From: valor@donner.cc.bellcore.com (crawford,quintal d)
Subject: Re: Caucasion Whimps?  You be the judge!
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 93 15:55:30 GMT
Summary: In defence of MLK day

In article <1993Jan20.020824.23234@colorado.edu>, pellouch@alumni.cs.colorado.edu (Philip Pellouchoud) writes:
> Not to ruffle any feathers, but here's an interesting point that a cohort
> brought up to me at work.                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
                              Is this what you white guys do at work all
day?  I always did get the feeling that you were talking about us!

                            We have MLK day, but we don't have any
> days celebrating any specific american caucasions (or should I say
> caucasion americans, or american-ca to be politically correct!  :)
> We have Columbus, who I suppose we could give honorary citizenship,
> but he was really an Italian, and not only that, but the AIM organization
> is trying to get that one abolished.
> 
Well isn't it sad that the meaning of a MLK's life and death can be
reduced to his black skin even after he changed the country and influenced
the whole world.  MLK day celebrates the ideal of racial equality and
human spiritual transcendence. The man died--literally!--for your people's
sins and right to equality.  
(And since Columbus Day to me and my peoples means the death, rape, enslave-
ment of scores of millions as well as stealing our histry, culture, and
land, you can bet your last dollar we're not gonna let whites see it
as the day they 'discovered America.'  Columbus Day celebrates the
economic exploitation of Africans and Amerindians, not the spirit of
discovery because these continents had already been visited centuries
before by Africans and inhabited for millennia by indigenous nations.
You thought AIM was the only group that hates the racism behind Columbus 
Day?)
 
> So what's the deal?  Yeah, we've got Lincolns birthday, and Washingtons
> birthday, but no one celebrates those.  Schools aren't closed (at least
> most!), most businesses aren't closed, etc...  What's the story here?
> I mean we certainly have plenty of caucasion americans to "celebrate."
> Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, etc...  But we don't
> none of them have their own celebrated/nationally recognized holiday?

I don't want to put any of the above mentioned down, but you're seeing
only what the society wants you to see. Maybe the fact that we no longer
celebrate certain holidays shows the changes in our society.  I mean,
sure MLK didn't cite several sources, but the character of the people
you mentioned above shows just how much greater his achievements were.
Lincoln was a racist homosexual; Jefferson was a racist slave rapist;
and Edison played into racism by not sharing credit with L. Lattimore, his 
black co-inventor.  Basically, why do you have a problem giving the black
man his due?  Obviously enuf other white people don't, or the U.S.
wouldn't be bothered with it. The "we" you refer to should be inclusive
of all U.S. Americans;  MLK Day belongs to you, too.
> 
> -Phil
> 
> ps. Don't  answer if you're going to give some emotional half baked
>     response, I'd rather not waste the bandwidth, and NO, I don't
>     belong to the Neo-nazis, KKK, or any other white facist group!
You don't have to belong to the KKK to be a racist. And telling any
one who has had to deal with racism all their life not to be emotional
is very superficial.

Xref: sparky soc.culture.asian.american:11880 ucb.general:235