Thoughts On Martin Luther King By John Kaniecki

Thoughts On Martin Luther King

By John Kaniecki

On Martin Luther King Day my first thought turns to Ronald Reagan. This odd connection is due to the fact that Ronnie was greatly opposed to the holiday. Of course in the Reagan family we see how hypocrisy reigns supreme. Nancy Reagan was greatly opposed to stem cell research for Alzheimer’s treatment until her husband got sick with the disease. Then she was a champion for it, funny how things change when you’re the victim.

 People from European decent will never know what it is to be of darker colored skin. No matter how many facts you learn or how much culture you absorb and how many friends of darker skin color you have you will never know the burden. I know some ‘whites’ who feel there is reverse racism in place.

Prejudice is a feeling of ill will based on some characteristic such as skin color. Racism is entirely another thing. Racism is prejudice inflicted by a system.  Racism implies power by the oppressor to oppress. Without power you cannot be racist. How is racism prevalent in the United States?  People of darker skin color are more likely to be stopped and frisked despite the statistics that say drug use is equal. People of darker skin tend to get longer sentences and the death penalty with greater frequency. I could go on and site other facts and figures. I could bring up how young people of ‘color’ are watched when they enter stores. But I have been to the affluent neighborhoods and I have walked the streets of the inner city. I can see and observe with my eyes the inequality.

The United States government, through the C.I.A, intentionally pumps drugs into the inner city to destroy the African American. Rap has been hijacked so the performers portray a negative ‘gangster’ mentality instead of wholesome one of brotherhood. The irradiated milk is sent to the hood. The list continues and the point is that the system is racist against people of darker skin color. In the context of America it is very hard if not impossible for racism to work the other way. Only in a very small microcosm could this be true. Still at the end of the day we are living in a society dominated by the old ‘white’ male. There is a world of difference when one is pulled over by a police officer.

Martin Luther King was not the reason the movement succeeded. This point must be emphasized and reemphasized. There were thousands of people contributing to the struggle in various ways. The Civil Rights movement was one giant project helped along with many hands. That is the flaw of the European society, everybody wants to be number one, they want to be king. After all ‘my home is my castle’. So if you attribute the success of the Civil Rights movement to one man than the masses stand aside waiting for another giant to arrive to lead the fight. Instead we should understand that we all have a vital role to play and that the moment to act is now. Don’t wait for a leader, leaders will emerge through the struggle and the struggle is now.

Martin Luther King was both antiwar and turning socialist. These two elements shouldn’t be overlooked as they are fundamental. War is a very racist thing; just examine the skin color of who we are killing.  Besides in the spirit of Martin Luther King that shouldn’t even matter. Furthermore people have a right to live decently. Nobody should be at the mercy of another person economically.

Finally in his day Martin Luther King was both hated and an outlaw. He was arrested and went to jail several times. Another contemporary of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks has been honored by both the Democratic and Republican Party. She two at her time was reviled and cast into jail. In the future perhaps Mumia Abu Jamal, Ramona Africa, Leonard Peltier will all be hailed as heroes. You see in history it is always the radical criminal that fights for the people that eventually assumes the place of honor. Ask the Founding Fathers of this country for clarification on that one, not saying they were perfect either.

The world is a better place because Martin Luther King came to Earth, lived the life he lived and fought for the poor. What does your own life testify about you?