What if Martin Luther King had never been assassinated?

What if Martin Luther King had never been assassinated? Where would he be today? How would he be viewed today? How would he have evolved?

Pure conjecture on your part, of course, so nobody should expect anything definitive.

Some feel that his time and manner of death helped his historical image to be more favorable and sympathetic than it deserved. Some feel it (his image/popularity) was legit to begin.

Would have evolved into something resembling sainthood? If you believe so, why do you think so?

Would he have devolved into just another opportunist charlatan similar to Al Sharpton? If you believe so, why do you think so?

Those are possible extremes, of course. How about something in the middle.

I'm not sure if the time of his death and manner helped his historical image. I think ultimately history would judge him correctly.

He was still a Civil rights leader. He still convinced everyone on the use of civil disobedience and peaceful protest in the face of brutal responses.

He would of been more polarizing now...since he would of recently passed (assuming he lived to 70 or so)...I think looking back at history the vast majority of people support his position on equality. As Civil Rights was passed and he started branching out to other causes he was already getting criticized.

His stance on the Vietnam war was unpopular. The Washington Post and the National Review had scathing articles about him.

His stance on income equality was also polarizing.

He's only remembered as a Civil Rights leader but if the past 30 years would of been spent with speeches condemning poverty in black neighborhoods and in general or criticizing the Iraq War the right would of hated him.

He would have been marginalized and being doing commercials for the AARP or diabetic supplies

Seriously though, his next step was a plan to use peaceful resistance to fight poverty--and by peaceful resistance, I mean occupying tunnels and bridges and the like in metropolitan areas like DC and New York to extort concessions out of people for the poor. I am not sure that he would have lived had he not been assassinated, and if he had lived, I am not sure it wouldn't have been in a prison cell. Hard to say without having actually seen the plan put into action as to how aggressive an occupation that would have been and how much control he really could have exercised. I do not, however, believe he would have sold out to self-promotion and grandstanding the way Rev. Al and Jesse did, not that there was ever anything about the latter two that makes me think they had any substance to begin with.

If he had not been assassinated, he would have been discredited somehow. He had too many powerful enemies.

His death elevated him to a larger than life figure in which all past indiscretions were immediately forgiven. Most Americans, both black and white, to this day cannot name a single thing that MLK actually did or accomplished. Awards yes, lasting achievements no.

Perhaps his accomplishment could be viewed as giving blacks their own revered American black. Even if so, this has been sullied by Liberal white politicians who worshipfully invoke King's name whenever they want to give the impression they care about black lives.

radcen said:

What if Martin Luther King had never been assassinated? Where would he be today? How would he be viewed today? How would he have evolved?

Pure conjecture on your part, of course, so nobody should expect anything definitive.

Some feel that his time and manner of death helped his historical image to be more favorable and sympathetic than it deserved. Some feel it (his image/popularity) was legit to begin.

Would have evolved into something resembling sainthood? If you believe so, why do you think so?

Would he have devolved into just another opportunist charlatan similar to Al Sharpton? If you believe so, why do you think so?

Those are possible extremes, of course. How about something in the middle.

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Nothing would change.

He would be fighting in the labor movement and fighting for social justice and socialism. He was actually a socialist and he would probably be involved in the socialist crowd and speaking out against war. I believe he would be more of a Cornel West figure.

I believe he'd be preaching the same mindset as Bill Cosby does in regards to the ignorant black youth, and their culture of violence. Jesse the Pimp and Al the Racebaiter would not nearly be as popular as they are now. King's opinions were more of strength. The two race-whores rely on black weakness.

radcen said:

What if Martin Luther King had never been assassinated? Where would he be today? How would he be viewed today? How would he have evolved?

Pure conjecture on your part, of course, so nobody should expect anything definitive.

Some feel that his time and manner of death helped his historical image to be more favorable and sympathetic than it deserved. Some feel it (his image/popularity) was legit to begin.

Would have evolved into something resembling sainthood? If you believe so, why do you think so?

Would he have devolved into just another opportunist charlatan similar to Al Sharpton? If you believe so, why do you think so?

Those are possible extremes, of course. How about something in the middle.

Click to expand...

maybe nobody would call strong black leaders charlatan :2razz:

Medusa said:

maybe nobody would call strong black leaders charlatan :2razz:

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It's an inharent problem of activist. If the problem is "solved" the promoter dosen't just disapper into the woodwork. They need another problem to lead the people against. and humanity is full of problems and any one that dreams of a "utopia" will always see them as fixable.

Torrent said:

It's an inharent problem of activist. If the problem is "solved" the promoter dosen't just disapper into the woodwork. They need another problem to lead the people against. and humanity is full of problems and any one that dreams of a "utopia" will always see them as fixable.

Click to expand...

so what?

radcen said:

What if Martin Luther King had never been assassinated? Where would he be today? How would he be viewed today? How would he have evolved?

Pure conjecture on your part, of course, so nobody should expect anything definitive.

Some feel that his time and manner of death helped his historical image to be more favorable and sympathetic than it deserved. Some feel it (his image/popularity) was legit to begin.

Would have evolved into something resembling sainthood? If you believe so, why do you think so?

Would he have devolved into just another opportunist charlatan similar to Al Sharpton? If you believe so, why do you think so?

Those are possible extremes, of course. How about something in the middle.

Click to expand...

The things he is, I think, generally beloved for are nonviolence and his desire for a color-blind society. The latter would probably have been submerged by the popularity of affirmative action. His genius was in terms of winning the support of whites. One would have hoped that he'd know how important that support is for blacks in furthering real civil rights and would have eschewed a polarizing agenda of special privileges for minorities, reparations, etc.. Eschewed an agenda, in other words, that intensified the victim culture and identity politics in the way the current crop of black leaders utterly fails to do.

Torrent said:

It's an inharent problem of activist. If the problem is "solved" the promoter dosen't just disapper into the woodwork. They need another problem to lead the people against. and humanity is full of problems and any one that dreams of a "utopia" will always see them as fixable.

Click to expand...

That's what separates a true leader and visionary from an opportunistic charlatan. The true leader and visionary will work to solve issues, and once they're solved* they move on and/or branch out to higher endeavors, i.e. political office, philanthropic and/or charitable work, and so on.

The opportunistic charlatan has no such thoughts, and is there purely to milk for their personal gain what they can when they can.

The leader and visionary is forward-thinking. The opportunistic charlatan is short-sighted.

*- Or improved significantly. Can anything every be 100% solved?