Hey, Glenn Beck, I was at the March on Washington

[babylonsister]

http://www.salon.com/books/civil_rights_movement/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2010/08/26/march_on_washington_glenn_beck_open2010
Thursday, Aug 26, 2010 19:01 ET

Hey, Glenn Beck, I was at the March on Washington
The "Restoring Honor" parade tarnishes an event whose shared humanity was unlike anything I've felt before or since
By A.J. Calhoun


Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.
This piece originally appeared on A.J. Calhoun's Open Salon blog.

snip//

The world was in the process of being changed, and I was, had I chosen to frame it this way, trapped in the event. I didn't feel trapped, however, but cradled.

The rest, of course, is history, one of the most stunning gatherings, public addresses and dramatic sociopolitical moments in the history of the Republic.

I shook hands, held hands, laid my hands on the shoulders and had other hands laid on mine, of people I'd never met and even a few I had, as we steadied each other. By that point if one was there, nothing else mattered. One was lost, absorbed in something vastly larger than a single self.

One.

Less than five years later I would watch large portions of my city destroyed by the rioting we'd anticipated in advance of the great march. But that isn't this story. That is another story.

It is for this reason I am more than incensed by the lying "act of providence" that caused Glenn Beck to "accidentally" choose Aug. 28 for his "Restoring Honor" rally of right-wingers, Tea Partiers, neoconservatives, fascists, the delusional and the truly wicked, the New Kluxers disguised as patriots wanting something, something they cannot or will not identify openly.

Should Beck's rally start and end without incident I will be gratified. Should lightning strike it I will also be gratified, and probably converted to a belief in some sort of Zeus-like being who sits in the sky. Or maybe I'll just believe more in statistical probability than I ordinarily do. At any rate, such an unlikely event would be interpreted by Beck's followers as some sort of indictment, and not anything they could possibly blame on us librul socialist Muslim commie perverts.

My plan is to follow the route of the Rev. Al Sharpton's group, which will walk from Dunbar High School to the site of the to-be-unveiled statue of Dr. King.

I know my place.

Would that Glenn Beck knew his. He'll find it soon enough, on the junk heap of history. But Beck is not the problem nor his undoing the solution. It is all on the people who watch, listen, whoop and holler at Beck's incomprehensible yammerings.

Strangely, I feel 18 again. Maybe I never really stopped feeling that way.

[MineralMan]

1. I wasn't there, but that speech led me to Selma in 1965.

I wasn't part of the walk across the bridge, but was there for MLK's speech in Birmingham. That speech altered the course of this 20-year-old's life. There was no going back.

[babylonsister]

2. ...

:loveya:

[MineralMan]

3. How Long? Not Long.

Longer than I expected, but within my lifetime, I got to see a black man elected as President of The United States. Progress. There is Progress.

How Long? Not Long.

[babylonsister]

4. This is progress, and there is still no going back despite the

'Muslim madness' wracking the country at the moment, all a product of hatemongers. I hope 'we shall overcome' aren't just words. :hug:

[MineralMan]

5. True. And some are still bemoaning the Civil Rights Act, too.

Progress does not mean that everyone will agree. It only means that what was impossible becomes possible. I think that we lose sight of that sometimes, either through youth and inexperience or through impatience. MLK understood those things, but still knew that the truth had been told and that the progress was inevitable. That's essentially what he said in that speech, and he was right.

We cannot let the minority that has evil thoughts prevent progress. We must keep moving along the path, whether slowly or at a run. It is the movement that makes the progress inevitable, even when some stumble and fall and fail to reach the goal.

I will not stop. I will not give up hope. I will continue to walk that road until I can walk no longer, but I will know that others will continue along the path. That is what Martin Luther King knew. He did not see it, but he knew it.

[enough]

6. This is well said. I was there too. I admire those who do not let the discouragement of this time

diminish their engagement. I feel myself getting more and more dragged down by things as they are now. It leads me to want to withdraw entirely, just cultivate my vegetable garden and idiotically hope that whatever is coming happens to randomly miss my little part of the world.

[MineralMan]

7. It's tempting to stop and let others carry on, but of what use

is that? Not everyone can continue, and I don't have the energy I once did. I can't march in the street any longer, but I can still write. I can still encourage. I can still talk to the voters in my precinct. At age 65, I know that I will probably not see the results of my efforts, even if they succeed. But Martin Luther King knew, I think, that he would not live to see what he started come to fruition. That did not stop him from continuing to ask people to demand their rights.

Whatever you can do, please do. Any effort, no matter how small, adds to the efforts of others. Never let the naysayers win. Never let them tell you it is a losing battle. Just don't listen to them, and keep on trying as much as you are able.

[enough]

8. I know you're right, MineralMan. It seems to get harder, but I do get a lot of inspiration and

encouragement from those who still willingly put their energy into it. Thanks.

[Hekate]

9. TY for this wonderful post, Babs. "Should lightning strike it I will also be gratified"

"It is for this reason I am more than incensed by the lying "act of providence" that caused Glenn Beck to "accidentally" choose Aug. 28 for his "Restoring Honor" rally of right-wingers, Tea Partiers, neoconservatives, fascists, the delusional and the truly wicked, the New Kluxers disguised as patriots wanting something, something they cannot or will not identify openly."

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who called us -- all of us -- to our highest selves. Bless Rev. Al Sharpton for providing a counterpoint to the debased wickedness of the Beck rally. I'm so glad he's doing that.

Hekate

[firedupdem]

10. K&R n/t

[Scurrilous]

11. K & R

:thumbsup:

[SoxFan]

12. Kick!

http://www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Manchester+City+v+Wigan+Athletic+Premier+League+-3OmhCgLYAwl.jpg

[Cha]

13. Thanks for this, babylonsister~ A bunch of ignorant bigoted

racists are using Dr Martin Luthur King's place and date for his I Have A Dream Speech to promote their Assholery.

Everyone needs to be aware of what beck is doing on Saturday the 28th of August in the Mall.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=388x25013

[Doctor_J]

14. It is something like this that will finally provoke some pushback

At one of this nut's shows, a real American who's had enough will release an IED, and it will be on, and frankly I look forward to it.

[babylonsister]

15. No they won't, because that would totally go against Dr. King's

whole message. Now, a bagger might, and I do not look forward to that.

[Doctor_J]

17. Not this one,

but this empire of Beck's can't go on forever. Some day, unless we WANT to be taken over completely, someone is going to fight back.

[onpatrol98]

18. Beck!!!

I don't think he'll be around much longer. It's a free world. He can have his stupid event on what is historically a special date and place. But, I really think he's on the verge of a crack up.

[NJmaverick]

16. K & R!