Monday, January 19, 2015

Agape

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A couple of specials on Martin Luther King Jr. Day .. a newly discovered recording of a prophetic 1964 speech Dr. King made in London on civil rights and economic justice, apartheid in South Africa, U.S. colonialism and war, and, the power of agape, or love for one's fellow humans.  
 

And .. since we've been on the subject of cartoons, an MLK cartoon from Thich Nhat Hanh from MLK's first speech publicly questioning the war in Vietnam (which caused a lot of waves back then ... and is good to remember, now ... and we know why).


(As Dr. King said, "The time is always right to do what is right.")

Democracy Now! has posted the full recording of Dr. King's renowned Vietnam speech via the first link to the newly discovered recording.

Sadly, we have not learned enough, yet, have we!  

A compelling visual below, putting the 2009 American soldier suicide/death toll in perspective.


While the status quo honored Dr. King with (what have become) the usual ceremonies and service opportunities, Ferguson and #ICantBreathe activists sought to reclaim the holiday with Dr. King's original message of non-violent activism and protest.  In Saint Louis, demonstrators reportedly "crashed" a planned event, blocking traffic and decrying what they called "a watered down version" of King's views, which were unapologetically militant, protesting and being arrested for real social change. 

At Seneca Lake, New York, 200 climate activists were arrested for the occasion.

More #ReclaimMLK:
The work of this campaign is important, since MLK did not die because he wanted someone to paint a wall. While volunteering in and of itself is great and people should be encouraged to give back, it is not what got him killed. He was shot by an assassin for fighting against the racist, classist status quo, murdered while in Memphis, Tenn., to support striking black garbage workers. To make his birthday a day about giving back is to defang the legacy of a man who was both revered and reviled in his time for his tireless work confronting America’s sins.
And from Sojourners:
King was outspoken against capitalism’s oppressive clutch on both the national and global levels. King made it clear that racism and economics were intimately intertwined. I’m reminded of his classic quote, “What good is having the right to sit at a lunch counter if you can’t afford to buy a hamburger?”
Random tweets from inspiring protests around the country:

















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