defrog: (hercules!)
defrog ([personal profile] defrog) wrote2010-01-19 02:04 am

THIS IS WHERE THE PARTY ENDS

So it’s MLK Day in America, and I don’t have much to post that yr not already going to see and/or hear – the I Have A Dream Speech, selections from The Unforgettable Fire, the endless Obama references, possibly a Public Enemy video, etc.

So I thought I’d post this photo from 1959 in Little Rock, AR, to give a little visual illustration of just what MLK was up against – and why his dream ultimately cost him his life.



Obviously we’ve come a long way since then. Well, not all of us, obviously. But at least we’ve progressed to the point where everyone is racist except us, and anyone who says otherwise is playing the race card.

Or something. It’s complicated. Suffice to say that there’s still plenty of fear and loathing to go around in 2010 and beyond, and pretending the problem doesn't exist won't fix that.

Meanwhile, there’s probably a clever way to link from that to this video from They Might Be Giants about racism by association and how people tend to forgive their friend’s racist remarks as long as they were drunk when they said it. But I’ll be goddamned and dipped in jam if I can think of one.

So hit the music.



FACT: I have the MLK Dream speech on my iPod. It still moves me.

I know politics bore you,

This is dF

[identity profile] kukla-red.livejournal.com 2010-01-18 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Au contraire, mon ami. Political discussion do NOT bore me and I love you for having MLK's speech on your iPod. I am going to download it to mine tonight when I get home. What a wonderful idea - never thought to do that. It still moves me to tears every time I hear it.

[identity profile] def-fr0g-42.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
I'll be the first to admit that technically, I only have the speech on MP3 at all because it came preloaded with iTunes years ago. But I used to have MLK's key speeches on cassette tape when I was in university, so when I heard it again, it kind of just had to go on the iPod.

And good to know yr not bored. :)

[identity profile] trillsie.livejournal.com 2010-01-18 07:43 pm (UTC)(link)
thank you for the reminder of what today really is all about.

Yes, Dr. King's Dream speech moves me as well.

[identity profile] nebris.livejournal.com 2010-01-18 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Shake dat at da crackahs! ;D

~M~