On my Post on the Coretta Scott King Funeral...

This is for Jack of Random Fate, who posted on the subject. But it is also for everyone else who dissagrees with me. I feel ya Jack, and I can understand how those who dissagree with me feel about the issue. Many of them have no real bonifides to say what should or should not be said at Mrs. King's wedding... But that is another story altogether.

I think in the end, it is all about what her family thinks, and I have been too busy with business to look arround and see if there have been any comments. If anyone knows of any, please post in comments.
As for my own feelings... Let me tell you a short story. My father died when I was 18. At his funeral there was an older man wearing a KKK ring. I as a young radical wanted to kick his ass. My mother seeing my anger pulled me asside and said a few words I will never forget. "Your father was respected by many people, including some whose beliefs were directly contrary to his. That man came here to pay respects to your daddy... leave him be..." The man later approached me and told me some stories about my Dad that I have never forgotten, perhaps because of who the story teller was, perhaps because they showed the respect my mother spoke of. My older brothers and sisters all spoke to him, as did my Mom, and he had a kind word for all of them...

My mother was no Coretta Scott King, but she was a great and classy lady, like Mrs. King. I think in her own way, she was proud that my fathers legacy was so strong, that it bought even the enemy to the table. The Gentleman was respected, and not a word was spoken about who he was. All of us had our opinion, and outside the Masons Hall where my father lay in rest, that opinion was expressed. But never was the line crossed during the ceremony... Perhaps because NONE of us really knew what Daddy would have liked us to say or do, but we knew he would have been proud that even an old foe had to give him his "props." So that is how I feel about the issue. I dont speak for Mrs. King or her family, but knowing the classy lady that she was, I CAN'T believe she would have snubbed the President of the United States, even though we know she stood in contrary to most of what he stands for....

From Steve Gilliard:

What? They think we don't know they're racists? They hated Dr. King and his wife in life and now in death. They hate that blacks and latinos no longer live in peonage. Only one of their bought and paid for fools would attack how Mrs. King was buried. To the rest of it, it was a fittintg tribute and making Bush sit there for hours was wonderful. He was told the truth and he couldn't run.

My answer, where the fuck is my check?

Please folks, we are all going to have opinions on this. I have stated mine, but I will be damned if I am going to be called a sellout because I dont believe Mrs. King's funeral should be used as a political platform, at least not in that way. All this rantin' and ravin' is just another way of being a fucking crybaby, and I for one am sick of it. I don't give a rats ass if I have to turn in my progressive card... I believe we need to get off the bullshit and start coming up with some ideas to sell our ideology, and I for one have never been a person to sell myself or my product by being a clone of the worst of my competition.

Mrs. King and her husband fought for something, and they did it with class. King was not affraid to invite the enemy to his table, and rather than confronting that enemy with anger, he sought to teach and inform and show them the error of thier ways.

It is shameful that the day after the lady was put to rest, we are using her funeral as a dividing force, instead of celebrating her wonderful legacy. Do any of you actually think that she is happy with the ANGER that is being expressed today, instead of people celebrating her life and talking about how we continue her work? And for all the so called big blogs on the progressive side who are using this as a rallying cry... Grow the fuck up. I grew up during the civil rights struggle. I have been called Nigger and worse. I met Mrs. King, and my parents marched with Dr. King.

If you want to use the name of the Kings to advance the progressive cause, do what they did... Roll up your sleeves, put down your fucking Latte and organize REAL grass roots movements, not internet cluster fucks. Because HELLO, despite all your BLOGPOWER, we still lost in 2004... King was not affraid to go to Jail, and niether was Coretta. They were not afraid to go into the slums and shanty towns and organize voters. They were on the front lines in a war that has went low impact but continues. Until you are ready to do more than sermonize and attack from behind a keyboard, you have no right to claim their legacy or to define it...

Hat Tip CT

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