Quote:
Originally Posted by antonyh
I guess I am from South Africa so I bring a different perspective to this. King followed the principles of Ghandi. He used Ghandi as a textbook so to speak. Nelson Mandela followed King, especially in the later stages of restoring democracy to South Africa, especially in the way he approached the white oppressor post-apartheid.
|
It is not how the greats of nonviolence influenced each other, but how they influence us that counts today!
Quote:
Originally Posted by antonyh
There are timeless principles here that have been embraced in various liberation movements. I agree that deviation may be necessary, but we cannot proceed forward without deliberate attention to the Civil Rights leaders of the past.
|
I sense here that you really value the lessons of the past and how they can guide us today. I agree. I also wonder if sometimes we don't get wrapped up in what has happen, what we think "should" happen and what we want to happen. Those are all diiferent things, but they all are void of our adversary and whatever happens is dependent on our adversary. We need their truth to blend with out truth to find a truth we can all live with in peace.
Quote:
Originally Posted by antonyh
I just wonder if our LGBT movement has spent enough time in sustained thinking about civil rights activism from the past, whether Ghandi, King or Mandela. These men lead successful civil right movements that transformed nations.
I was talking to someone today about this. Harvey Milk was assassinated in 1978 about 30 years ago and we still don't have a federal hate crimes law that includes sexual orientation or gender identity. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 and one year later there was a federal hate crimes law including race.
It really gives me pause.
|
I sense you are frustrated with the shortcomings we have had. Me too! Remember that King believed and so do I that the Universe Leans to the side of justice. It is not about how fast we win our rights. It is about the justice of knowing people extended them to us for the right reasons.......