Glenn Beck does remind us of the Civil Rights Era -- that is, the people who hated Dr. King

[midnight]

What no one has really pointed out about Glenn Beck's upcoming pep rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial is that, in claiming he's following the example of Martin Luther King, he's actually positioning this gig as a civil-rights event. But whose civil rights? Well, judging by what we've seen at the Tea Parties inspired by Beck, it's gonna be pretty damned white.

It is thus, in essence, a civil-rights march for white people. Or more particularly, for right-wing white people who feel threatened by the growing presence and power of the nonwhite population.

Of course, they don't put it that way. They know that race talk will just get them called out for what this is all really about. So they talk about "government oppression" and "taking away our freedoms" and "preserving the Constitution" and "what it means to be American". Strip these down to the bare bones -- especially when you peel away the layers of illogic required to support these claims -- and what's really at issue here is a black man leading nonwhite minorities to power, which is always perceived by authoritarians as a sign of their loss of power.

So that's what it's really about. If the rhetoric all seems terribly vague to you, that's why.

And what's really bizarre and Orwellian about this whole spectacle is that it's part of Beck's larger campaign to demonize progressives -- even though the civil-rights movement was always a progressive phenomenon, and indeed Martin Luther King Jr. often proclaimed some of the very themes, such as "social justice," that Beck loves to demonize as part of progressives' eeeeeevil plot to destroy America.


http://crooksandliars.com/

There is a great comparison at this sight between Dr. King, and Beck. I was unable to copy it to this post. But go to the link. I can't barely listen to him and didn't have much history on his start, but he got his start in Phoenix at 19. He skips college and goes onto radio with a created alter ego clydie clyde VS. King who at age 15 goes to college.

[Bitwit1234]

1. ASl Sharpton has a rally there also and they are going to the mall

I bet the fireworks fly. And I bet any rally that shows up will be included as a head count in Becks mess. Milbank from the WaPa gave a good quote. He said that he guessed that Beck thought the best defense was to be OFFENSIVE.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Sharpton had a caller on his show last night, calling from a bus bound from Detroit,

on their way to his rally today. Beck's rally may pale in comparison if Sharpton gets a good crowd.

[midnight]

3. I saw a great photo of Sharpton walking arm and arm with

a large group of people. I will go look to see if I can find and post.