To Condemn or Not to Condemn
I have seen many people post about the current protests and riots associated with the murder of George Floyd. Some of you have said something to the effect of “what happened was terrible, but I cannot condone violence, looting, and destruction of property.” Others have said something like “Martin Luther King would not have approved of this and therefore these protests/riots must be condemned.”
I have some thoughts as well as historical context to share with those of you that may think this and are willing to listen.
In 1966 Gallup took a poll to evaluate the public’s opinion of the now widely revered Rev Martin Luther King Jr. At the time, only 32% of Americans held a positive view of him. In previous years he had enjoyed as much as a 45% positive rating, but throughout his activity disapproval of him grew [1].
I took the time to scour old newspapers and found some editorials about Dr. King. One letter to the editor I found, published in the Salt Lake City Daily Chronicle on October 29, 1964, struck me in a particular way. Jim Jackson, a chemical engineer, speaks on the effect of Dr. King’s actions (photos of the letters are attached).
“About the race riots and mob violence in the streets, if the professor would try extra hard to remember that the atmosphere was much more peaceful before Martin Luther King and his ‘passive resistance’ rabble rousers hit the scene.”
There seems to have been a back-and-forth between Jim Jackson and this professor (whom I assume is the late Dr. George Leonard Bird of the University of Utah), as he writes again in November.
“… I believe it obstinate of [Dr. Bird] to accuse me of having a ‘tasteless diatribe against the American Negro in general’ simply because I disapprove of the methods of the impetuous ‘King Martin Luther.’ In my reference to Dr. King and his rabble rousers, I had in mind his association with the NAACP, not the Negro race in general… he [Dr. King] was a strong influence in the passage of certain, much not wanted, sections of the Civil Rights Law of 1964. Thus, the law which has only caused increased resentment towards the Negroes and subsequent riots and mob violence, is a product of the Communist movement in subverting our country. Meanwhile, the power-hungry Martin Luther King Jr. will get his name in the history books as a ‘hero of the cause of freedom for the minority groups.’
“The advancement of the interests of the Negro race as well as any other minority group, I am all for. However, the ends do not justify the means by which the advancement is to come about.”
People, at the time, seem to have been “in favor” of the advancement of people of color, just not in the way it is being currently pursued.
This seems to me similar to the views that I outlined at the beginning of this post. To condemn police violence with the same vigor as your condemnation of the rioting would be an injustice already. But many people don’t even sacrifice a single sentence to the black men and women that have been systematically oppressed since before the founding of this country. Consider what it tells me, a young black man, when your posts spend functionally no time at all lamenting the injustices the black community faces. When your posts give no rallying cry for anti-racism, no assurance to your friends that you will do something, anything to help the black community fight these injustices. I don’t love the rioting or looting either, I think these actions are damaging, but notice that you had to read 594 words of discourse about the history of racism and oppression before getting one sentence on my condemnation of methods.
None of us should think that we would have been in the 32% of people that supported Dr. King in 1966, because most of us would not have been. It is clear that being an active force for positive change is not a default, even supporting positive change isn’t a default. We must actively work to overcome our biases and assumptions, and through that personal struggle we might be able to evict prejudiced attitudes from our bias. Only then can we be sure that we are doing the right things, and that we have the right intentions.
I would love to believe that you “understand why these people are frustrated,” but when that’s all you say, I can’t.
References:
[1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/20920/martin-luther-king-jr-revered-more-after-death-than-before.aspx
The chronological order of the letters are “The Moral Thing?” (Oct 29, 1964) then “King Not Capone” (Oct 30, 1964) then “Martin Luther King We’ve Missed You In Church” (Nov 2, 1964)
All from page 2 of the Salt Lake City Daily Chronicle.
