Right now there is an article circulating the internet that discusses what Martin Luther King, Jr. would be doing if he were alive today. He would be endorsing the most peaceful politicians and continuing to promote his platform advocating peace. As far as I'm concerned, he would continue to be effective only to a degree and his success would probably be significantly less extreme now than it was when he was actually alive.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated "I am only effective as long as there is a shadow on white America of the black man standing behind me with a Molotov cocktail." Of all the ingenious input that Mr. King gave us (and it was quite a lot), I find this to be the most important and applicable to the current times. Those with minimal mental capacity now understand that we as humans all deserve the same basic rights and should not be segregated on the basis of race, but we do still not consent on the necessity of violence.
The truth is that Martin Luther King, Jr. was clearly a pivotal figure in American history. However, his significance has long been overplayed through simultaneous lack of credit given to black radicals in his era such as the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X.
As a high schooler, I would go through my history textbook each year and see how much was devoted to Martin Luther King, Jr. versus how much time and space was spent on the militant black movement of the Civil Rights Era. Martin Luther King, Jr. used to train those who marched with him to not fight back to police beatings due to his strong opposition to violence. Such lack of response is indicative of succumbing to the oppressor and that's not progressive.
"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence."- everybody's favorite pacifist, Gandhi.
The fact is that Martin Luther King, Jr. was important but credit has long since been given where credit was due. At the same time it has not been given to the historically significant militant black movement.
We stand as a nation en masse in opposition to the occupation of Iraq, still it continues to go on. Large numbers of animal rights activists continue to protest the cruel practices of fur farming, still the practice continues.
The use of the picket sign is not effective, so long as it is not used as a physical weapon. Rational Actor Theory holds that we do not take personal satisfaction into account, nor do we consider emotion. The most efficacious manner in which to generate productive results is to resort to what activist Craig Rosebraugh has coined the "Toolbox Theory." Rosebraugh contends that activists begin by making a request, continue by making a demand and then continue to get progressively more tenacious as their demands are not met.
This theory has proven to be effective time and again. It is the reason for radical activism today and militant black activism in the 1960s. Why don't we wonder what Malcolm X would be doing today? How come he never gets a holiday where we as a consumer culture can find yet another excuse for sales? Because no government wants to tell its citizens that violence is the answer. But alas, violence is the answer.
Pacifism too has had many great results - two of the men you quoted accomplished a great deal through the practice of non-violence. In addition, very few people (including the government) are going to listen to let alone give into the demands of a group of people they think are nuts. Radicals are radicals no matter what cause you're fighting for and are closed off to logic and reasonable thinking. When you believe that violence is the only answer to solving problems, chances are very few of them will ever reach a real resolution. Do people listen to or respect the viewpoints of PETA, the Taliban, or the slew of other radical groups? Unless that person is someone with similar radical views, then no, they tune them out. That's about as ineffective as I can imagine a group can get.
Let us not forget that the Black Panther Party is (today anyway) quite hateful towards many other races. I'm not saying that because I'm white, but because of the absolutely ignorant and anti-Semitic remarks that party supports and perpetuates. A racist is a racist no matter what color your skin is.
Violence is the answer, huh?
That sounds strangely similar to the Taliban, enforcing their government on the people through force and violence. I don't personally like the monopoly that Wal-Mart has created. Shall I go and begin breaking their windows with bricks that are wrapped in hateful letters? Should I then move up to burning offices during the night (so no one gets hurt)? Maybe eventually, if they still don't get the point, I should burn down an entire building?
Come to think of it, I don't much like SUVs - maybe I should slash all the SUV tires I see. That would send a message. Hey - maybe I should start punching people in the face every time they use a racial epithet I don't like, or kicking people in the kneecaps whenever they say something I don't agree with. Violence is the answer...
You've obviously not read about MLK very thoroughly... At the end of his life he actually wasn't that popular because he was beginning to demand more and more, began pointing out the details of day-to-day wrongs to the poor and to black Americans. If he were alive today, he probably would still be preaching equality via his pacifist nature, but his voice would surely have diminished a great deal. Why? Because he was demanding. He expected results. And he did it in a way that pissed people off: nonviolently. I agree that we should not idolize him, but we should never, ever forget what he did and what he represents.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/kariskoett
"All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else."
-Buddha
Interesting post. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated "I am only effective as long as there is a shadow on white America of the black man standing behind me with a Molotov cocktail."
I think he'd be in the streets. How effective would he be? I don't know. But I believe his top issues would be environmental justice and just as he believed the Vietnam War to be immoral, he would vehemently oppose the current one.
Maybe you've already visited -- http://www.dreamreborn.org/
Every organism's heartbeat holds a universe of beauty at http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/green-underbelly