[continued from previous message]

purchasing power of the Negro [which in turn] will result in
improved medical care, greater educational opportunities, and
more adequate housing. Each of these developments will result in
a further weakening of segregation."

King of course was a great opponent of the free economy. In a
speech in front of his staff in 1966 he said,

You can't talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro
without talking about billions of dollars. You can't talk about
ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken out
of slums. You're really tampering and getting on dangerous
ground because you are messing with folk then. You are messing
with captains of industry… Now this means that we are treading
in difficult water, because it really means that we are saying
that something is wrong…with capitalism… There must be a better
distribution of wealth and maybe America must move toward a
Democratic Socialism.

King called for "totally restructuring the system" in a way that
was not capitalist or "the antithesis of communist." For more
information on King's economic views, see Lew Rockwell's The
Economics of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Myth # 6: King was a conservative.

As all the previous myths show, King's views were hardly
conservative. If this was not enough, it is worth noting what
King said about the two most prominent postwar American
conservative politicians, Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater.

King accused Barry Goldwater of "Hitlerism." He believed that
Goldwater advocated a "narrow nationalism, a crippling
isolationism, and a trigger-happy attitude." On domestic issues
he felt that "Mr. Goldwater represented an unrealistic
conservatism that was totally out of touch with the realities of
the twentieth century." King said that Goldwater's positions on
civil rights were "morally indefensible and socially suicidal."

King said of Reagan, "When a Hollywood performer, lacking
distinction even as an actor, can become a leading war hawk
candidate for the presidency, only the irrationalities induced
by war psychosis can explain such a turn of events."

Despite King's harsh criticisms of those men, both supported the
King holiday. Goldwater even fought to keep King's FBI files,
which contained information about his adulterous sex life and
Communist connections, sealed.

Myth # 7: King wasn't a plagiarist.

OK, even most of the neocons won't deny this, but it is still
worth bringing up, because they all ignore it. King started
plagiarizing as an undergraduate. When Boston University founded
a commission to look into it, they found that that 45 percent of
the first part and 21 percent of the second part of his
dissertation was stolen, but they insisted that "no thought
should be given to revocation of Dr. King's doctoral degree." In
addition to his dissertation many of his major speeches, such as
"I Have a Dream," were plagiarized, as were many of his books
and writings. For more information on King's plagiarism, The
Martin Luther King Plagiarism Page and Theodore Pappas'
Plagiarism and the Culture War are excellent resources.

When faced with these facts, most of King's conservative and
libertarian fans either say they weren't part of his main
philosophy, or usually they simply ignore them. Slightly before
the King Holiday was signed into law, Governor Meldrim Thompson
of New Hampshire wrote a letter to Ronald Reagan expressing
concerns about King's morality and Communist connections. Ronald
Reagan responded, "I have the reservations you have, but here
the perception of too many people is based on an image, not
reality. Indeed, to them the perception is reality.”

Far too many on the Right are worshipping that perception.
Rather than face the truth about King's views, they create a man
based upon a few lines about judging men "by the content of
their character rather than the color of their skin" – something
we are not supposed to do in his case, of course – while
ignoring everything else he said and did. If King is truly an
admirable figure, they are doing his legacy a disservice by
using his name to promote an agenda he clearly would not have
supported.

January 18, 2003

Marcus Epstein [send him mail] is an undergraduate at the
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, where he is
president of the college libertarians and editor of the
conservative newspaper, The Remnant. A selection of his articles
can be seen here.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2003/01/marcus-epstein/myths-of-
martin-luther-king/


--- SoupGate-DOS v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)