[lbo-talk] And the Lesbians Shall Lead Us

Michael Dawson mdawson at pdx.edu
Sat Nov 6 08:04:39 PST 2004


MLK denounced the Vietnam War because he knew the facts and couldn't sleep at night if he didn't denounce it, damn the consequences on his own movement.

Same point here.

It's atrocious for you to transfer the blame for your own blind following of political losers onto people trying to have decent lives and simple human rights. Shame on you.

-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of Nathan Newman Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2004 6:24 AM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] And the Lesbians Shall Lead Us

----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Dawson" <MDawson at pdx.edu>
> You are going to have to explain your position more carefully on
> this. Are you
> saying the specific actions in Oklahoma are dangerous or misguided?

-"Severely ill-timed." -That's what they told MLK.

And MLK repeatedly changed tactics when advised that a particular tactic was ill-timed. The idea that Martin Luther King, Jr. always picked the most militant, provocative tactic is ridiculous. Militants in the movement continually criticized MLK for his caution, while moderates criticized him for his boldness.

MLK is deified not because he was the most militant guy out there but because he got the balance right-- willing to fight when it made sense, but willing to back off when the backlash would lose more for the movement than would be gained.

-- Nathan

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