who believe America has realized King's dream in the 41 years since he delivered it at the Licoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.  There are others---I among them--who believe America has a long journey ahead before we can call King's dream fulfilled.

Thoughts?


Martin Luther king is a man to be admired for ages and ages to come.  I personally look at him as a hero. He did what he knew was right in his heart and didn't let anyone stand in his way. The courage of the man is unbelievable. He is one of the most infulential characters of his time.

I'm a white man, and I'm proud to say that Martin Luther King Jr is one of my heros.

According to my daughter, there were only two noticeable differences in the lines that waited for "...Fockers" and "Coach Carter."  The line for "...Fockers" was mostly white teens, while the line for "Coach Carter" was mostly black teens and there were no armed police lined up staring down the kids who waited in line for "...Fockers."  She also described several "zero tolerance" signs placed throughout the lobby, that were not present in the theatre when I was there to see another film, just two weeks ago and that my older daughter confirmed were not yet present when she attended a film, there, just one week ago.  These newly placed signs warned that no violence, drugs, noise, fights, gangs, etc., would be tolerated in the theatre.  No such incidents have occurred at this theatre to prompt the placement of these signs.


Wow, MooRocca, that is awful.  I thought we had come past that kind of attitude.  Just out of curiosity, what state do you live in?  I haven't heard of anything like that happening here, but we don't have a huge black population.  We do have a huge hispanic population and I haven't seen that happening to them.  It is sad when people assume something about a person just because of the color of his or her skin.

As for the manager asking if she was sure she wanted to see the movie...that is just dumb.  That is supposed to be a great movie and he needs to get a grip. 

First off, I'd like to thank Maxwell for posting King's incredible speech.  It's been a long time since I've read it, and it literally sent chills down my spine.  I think it's something that people need to see more often.  And I agree with you all that we have a long way to go.  I live in Utah, the same as Dagwood, and like she said, we have a very small black population.  Even so, from my experience, attitudes about race are really great here compared to other places.  Last summer, my husband and I traveled to Yellowstone with a big group of people.  Most of them we'd never met, and there were two guys with us from Mississippi.  They were both in their early twenties, and seemed pretty cool at first.  Well a couple of days into the trip, a group of people from India camped a couple of spots down from us.  My husband and I stopped to chat with a few of them on one of our walks, and they were all very nice people, excited about exploring the incredible park.  That night, our group reassembled around the campfire, and the two boys from Mississippi started talking about the "Ragheads" next door.  I honestly couldn't believe it.  He told us that we'd better not look them in the eye or they'd blow us up.  Both my husband and I tried to explain to him that they were from India - you know, not even a middle eastern country?  But neither of them would even hear of it!  We were both dumfounded!  After their little rant about how the group was more than likely terrorists who were going to blow up the entire park (yes, they really said it) they started in on other races.  My husband and I finally got up and went to bed, we were so disgusted.  Not one other person in the group besides the two of us said a word.  They just sat back and listened to these two spew hatred.  I still can't believe that in this day and age, someone in my age group could be that way.  But they were.  Needless to say, we tried to keep to ourselves the remainder of the trip, and I'm still not over it...

For me, the most fascinating thing about MLK's movement is how uncompromisingly committed they were to seek change WITHOUT diminishing others.  It's rare to hear a point of view expressed today that doesn't explicitly or impliciitly seek to demean or disempower others -- red staters, blue staters, pro-choicers, pro-lifers, gays, racists, Catholics, Christians, atheists... everyone seems to be a target of disrespect and demonization.  

Law-abiding citizens often couldn't walk peacefully down the street or sleep a peaceful night in their own homes without being harrassed, beaten and often killed -- given those realities, a little hateful rhetoric (at the very least), would have been a perfectly understandable response.  Yet, there they stood committed to peaceful protest and civil disobedience, even when many blacks angrily resisted such non-violent tactics.

I imagine that as a human being in those circumstances, there must have been times he felt rage and frustration at the conditions, even while intellectually he realized the danger of expressing it.  I can't imagine the amount of spiritual vigilance and self-discipline it must have taken for him to consistently appeal to his 'better angels'...

For me, the most fascinating thing about MLK's movement is how uncompromisingly committed they were to seek change WITHOUT diminishing others.  It's rare to hear a point of view expressed today that doesn't explicitly or impliciitly seek to demean or disempower others -- red staters, blue staters, pro-choicers, pro-lifers, gays, racists, Catholics, Christians, atheists... everyone seems to be a target of disrespect and demonization.  

Law-abiding citizens often couldn't walk peacefully down the street or sleep a peaceful night in their own homes without being harrassed, beaten and often killed -- given those realities, a little hateful rhetoric (at the very least), would have been a perfectly understandable response.  Yet, there they stood committed to peaceful protest and civil disobedience, even when many blacks angrily resisted such non-violent tactics.

I imagine that as a human being in those circumstances, there must have been times he felt rage and frustration at the conditions, even while intellectually he realized the danger of expressing it.  I can't imagine the amount of spiritual vigilance and self-discipline it must have taken for him to consistently appeal to his 'better angels'...


VERY well said, Leo. 

According to my daughter, there were only two noticeable differences in the lines that waited for "...Fockers" and "Coach Carter."   The line for "...Fockers" was mostly white teens, while the line for "Coach Carter" was mostly black teens and there were no armed police lined up staring down the kids who waited in line for "...Fockers."   She also described several "zero tolerance" signs placed throughout the lobby, that were not present in the theatre when I was there to see another film, just two weeks ago and that my older daughter confirmed were not yet present when she attended a film, there, just one week ago.  These newly placed signs warned that no violence, drugs, noise, fights, gangs, etc., would be tolerated in the theatre.  No such incidents have occurred at this theatre to prompt the placement of these signs.



The really ignorant thing about this is that this particular film is hardly the type of film to appeal to teenagers prone to violence and unruly behavior, regardless of race.

I think a lot of people forget that in the end, no one knows who they will meet on the other side. Imagine a white racist passing away and at the pearly gates is a black or brown man (or woman) with the name tag of "God". I wonder what they will do then?

Tanya

I think a lot of people forget that in the end, no one knows who they will meet on the other side. Imagine a white racist passing away and at the pearly gates is a black or brown man (or woman) with the name tag of "God". I wonder what they will do then?

Tanya


Or at the pearly gates God might say, "Remember, the guy who yelled 'n.i.g.g.e.r' from the side of the road in Georgia that day in 1968? That was me.  Just testing you to see how you'd react..."