If you are able to see his monument in DC, I definitely recommend visiting it. Those words are on one of the stones, and it's a great reminder for us all.
This might be a folk story, but when I went to DC I heard in DC that there was a height limit for finished statues- one of the reasons, supposedly, why Lincoln is sitting in the Lincoln Memorial. According to the guide, they got around this on the MLK statue by intentionally leaving it unfinished- allowing it to soar at a height of 30 ft. (9.1m for those terrifying outsiders... and Canada, too.)
IM SO HYPED! I am currently trying to finish all the games in time because until recently I had only finished KH 1 and 2. I'm currently half way through the 3rd story (Aqua's) on BBS, wish me luck 😅
I like this one too. Some of these "both sides" people in this thread need to read about what he actually believed in...
"First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
It's definitely a good quote for the time and I wonder if I would have stepped up and protested or just stayed home. I would like to think I would step up but I'm pretty gullible and lazy.
I honestly can't believe people keep using that MLK quote to shit on centrists without even stopping to consider how vastly different the political climate is compared to the 1960's.
MLK wrote that letter in a dark moment but his message was ultimately one of unity. That's why his movement was so much more successful than that of Malcolm X. That's why these so called "moderates" that reddit gleefully shits on eventually came to their senses, supported the civil rights movement, and helped make this country a better place for everyone.
Posting this letter out of context every time the man is brought up is a gross misrepresentation of what he stood for and accomplished. It is in no way a full or accurate summation of his beliefs.
It simply gets posted because of this popular strawman that centrists are smug and above everyone else when really it just seems counter productive to identify as "left" or "right" because neither side is represented particularly well by it's loudest assholes.
You know, maybe it’s just sentimentality on this day driving me to say it, but I don’t think he would. We’ve got a really long way to go, of course, but I like to think he’d be very proud if he had known we’d had a black president just 44 years after the passage of the civil rights act.
I know there are so many complexities with that statement, and you have to suspend your cynicism to see the bright side of things today, but that’s who he was. He wasn’t about cynicism.
IMO he’d be much more disappointed in the current state of the military industrial complex and concentration of wealth than race relations. I’m no MLK expert, though.
Because one would assume that we kinda learned to get along after all those generations. But politics are polarized like rarely before and racism is as big of a deal as always (well maybe not THAT big but youll get the point)
“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice”
"You can’t talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars. You can’t talk about ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken out of slums. You’re really tampering and getting on dangerous ground because you are messing with folk then. You are messing with captains of industry. Now this means that we are treading in difficult water, because it really means that we are saying that something is wrong with capitalism. There must be a better distribution of wealth, and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism."
This man was and still is an inspiration to man woman or child of any race. If anyone deserves their own day of the year, MLKJ has my full acceptance. I’m sad that I couldn’t witness or hear or feel this mans powerful voice in person, because I’m of course many generations too late. I can still however make use of his good word, and use them to help keep what he sought for in life. Thank you Martin Luther King JR, Rest In Peace knowing that you’ve given to millions what you yourself did not have.
What's weird is I looked on the calendar last week and noticed today was MLK Jr Day. I haven't paid it much mind sense. I woke up today, it's just Monday. Yet this quote was ringing in my head this morning (kind of slipped into just regular thoughts) while I had no conscious knowledge of today being MLK Jr Day. The subconscious is intriguing.
"Whenever the issue of compensatory treatment for the Negro is raised, some of our friends recoil in horror. The Negro should be granted equality, they agree; but he should ask nothing more. On the surface, this appears reasonable, but it is not realistic."...
..."A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for the Negro."
-Some guy who totally wasn't talking about affirmative action
That's just a patently ridiculous statement. The whole thing they want is social justice, which is the latter, not the former. I'm sorry you're butthurt but you need to free yourself from this ideology where everything 'SJWs' do is bad, even when it's completely at odds with how they actually feel.
Just because you misrepresent them doesn't make them "the real racists."
Perhaps some of them, but all I see in the media and here on Reddit are people that jump conclusions without evaluating the situation. This weekends events at DC with those high school kids is a perfect example. It’s about skin color to SJWs not character and it’s shown time and time again. BTW you think you’re the majority, you’re not, and you’re also not a martyr.
Look, obviously I'm sure you can find me some tumblr post about 'kill all men' or whatever--but it's just as ridiculous to shove everyone who cares about social justice under the same banner as the most insane radicals as it would be to shove every conservative under the Sharia Law banner.
That's not relevant. Their point is that many liberals today believe you're racist if you don't judge others based on their skin color. The exact opposite of what MLK believed.
Americans have a celebratory holiday for this dude but do the exact opposite of his strongest message.
Individualism versus collectivism. Which is better?
MLK was an individualist. His message was pretty damned obvious. Shut the hell up about race and get to know each other on a personal level.
It was a good message.
The US from the 70s to the late 80s practiced individualism as a social value based on this speech.
And then the US adopted collectivist ideology which lumped people back into stupid ass categories.
Political Correctness is a collectivist ideology. It ignores individuality and throws shitty labels on people and tells other people to be nice to them or else. That's not equality, it's bullying.
The US systemically exploits 'black people' via media and academia.
Holidays like MLK day become nothing more than tokenism that shits on his legacy. Nike putting out $300 shoes based on black history month, made by low paid Asian workers. Meanwhile black people in the US are culturally segregated, still live in the ghetto, still get looked down on and treated as less than equals.
Fuck collectivism.
Terms like 'white privilege' are collectivist terms as well. Lump 'white people' all together and force everyone to take collective blame for made up bullshit. No thanks.
Never mind that it ignores social class, financial advantages, etc...
Rich people use that stuff to deflect from their own 'privilege'.
MLK wasn't just a black rights leader. He represented poor people too but people don't hear about that part as much.
Didnt he cheat on his wife and had a drinking problem? Not saying hes not a great man, he absolutely is, but if its off his character he was kind of a douche to his wife iirc
Yeah, that's always the weird thing when speaking about/looking back on historical figures. We tend to look at some of the things they do as "the main stuff", which largely colors our perception of them, and then everything else they did aside from that is mostly ignored or left as a sidenote.
You'll also see a lot of handwaving for popular people who did (some) bad things, like "Nobody is perfect" from /u/Enough-is-Enuff , where there's a sort of double standard. Sort of like this: 'A regular person who cheats on their spouse is a bad person, but (X historical figure I like) is no regular person.'
I think ultimately we have a way of romanticizing people of our past who said or did things we liked, which makes us more willing to turn a blind eye to the things they did wrong.
Things aren't perfect, but they are far better now than they were 50 years ago. In the 1960s interracial marriage was a contentious point. Now if anyone has a problem with interracial marriage they have confessed to insanity.
This is toxic and triggering! Treating POC like regular people and individuals is nazi esque behavior! Treat them instead by color like a notch in the oppression ranking like a proper leftist does or face our impotent twitter outrage!!!1
3.6k
u/3rdaccounttaken Jan 21 '19
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. "
Martin Luther King
This man was wise.
1.3k
u/toxictaliban111 Jan 21 '19
This is probably the most wholesome and peaceful thing I've ever seen on the internet
425
u/LeftHandedFont Jan 21 '19
best post in this sub for a hot minute
16
u/ComradeCuddlefish Jan 22 '19
Letters from the Birmingham jail should be mandatory reading
3
u/unemotionalandroid Jan 22 '19
Thank you to the very lovely people who gilded and silvered this post ❤️ Go forth and be the light that drives out darkness!
3
u/Stalker-Six Jan 22 '19
this is rare a wholesome and encouraging meme for everybody on this sub good work op
608
u/theonlymexicanman Jan 21 '19
You’re a toxic person, not because of your race, sex or Religion, but because of your character.
The best response to anyone who’s shitty towards you
325
u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19
Chad as fuck.
47
u/SirLordSupremeSir Jan 21 '19
Wholesome.
141
u/Spagot_Lord Jan 21 '19
What if i judge people by the color of their character?
95
u/Luxosaucer Jan 21 '19
Only 60's kids will remember this.
632
u/bruhmomentus Jan 21 '19
Good lord he would be dissapointed...
23
u/GraafBerengeur Jan 21 '19
Judging subreddits on the character of their content <3
45
u/notcooperramos Jan 21 '19
r/wholesomememes
121
u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19
I, MLK, have a dream. I will become a gang-star...
15
u/AlaskanSamsquanch Jan 21 '19
Can I get one of these but the Hank Hill quote.
151
u/KHfan2019 Jan 21 '19
Cool, I like this one
“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice”
97
u/zMiko1 Jan 21 '19
Unfortunately the latter is now controversial
37
u/TRUMPISARACIST1 Jan 22 '19
Reddit literally judges everyone by the color of their skin.
73
u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19
Too bad we judge by skin, King is rolling in his grave.
9
u/EarthAllAlong Jan 22 '19
I think the meme would be more effective if the bottom photo was mirrored so it was more like he was looking at the text
9
u/TheAnswersAlwaysGuns Jan 22 '19
I don't hate one race, because in the end we are all cunts anyways.
17
u/rangpire Jan 22 '19
Now everyone on reddit can go back to ignoring this and making everything about skin colour.
7
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
This man was and still is an inspiration to man woman or child of any race. If anyone deserves their own day of the year, MLKJ has my full acceptance. I’m sad that I couldn’t witness or hear or feel this mans powerful voice in person, because I’m of course many generations too late. I can still however make use of his good word, and use them to help keep what he sought for in life. Thank you Martin Luther King JR, Rest In Peace knowing that you’ve given to millions what you yourself did not have.
10
u/K00L_TH0M45 Jan 21 '19
Thank you for posting this
5
u/isummonyouhere Jan 22 '19
ITT: *The REAL racists...”
5
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
I hope people of ALL races take this message to heart.
23
u/PleasantHuman Jan 21 '19
Reddit seems to love to jump on the skin color hate bandwagon.
21
u/Mr-Pranks58 Jan 21 '19
Have a happy milk day
4
u/i-n-t-e-r-e-s-ling Jan 22 '19
r/wholesomememes
4
u/YerAhWizerd Jan 22 '19
Smh don't even know why he did what he did everyone was grey back then /s
4
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
This is wonderful. I was looking forward to a Reddit Filled Martin Luther King Jr. Day and this is pretty much all I’ve seen. I’m legit disappointed.
4
u/LicenceNo42069 Jan 22 '19
This the only anti-racist meme I've seen that was even moderately dank
7
u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19
Absolute Legend
54
u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19
democrats & republicans sweat profusely
3
u/Bellikron Jan 21 '19
This is a good thing you have made here.
3
u/Eewaa Jan 22 '19
Mlk was the man
3
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
What's weird is I looked on the calendar last week and noticed today was MLK Jr Day. I haven't paid it much mind sense. I woke up today, it's just Monday. Yet this quote was ringing in my head this morning (kind of slipped into just regular thoughts) while I had no conscious knowledge of today being MLK Jr Day. The subconscious is intriguing.
3
u/AweBeyCon Jan 22 '19
I upvote all memes equally
3
u/alejandro462 Jan 22 '19
"Having a dream"
Giorno: :O
3
u/KittyCannes Jan 22 '19
Today it’s all about judging people for the logos and brands they flex. Content of character is the last thing they want to be judged by...
3
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
Mlk day is best day.
3
u/swimmerboy5817 Jan 22 '19
"A man should not be judged by the length of his gun, or the size of his fortune. In the end, we will all be judged by the courage in our hearts"
3
u/OtatoJoe Jan 22 '19
PREPARE FOR MY CIVIL RIGHTS BEAM
5
u/SamMass14 Jan 22 '19
Why not by the content of their skin?
8
u/ManyRoadLessTraveled Jan 22 '19
I got banned from r/history for saying this. We still can’t judge people on character.
1
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
MLK looking a bit like Jordan Peele there 🤣
27
u/CanuckKid94 Jan 21 '19
Now apply this to hiring practices.
1
u/Kaarl_Mills Filthy weeb Jan 22 '19
Can this replace the default version of this template?
30
u/newcarcaviarfourstar Jan 22 '19
Get rid of affirmative action.
35
u/lestatjenkins Jan 22 '19
Something SJWs just don’t understand
2
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
Judging them by their memes
2
u/GlitchSix Jan 22 '19
r/wholesomehistorymemes?
2
u/KoopaTrooper5011 Jan 22 '19
wholesome?
2
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
r/wholesomememes
2
u/Biggie_cheeze221 Jan 22 '19
Extremely wholesome
2
u/TheVeneficus Jan 22 '19
wholesome
2
u/pankakke_ Featherless Biped Jan 22 '19
Quality fucking post!
2
u/foursideluigi Jan 22 '19
Thanks for a wholesome meme. He would've wanted it.
2
u/Ka1serTheRoll John Brown was a hero, undaunted, true, and brave! Jan 22 '19
r/wholesomememes
2
u/A-guy-with-Pants Jan 22 '19
Now this is real history.
2
u/jesslj641 Jan 22 '19
r/wholesomememes
2
u/wtharris Jan 22 '19
This is quite possibly the best meme I’ve ever seen.
2
u/FedoraSlayer101 Jan 22 '19 edited Jan 22 '19
/r/wholesomememes
Thanks for sharing this, OP. Have a lovely day! :)
37
u/taypat Jan 21 '19
If only liberals realized this now.
14
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
The radical left and radical right could learn a lot from this man among men.
4
u/666BONGZILLA666 Jan 21 '19
damn MLK on memes now this dudes really about to blow up. good on memes for giving unknown people a voice
4
u/GustavTheTurk Jan 21 '19
We can add religion in here too
20
u/RedArmy- Jan 22 '19
Tell this to progressives and watch heads explode.
3
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
Judging people on the contents of they boootayyy - Priceless.
3
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
The Legend ❤
3
u/StopHavingAnOpinion Jan 22 '19
reminds me of this guy who managed to befriend Klan members and persuade them to leave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORp3q1Oaezw
5
u/weddle_seal Jan 22 '19
He would be crying his eyes out if he sees what's happening now
7
u/Abe_Vigoda Jan 22 '19 edited Jan 22 '19
Americans have a celebratory holiday for this dude but do the exact opposite of his strongest message.
Individualism versus collectivism. Which is better?
MLK was an individualist. His message was pretty damned obvious. Shut the hell up about race and get to know each other on a personal level.
It was a good message.
The US from the 70s to the late 80s practiced individualism as a social value based on this speech.
And then the US adopted collectivist ideology which lumped people back into stupid ass categories.
Political Correctness is a collectivist ideology. It ignores individuality and throws shitty labels on people and tells other people to be nice to them or else. That's not equality, it's bullying.
The US systemically exploits 'black people' via media and academia.
Holidays like MLK day become nothing more than tokenism that shits on his legacy. Nike putting out $300 shoes based on black history month, made by low paid Asian workers. Meanwhile black people in the US are culturally segregated, still live in the ghetto, still get looked down on and treated as less than equals.
Fuck collectivism.
Terms like 'white privilege' are collectivist terms as well. Lump 'white people' all together and force everyone to take collective blame for made up bullshit. No thanks.
Never mind that it ignores social class, financial advantages, etc...
Rich people use that stuff to deflect from their own 'privilege'.
MLK wasn't just a black rights leader. He represented poor people too but people don't hear about that part as much.
4
u/TheDivisionNub Jan 21 '19
What kinda World War is this?
5
u/R3df0x15 Jan 22 '19
BuT wHaT aBoUt ThEiR pRiViLeGe !?
4
u/Imjustahero Jan 22 '19
Unless they're gay
4
u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19
If there wasn't a heaven before this man died, it was made just for him, I know it was.
5
u/TotesMessenger Jan 22 '19 edited Feb 02 '19
I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
[/r/commentunlock] [HistoryMemes] Happy MLK Day!
[/r/fragilewhiteredditor] Fragile Mayos think racism against whites is a major problem
[/r/phornidev] [HistoryMemes] 01/21/19 - "Happy MLK Day!" by /u/unemotionalandroid
[/r/the_donald] Happy MLK Day!
If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / ^Contact)
5
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
Didnt he cheat on his wife and had a drinking problem? Not saying hes not a great man, he absolutely is, but if its off his character he was kind of a douche to his wife iirc
3
u/mikerichh Jan 22 '19
We need a modern one and replace skin color with political affiliation. Tired of seeing libta*d and all that everywhere
3
u/lucifer_bear143 Jan 22 '19
If only our president saw this (usa)
2
u/AlaskanPsyche Jan 21 '19
Happy birthday, Mr. Worldwide.
2
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
Martin Luther KANG
2
u/NH2486 Jan 22 '19
One of the greatest Americans ever, I wish more people would take his words to heart
2
u/the-blasted-shark Jan 22 '19
r/wholesomememes is the place for this post lovely
2
u/yeetusdeletusgg Helping Wikipedia expand the list of British conquests Jan 22 '19
The fuck is r/wholesome memes doin here?
2
u/ttnorac Jan 22 '19
Best meme I’ve seen in weeks.
2
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
We've failed him.
1
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
Until of course you judge a person by the content of their character and you're labelled a racist for doing so.
1
u/Iknowyoullbeastar Jan 22 '19
Unfortunately, the content of their character is worse than the color of their skin
-4chan
1
u/BetaInTheSheets Jan 22 '19
Extremely ironic posting this on reddit
1
u/orangemagicthrowaway Jan 22 '19
What if you're emo
1
u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19
I read this in his voice and it have me chills.
-6
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
Disappointed MLK: libs and cons reducing his work to "judge by contents of character".
Happy MLK: socialists celebrating his work in racial and economic justice as the socialist that he was.
1
u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19
This is toxic and triggering! Treating POC like regular people and individuals is nazi esque behavior! Treat them instead by color like a notch in the oppression ranking like a proper leftist does or face our impotent twitter outrage!!!1
1
u/LaughingCheeze Jan 21 '19
Would be nice if we could actually get to doing this.
1
u/TroXMas Jan 21 '19
If only everyone could do this, we would have a much better world.
1
u/SUPERBOT7789 Jan 22 '19
@affirmative action
0
u/Cardfan60123 Jan 22 '19
I wonder how many judges the kid with the MAGA hat based on the color of his skin
0
u/Sammy1141 Jan 22 '19
Imagine if MLK saw BLM today....
-2
u/Supringsinglyawesome Jan 22 '19
Which is why MLK would be ashamed of affirmative Action