by nobody9999 | 2025-11-07 19:48:57+00:00
>Speaking of MLK Jr...The last thing he would have advocated was a "color-blind" way of seeing the world.

Where did you get that idea? Retcon much?

Doctor King said[0]:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.

[0] https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-spee...

Edit: Added the missing link

Reply to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45850539 as I'm rate limited at the moment:

You said:

The last thing he would have advocated was a "color- blind" way of seeing the world.

Which is ridiculous (your link[1] notwithstanding) on its face. Whether Dr. King meant six days from that speech or six centuries from that speech, he specifically called for a society that didn't care about melanin content.

Claiming that since we weren't there in 1963 and still aren't there -- meaning there's still work to be done -- doesn't invalidate or diminish the aspirational content of that speech, nor does it reduce the power and value of that aspiration.

While the article you linked claims that bigoted assholes have tried to hijack the words I quoted as "arguments" against efforts to bring real equality to all humans in the US, that doesn't make Dr. King's aspirations any less important or valuable.

I am nonplussed by your shallow dismissal of Dr. King -- whatever the reason. For shame!

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/colinseale/2020/01/20/mlks-i-ha...

Further replying to "Uncle Meat's comment" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45850601

>If you only read this one thing then you might come away with this misunderstanding.

>MLK supported reparations and other policies that explicitly provided for black people.

What misunderstanding? Of course MLK supported (and rightly so) a variety of things to make those who'd been oppressed, spit on, beaten, enslaved and murdered for centuries de facto full citizens and members of US society, not just de jure.

Once we've achieved that, then Doctor King's dream will be fulfilled. That I refer to his aspirations (which, sadly, GP blithely dismissed) isn't in conflict with the idea that until such a de facto state is achieved positive steps toward that (including, but not limited to, those advocated by Dr. King) are still required.

There is no dichotomy or cognitive dissonance here -- at least not for me.

====

Continuing the colloquy with krapp (specifically this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45850591 )

>The tl;dr is that we aren't there yet, and pretending otherwise allows the status quo of systemic racism to persist unchallenged.

Where, exactly, did I say anything of the sort? I won't leave you in suspense -- I said nothing of the kind, nor did I imply anything like it.

Rather, I took issue with (my perception of at least) your shallow dismissal of Dr. King's aspiration. Especially as I share that aspiration and am quite in favor of achieving the goal he set out there.

No, we're not there yet. But that doesn't mean Dr. King was lying. It just means we have more work to do.

>This part of the conversation is always tedious so I'll just post some articles and bow out.

Yes, this is quite tedious. Have a good day.