Ah yes, here is a photo of the man in action. It is something really special when a good man or woman speaks up and the people love them. Of course the people loved MLK! I get a similar feeling when I see people reading Barack Obama's book. His very face gives me the thrill and chill that great leaders do. So I think he will run, be elected, and totally get assasinated. They kill anyone good. Also, as I pointed out to Misch last weekend, isn't it crazy to think about 1.) people actually using drinking fountains, and 2.) using them so much that they had to agree to separate by race?? Of course they didn't really agree. But imagine now, "excuse me where's the Black water fountain?" Or, "get the hell away from our water fountain, use your own!" Everyone has bottled water now. (Take a moment to reflect on the constantly deepening landfills full of un-recycled bottles).
Also today people should be thinking about whether things are better or worse for the "Negro" people now that fourty years or so have passed. Actually, scratch that don't waste your time, I'll answer it for you. It's a combination. Some things better (you probably won't get hung by your balls for fucking a white girl if you're a man plus companies advertise to Blacks and they have a couple TV shows or whatever), some things the same (still probably end up in jail or dead if you're a man), and some things worse (crack, cancer, AIDS).
When a real tragedy occurs, such as MLK being killed, shouldn't the world just STOP?? When the worst happens, the totally unjust act, shouldn't God intervene? If it was a movie, something would have to make it turn into a happy ending. So when the tragedy happens, ye of little faith become atheists (because God SHOULD intervene).
We all have to admit that the worst has already happened. The innocent people have already been tortured and cut up in pieces and forgotten and won't be in the newspaper and it doesn't matter if they are in the newspaper because it's impossible to care about everyone, so no one really cares. The virgins are violently ruined; Nixzmary is dead; MLK is dead; Ghandi is dead; Bush the Evil Fuckwit from Hell was elected twice (and if not technically elected, too close for comfort, this is America, Americans did it); Nelson Mandela was put in jail and now he's dead. Of course Mandela was able to do a lot of good in his life too, it's not that good cannot be accomplished or does not exist. MLK also achieved great things out of love for the people. But basically it comes down to this: good never has and will never trump evil.
Soooo .... from the moment of this realization it's a smooth, easy slide into nihilism!! But unfortunately I was raised to believe in Jesus, and although I no longer believe his crucifixion and/or resurrection truly atone for all the wrong in the world I do see the strength of his self-sacrifice as a symbol, therefore I will never and can never stop trying to know God even so far as each religion contains one part of the whole truth, so Jesus is part of the answer that I must find to these questions: how do I, or how should I fill the time alotted to me? Is there any point in trying to be good and do good when the game is already over? Do things in the present matter at all compared with the past? For most people, the past doesn't matter, it doesn't even exist, but it seems the opposite to me: the present is just a charade (cave of shadows?) or residue (I've used that word before to describe this idea).
To reiterate, there are aleady so many past wrongs that cannot be set right, and tragedy occurring right now that will never and can never be made up for in the future. But I cannot do the slide into nihilism, because it's wrong and because I have felt love, and I still feel it. Probably I do not feel it as strongly for the things or people others seem to love, but I cry and my heart beats for silenced dead people including Nixzmary and bums and hookers, also babies that play and laugh, and my majestic feline pet who looks at me with an intense, jealous or adoring gaze, and finally my beautiful, magical, tricky, pretty and handsome, fun and funny, scary and soothing, wiry, scrappy and strong, hot and cold, and oh so sweet future wife who also happens to share initials with Martin Luther King, my angel MLK:
HOPEFULLY M.LEILA.K WILL NOT MAKE ME DELETE THIS ADORABLE PICTURE EITHER ..... xxx ..... and here's a picture of her brand new tattoo, twinship:
you propose an enticing argument, as is typical. in fact, i almost went out of my way to look for one point with which to object, just for good measure - to show the readers that i am capable of disagreeing... but i couldn't do it, at least not in this one. fact is, im so with you when it comes to the present and future's inability to undo or somehow makeup for the past's wrongs. this is another one of those things verbalized by you, which ive considered independently.. and fittingly enough, the twinship prevails yet again.
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