Here is the quote from MLK:
Quote:
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Mrs. Rosa Parks is a fine person. (Well,) And, since it had to happen, I'm happy that it happened to a person like Mrs. Parks, (Yes) for nobody can doubt the boundless outreach of her integrity. (Sure enough) Nobody can doubt the height of her character (Yes)...And I'm happy, since it had to happen, it happened to a person that nobody can call a disturbing factor in the community. (All right) Mrs. Parks is a fine...person, unassuming, and yet there is integrity and character there. And just because she refused to get up, she was arrested.
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I think it is interesting that Dr. King makes such a big deal about the integrity of Rosa Parks and how central it was in the effectiveness of her civil disobedience. Character is actually part of the soulforce credo here at this site too:
http://www.soulforce.org/article/682
I was reading what Jerry Maneker said in his blog recently at Christian LGBT Rights. Here is his blistering critique about lack of character and meaningful activism in the LGBT community:
Quote:
Of course, I can be wrong in this contention, but I see no evidence of the desire for meaningful activism galvanizing itself behind any current LGBT rights "leader(s)"; I see that "meaningful activism" as anemically being identified, as I stated in my November 15th post, with marching in Pride parades and referring to oneself and to others in the LGBT community with demeaning labels.
Self-loathing only goes so far as to explain this phenomenon! I think the lion's share of the blame for the political apathy and disdain for, and/or the desire for distraction from, discussions of meaningful activism, as seen by comments on assorted progressive LGBT blogs, is pure, unadulterated, selfishness ("I've got mine!") and with one's being content with not even thinking or, worse, even caring, that he/she is still a second-class citizen; frivolity; hedonism; self-indulgence that has characterized America, and much if not most of the LGBT community, since the 1980's...
The tragedy, it seems to me, is that it's a combination of self-indulgence; hedonism (see here, for example); addiction to frivolity; selfishness; with a touch of self-loathing that consciously and unconsciously "justifies" the feeling that the homophobes "might have something there" in their condemnation and denying Gay people the same civil and sacramental rights as Straight people enjoy.
http://christianglbtrights.blogspot....eaningful.html
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Interesting, so what do you think...is the character we have and the character we bring to activism essential to make meaningful progress?