Stirring up Trouble: Why Api is anti-MLK Day

[Apikoros II]

First, I am of course in favor of any day that gets me off of work. MLK was a great man but we always celebrate the elitists and deified people instead of those who really began it. IMNSHO, the Holiday should have been Rosa Parks Day. She started everything by saying, "My dogs are tired and I ain't moving". She, to me, was the Fort Sumter of Civil Rights, not MLK. So, in conclusion the holiday should be Rosa Parks Day or failing that Civil Rights Rememberance Day. Discuss.

[Misery's Feed Trough]

Okay, so ask yourself this, if there had been no Martin Luther King Jr. to take up the cause sparked by folks like Rosa Parks, would we even be talking about Rosa Parks today?  You can't expect a sprinter to finish a marathon race.  Consider The Machine that is in place today, consider what it must have looked like back in Rosa Park's time.  Someone like her was not going to make any impact on the cogs that influence civil rights.  It REQUIRED someone with some political adeptness, and the ability to motivate and stir people.  Rosa Parks certainly was a brave woman and what she did was admirable, but she was not equipped to carry the movement beyond the Bus Stop. 

Also, um, it IS his birthday afterall. 

edit:  Also remember February, a mere 10 days away, is Black History Month.  Rosa Parks and company will get there fair share of homage and respect in the coming weeks. 

[Suu]

Every year in St. Pete when I was in high school there was a riot on the Southside on MLKJr. Day. Ask me what I care about it. That's also the thick line between the North and South though. No offense to the man himself, of course. Now if people today would actually listen to what he preached then maybe shit wouldn't hit the fan as much. Even white people can learn a lot from MLK's speeches. ("I have a Dream" is just one of several really incredible pieces.)

I also don't agree with Black History Month being in February. Not that we shouldn't honor the fantastic African-American men and women who did their part for equality in this nation, but why is it in the same month as both Lincoln and Washington's birthdays? Couldn't they have pushed it back a bit and left February for us to study the groovy presidents of our past?

[saint aini]

I personally hate Black History Month because there is no European American History Month, no Polish American History Month, no Russian American History Month, no German American History Month, no French American History Month, no Hispanic American History Month, no Italian American History Month, yet alone an American History Month that generates as much noise in the Media and work in schools as Black History Month.  Since my ancestors, who came over in back in the 17th-19th century from the Old Country, don't even have a History Month, I didn't see and I still don't see why in school I had to write papers about historical figures who happened to be Black because they happened to be Black and the month was February.  I usually ended up writing about G.W. Carver because he was a scientist, which made him respectable enough out of that whole lot of historical figures whose primary claim to fame lies in their skin color.  To me, Rosa Parks and MLK are some of the world's most boring people since they really didn't discover anything.  Sure, they may have changed the political world, but they really didn't do anything special.

One time I chose Cleopatra as the subject of a BHM report on the grounds that she ruled Egypt, which is a country in Africa, and therefore qualified as a figure of importance to Black History.  I believe I had to rewrite the report on G.W. Carver that year.

Oh, how I loathe having to deal with racists who won't even bother to learn about the cultures and subcultures I am from.  In February, those racists happen to be Blacks and the authorities that think they deserve a special month for their history.  History does not need a month... all history should be studied at any applicable time.

[Suu]

There is are Italian and Hispanic History months, courtesy of Columbus....or at least Providence points them out. But you're right, history definitely doesn't need a month, it should be studied equally.

...It's equality what this day is all about?

But when schools decide to not celebrate Columbus Day or Veterans Day so they can close on MLK Day instead...I think it's pretty evident in which direction this country has gone. Presidents Day anyone? When was the last time you remembered getting a day OFF for Presidents Day?! Does it still exist, or has it been completely overshadowed by Black History Month? At least in RI we get V-J Day off...and last I checked we're the ONLY state left that even honors it, yeah...we celebrate dropping the atom bombs, but it's an old-fashioned patriotism that was lost to make way for makeshift holidays so people of 'oppressed minorities' can feel less oppressed and more 'equal'. Bah. When in America, be an American. Race hasn't mattered for years now, so stop acting like you're owed something.

[Diseris]

Our schools lost president's day this year to make up for snow, but the kids are off today.

May as well have racial reminder month, seeing as we get multiple invisible friend appreciation days.  It helps us remember all the dumb-ass reasons why we hate each other so we don't concentrate on the specifics on why we hate each individual.

Quit attacking my holiday pay.

[saint aini]

I want October to be declared Gothic History Month and all the black kids in schools to write papers about Andrew Eldritch, Bauhaus, Manson, VNV Nation, and Combichrist just like I had to write papers and learn about people who happen to be black when I was in school in February.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

I want a NATIVE AMERICAN history month, AND an NA holiday.  

Until that happens, screw the rest of the racially instigated holidays done for political correctness in a flagging presidency.

And while on it Fuck Hallmark too!

[Diseris]

I want a NATIVE AMERICAN history month, AND an NA holiday.  

Until that happens, screw the rest of the racially instigated holidays done for political correctness in a flagging presidency.

And while on it Fuck Hallmark too!

Know any that were born in late January?  With the proper direction we could get the whole week off.

[Suu]

I want a NATIVE AMERICAN history month, AND an NA holiday. 

Until that happens, screw the rest of the racially instigated holidays done for political correctness in a flagging presidency.

And while on it Fuck Hallmark too!

Cultural History/Heritage Months

    * Black History Month - Celebrated in February
    * Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - Celebrated in May
    * National Hispanic Heritage Month - Celebrated from September 15 to October 15
    * National American Indian Heritage Month - Celebrated in November

March is Women's History Month, and most importantly October is National Pork Month.

[Diseris]

Hmm, listening to the radio, komo in Seattle, they are discussing an interesting coup on the whole MLK thing, making this random act of kindness week. 

People paying for each other's groceries and coffee etc.

Not finding anything in print, but the stories are repetitive on the air...

[Cain]

First, I am of course in favor of any day that gets me off of work. MLK was a great man but we always celebrate the elitists and deified people instead of those who really began it. IMNSHO, the Holiday should have been Rosa Parks Day. She started everything by saying, "My dogs are tired and I ain't moving". She, to me, was the Fort Sumter of Civil Rights, not MLK. So, in conclusion the holiday should be Rosa Parks Day or failing that Civil Rights Rememberance Day. Discuss.

Interesting way of looking at it.

I suppose you could define it that way, and the people in charge of the media have certainly framed it as being purely about civil rights.  But as I recall, MLK is also noted for his fusion of Christian ethics and Gandhi-style methods of protest, modernizing the pacifist Christian debate, being a spokesman for oppressed groups elsewhere in the world and also was noted for his speeches in favour of the working class.

IMO opinion, he should have a day based on the above, because they are far more universal than the Civil Rights movement, and while he did most of the hard work and paid the ultimate price for it within that movement, there are other things he deserves to be remembered for as well.  Contextualizing him as purely a civil rights leader and nothing more cheapens what he did, and is probably what certain people want (esp. rich conservatives who were worried by his multi-ethnic working class fusion).

As for White European History Month, as anyone who did advanced history will tell you, EVERY month is White European Male history month.  De facto, if not de jure.  And it will be for a long time to come.

[Mourning Star]

Today, on X-box live games of Halo and Gears of War.

In counter strike source and team fortress two games on Steam

and in chatrooms, MMOs and forums all over the intertubes

white kids are celebrating the life and death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

by saying the word "Nigger" over microphones and message boards. every five seconds.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

Cultural History/Heritage Months

    * Black History Month - Celebrated in February
    * Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - Celebrated in May
    * National Hispanic Heritage Month - Celebrated from September 15 to October 15
    * National American Indian Heritage Month - Celebrated in November

March is Women's History Month, and most importantly October is National Pork Month.

And how sad is it that NONE of these is nationally recognized?  I know the only one advocated in the STL city school system is Black History Month.  The rest are sadly ignored.

[Triple Zero]

you just need 365 nationalities, minority groups, etc and you wouldn't have to work ALL YEAR!!