Tuesday, January 19, 2021

BTW... (an inconvenient king)

The United States has convinced so many people that MLK day is a day of service. MLK wasn't interested in "service," he was interested in the redistribution of wealth to render poverty obsolete. Less service, more redistribution. He was called “the most dangerous man in America” by the FBI, not because he was interested in community service, but because he was promoting anti-militarism and anti-capitalism.

He was organizing a poor people's campaign to use direct action against the US government for maintaining economic inequality, not to "help out poor people," but to end the idea of poor people.

People will remind us that King practiced non-violence. That is a half truth. MLK practice non-violent DIRECT ACTION. He and others physically put their bodies on the line against the U.S. government, against state and local governments, against police. The "direct action" is often left out because the people we protest against wants you to think that non-violence means inaction and it does not. Non-violence also does not mean peaceful. They don't want non-violent direct action. They don't want any action at all.

So yes, clean your neighborhoods, plant your flowers, donate or whatever other service you want to do, but if you want to be in King's tradition of building a beloved community, join an organization, do political education, engage in nonviolent direct action, call out racism, capitalism, and militarism.

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