But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that an men are created equal …” So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremist for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime—the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
–Martin Luther King, Jr., 16 April 1963. Read the entire letter, or listen to the audio recording.
King was killed April 4, 1968, thirty-nine years ago today.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
I was reminded of today being the day MLK was killed when I was reading the comment section on Media Matters of this thread http://mediamatters.org/items/200704040011
Someone noted that the racists were deliberately trying to provoke today.
wow, what a thought-provoking, beautiful letter…. thanks s0 much f0r shaRing this w/ uS~~~
He was such an eloquent speaker. I always enjoy reading and listening to him. Thanks
That reminds me of my 3.5 months in real jail and another couple of months in work furlough for my crimes of civil disobedience.
Profacero, why don’t you tell us how much time you’ve spent in jail. Seeing that you link to a site about the Zapatistas, surely you’re not just an imaginary radical speaking from the comfort of an ivory tower.
No arrests, no time, and hoping to keep it that way, Troll King. I am not a ‘radical’, and I do not work at a privileged institution. This post is a commemoration of King’s death, not a representation of my own identity. Zapatista link: read around in the whole site, and you will see what I am getting at. –Z
CM – that Media Matters story is amazing! And they say there is no racism any more, s***. Fredda – welcome to the site! Stephen – yes, he was brilliant with the language. I liked your post for this day, too:
http://civileyes.blogspot.com/2007/04/dc-riots-of-1968.html
Profacero, isn’t it amazing how, when you dish it out, your cultured ways turn your inflammatory, negative rhetoric into something so sophisticated. Whereas, poor me, when I dish it back to you, troll is the best I can ever hope for.
Take a look at the current thread on Yugoslavia in this site. Notice how it is possible to object and disagree without trolling. One of the keys to this is, you discuss the post and the topic, as opposed to making it all about you. –Z
Since race is such a huge part of your thing here, you might be willing to entertain more questions, especially since one of them is related to MLK.
In 1999, I bought a house 3 blocks south of MLK Boulevard in Dallas, a house in a poor, black neighborhood where I lived for about one year, and where I would occasionally here distant gunshots at night. Profacero, how many poor, black neighborhoods have you lived in?
More than you. And I find your question odd – do you mean that was your one big experience hanging in a nonwhite venue, and that you feel heroic about it? Occasional, distant gunshots – do you mean, that was your one big experience near the effects of poverty, or near danger, and that once again, you are a hero for having experienced it? I don’t know, Troll King, but when I hear gunshots, I worry that someone has been hit. Gunfire it is not a very thrilling sound. –Z
While I was in jail in San Diego, I helped prevent one Mexican from being beaten by 4 other Mexicans (or inmates of Mexican descent), and in the process I took a light beating myself. Profacero, when have you risked your safety to help someone of a different race from being beaten?
More than you. And again, I find your question odd: would it not also be virtuous to save someone of the same race from that kind of violence? Why do you want so much special credit for this action, which is what any properly brought up person, with any gumption, would do as a matter of course? Why is it so important to you to point out that you did this thing one time? What about moving ahead and think about dismantling institutional racism, which is a lot more interesting than bragging? –Z
I am da whiteman. And if da whiteman is bad, surely you can up the ante in regards to my stories, seeing that you are defined by your race, and that race rules your life.
No you aren’t, you don’t have that kind of power. And it looks as though the race-obsessed one is you, actually.
You are off topic, hostile, and dull (which adds up to trolling). I will not be publishing further comments of this kind from you. Once again, this post is a commemoration of King’s death, and calls attention to one of his important pieces of writing. Your self-centered bickering is unseemly. –Z
Y’all, check out these famous fragments of King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech, updated for 2007 in the form of a great video!
http://www.popandpolitics.com/2007/04/12/beyond-vietnam-2007/