First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from the Birmingham Jail
Edit: I guess the more radical aspects of MLK’s beliefs still upset moderates
Climate activists who glue themselves to roads and throw soup on famous paintings have not spread their messages. They’re so few and far between and their message so weak that everyone just hates them.
Yet here we are talking about their message, hence it IS being spread. Maybe not in a particularly positive light, but what form of civil disobedience is ever viewed in a positive light by moderates? I’m curious what method you think could be both impactful and not inconvenient.
First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
Edit: I guess the more radical aspects of MLK’s beliefs still upset moderates
very much the vibes in these comments, “how dare you inconvenience us”
Climate activists who glue themselves to roads and throw soup on famous paintings have not spread their messages. They’re so few and far between and their message so weak that everyone just hates them.
Yet here we are talking about their message, hence it IS being spread. Maybe not in a particularly positive light, but what form of civil disobedience is ever viewed in a positive light by moderates? I’m curious what method you think could be both impactful and not inconvenient.