The other day I was putting gas into my vehicle and there was a small sticker of Joe Biden pointing at the total amount display on the gas pump that said: “I did this.” Then a pickup truck pulled up next to the gas pump with the bumper sticker: “Let’s go Brandon.” Of course, the Brandon thing is just a euphemism for a vulgar expression regarding Joe Biden.
It gets tiring. Nauseating really. Is this really how we want to behave?
Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day. I wonder what he would have to say about the current state of political and race relations? I wonder if the country would even create such a holiday in the year 2022? Would Martin Luther King Jr. be surprised by the vulgarity of our political dialogue today?
Probably not. On April 4, 1968 a racist man used a rifle to shoot Martin Luther King in the neck, killing him. A man of peace struck down by violence.
He was a man of words. His speeches brought out the best in people. He was a man of non-violence and led a whole movement that empowered African Americans to greater participation in our civic, economic and social lives.
Martin Luther King led a real march on Washington back in 1963. His dramatic “I Have a Dream” speech is possibly the greatest political speech ever given in the United States. He marched peacefully and he got the powers that be to implement real change. That was an effective march on Washington. He led a mass movement that mimicked the power of his own character and beliefs.
Compare that to today. Compare the lofty rhetoric of King’s “I have a dream” speech with the “Let’s go Brandon” chants we hear today. Let’s compare the speeches of MLK with a Trump rally.
Compare that March on Washington that MLK led back in 1963 with the “Stop the Steal” rally that Donald Trump presided over a year ago.
Compare the soaring rhetoric of MLK with the ugliness of the crowds last January 6th. What are the aspirations of current political expression and movements? Do we want meaningful change or are we just succumbing to vulgarity?
It is sad really. Thus far the Democrats have been powerless to shift the tide in this country. COVID runs rampant even though we have a safe and effective vaccine. The Democrats couldn’t get important voting rights legislation through the Senate because of the archaic filibuster while more and more Republican-led states make it tougher for Black and poor people to vote.
The Democrats couldn’t get police reforms passed due to the filibuster. The mass movements created by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis didn’t lead to real reform.
Trump stirs up racial hatred by stating there was fraud conducted on a massive scale in primarily Black cities such as Philadelphia, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Detroit. There is no evidence of fraud but the divisive racial charges are not subtle.
In order for there to be massive change on a political and societal level, we need mass movements. That was the genius of Martin Luther King. He was able to lead a peaceful, non-violent mass movement and forced the government to end practices of discrimination in our political, educational and economic lives.
What would Martin Luther King Jr. think of the craziness of today’s politics? Why do we still need a Black Lives Matter movement 54 years after his assassination? Take a look at today’s Republican Party and you can see why we still need movements like Black Lives Matter.
And yet, there are glimmers of hope.
The most powerful political event I have attended in the last couple of years was the Black Lives Matter rally here in Red Bluff. I was so impressed with the young people who showed up that day to express their exasperation at the murder of George Floyd.
On that day, I watched dozens of the nearly completely white, youthful crowd lie on the grass for nine minutes, face down, hands behind their backs in the prone position, powerfully demonstrating the manner in which George Floyd was killed. I heard the young people chant: “Say Their Names” over and over.
Social change movements always encounter ugliness. Change doesn’t happen without struggle, but change does happen. The backlash by the right-wing media against Black Lives Matter started with images of looting and the riot in Minneapolis and ended with zealots showing up at school board meetings protesting critical race theory.
As I drive around the area with the “Let’s Go Brandon” stickers and the blue Trump flags that say F#ck Biden, I can’t help but think that the folks who are doing such things are just mimicking their leader’s own divisive rhetoric. Donald Trump will never have a holiday to commemorate him.
Or in the words of Martin Luther King: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.”
Martin Luther King’s children are old now and we still haven’t achieved his dream. A good start would be to reject Donald Trump and take down those “Let’s Go Brandon” stickers and those vulgar Trump flags.
I much prefer the character of those kids in Red Bluff who demonstrated against George Floyd’s murder by quietly lying in the grass for nine minutes. Those kids gave me hope for a better tomorrow.
Allan Stellar is an RN and a freelance writer who moved to Red Bluff after the Camp Fire. He can be reached at Allan361@aol.com.
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January 18, 2022 at 05:55AM
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What would MLK think of today’s vulgar politics? - Red Bluff Daily News
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