I get mail...
I have a bit more to say about this, but the following exchange seems to say it all:
-------Original Message-------
From: Lowell Dempsey
Date: 04/13/10 13:35:01
To: possumtrot@ellijay.com
Subject: Following up on my last email
Hi again Robert
I sent you an email last week and I didn't hear back so I wanted to try you again. I'm reaching out to ask if you would help spread the word by posting about the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial on United Possums International. This month of April marks the 42nd anniversary of the death of Dr. King and we are commemorating his life and work by creating a memorial in our nation's capital. The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial will honor his life and contributions to the world through non violent social change.
I've put together this micro-site to help get the message out - there are videos, photos, banners, and even a web toolbar that, when used, donates money to the creation of the memorial:
http://mlkmemorialnews.org
After many years of fund raising, the memorial is only $14 million away from its $120 million goal. If you are able to post or tweet about this please let me know so I can share it with the team. If you have any questions please pop me an email. And if you are able to help, thank you so much.
Lowell
On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 3:43 PM, Possumtrot wrote:
At the risk of being branded a racist, I do not currently have any interest in the further deification of Dr. King. He has a national holiday. My hometown of Atlanta is home to the King Center. There are countless schools and streets named after him across America.
I respect and admire Dr. King's contributions to American society, and regret his premature murder, denying him the full realization of his dream. (My childhood memories include the segregated "Fun Town" recreation park referred to in his historic speech.) If you search the archives of my blog, you will obtain the details of how a black man saved my life in Vietnam, and how dating a black girl in high school resulted in vandalism and violence directed at me personally. ("Just Another War Story" and "The Nigger Lover.") Being a son of the south, I have fought all my life against the stereotype of the ignorant, racist redneck. I am truly "color-blind", and given my background and upbringing, that in itself is a glowing testimony to Dr. King's legacy.
However, I will mention your project in an upcoming blog post. I suppose another statue dedicated to Dr. King won't hurt. My concern for humanity is that now that the playing field has been leveled, so to speak, we have elected an incompetent socialist as our first black president, and anyone who disagrees with his policies is reactively deemed a racist by the liberal Left. Dr. King's aims were truly humanitarian, and not necessarily linked to the politics of the moment.
I wish you good luck with your project, and I will speak positively of your goal when I get around to writing a blog post about it. I write painfully slowly, and procrastinate about checking and answering my e-mail. That is about all the assistance I can offer; I hope it's sufficient.
-------Original Message-------
From: Lowell Dempsey
Date: 04/18/10 13:11:30
To: Possumtrot
Subject: Re: Following up on my last email
Thanks for getting back to me Robert. I respect your opinion and appreciate your willingness to help us spread the word. Feel free to use any (or all) of the information from www.mlkmemorialnews.org for your post. You can copy and paste directly from it. If you can, please send me a link to your post once it goes up. I'd like to share it with the rest of my team. Thanks so much!
Best,
Lowell
From: Possumtrot
Date: 19-Apr-10 5:28:48 PM
To: Lowell Dempsey
Subject: Re: Following up on my last email
What I really meant to say, and didn't, was this:
Wouldn't it be more in the spirit of what Dr. King believed in if you spent the money collected for yet another shrine on those people and places who need it, i.e. the disenfranchised among us? Christian humility suggests that we do good for our fellow men, and if anonymity can be evoked, so much the better. Dr. King has been honored in the public square beyond his wildest imaginings; I think gazing down upon us from the afterlife, he would nod approval if money collected for another memorial was spent on community service. There are plenty of people who need help with taxes and mortgages; why not an endowment in his name? Drug addiction, teen pregnancy, and the "gangsta" way of thinking are rampant in the black community; why not community centers and counseling giving tribute to MLK and what he stood for?
The dream of equality and justice is 95% realized; why not carry it the rest of the way by righting societal maladies? I think that would be a greater tribute to Dr. King, were it done in his name, than all the statues in all the town squares in America.
Obviously, your cause and letters have provoked some thought on this end. I thank you for that. Our nation has a checkered history when it comes to racial equality, with both the Native Americans and African-Americans. I saw the last bad parts of that history unfolding in the South before I was old enough to read; drinking from a "Colored Only" water fountain at the age of four earned me the only slap my grandmother ever delivered. I knew then that something was wrong, and ignored redneck upbringing from then on.
I know that community centers, Clinton's "midnight basketball", VISTA and other social experiments have been tried repeatedly in the past. Many have failed. Still, I think a greater legacy that would serve the memory of Dr. King better is contained in the suggestions I've made here.
When I write my blog post about your worthy cause--including a link to your site--I will ask the questions that your original solicitation has brought to mind in the context of the article. As a white man, I am "politically incorrect" to address issues that overwhelmingly concern the black community. As a human being, in the true sense of "color-blindness", I don't see how I can do otherwise. My skepticism about another memorial for Dr. King arises from this general concern for humanity. My wife works for a community service agency, so I am acutely aware that there is much wrong in the world, and people are hurting. Although it may be putting band-aids on a traumatic amputation, I think your funds might be better spent offering assistance in whatever form you might deem best to those who need it. Building a shrine to a man who articulated great ideas is a noble cause, but there are other, more immediate issues that need to be addressed. With your funding, you are in a position to help.
Should you wish to continue this--hopefully--mutually enlightening dialogue, please e-mail me when you can spare a few moments. I wish you good luck with your endeavor.
Confederately,
Robert
-------Original Message-------
From: Lowell Dempsey
Date: 04/13/10 13:35:01
To: possumtrot@ellijay.com
Subject: Following up on my last email
Hi again Robert
I sent you an email last week and I didn't hear back so I wanted to try you again. I'm reaching out to ask if you would help spread the word by posting about the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial on United Possums International. This month of April marks the 42nd anniversary of the death of Dr. King and we are commemorating his life and work by creating a memorial in our nation's capital. The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial will honor his life and contributions to the world through non violent social change.
I've put together this micro-site to help get the message out - there are videos, photos, banners, and even a web toolbar that, when used, donates money to the creation of the memorial:
http://mlkmemorialnews.org
After many years of fund raising, the memorial is only $14 million away from its $120 million goal. If you are able to post or tweet about this please let me know so I can share it with the team. If you have any questions please pop me an email. And if you are able to help, thank you so much.
Lowell
On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 3:43 PM, Possumtrot
At the risk of being branded a racist, I do not currently have any interest in the further deification of Dr. King. He has a national holiday. My hometown of Atlanta is home to the King Center. There are countless schools and streets named after him across America.
I respect and admire Dr. King's contributions to American society, and regret his premature murder, denying him the full realization of his dream. (My childhood memories include the segregated "Fun Town" recreation park referred to in his historic speech.) If you search the archives of my blog, you will obtain the details of how a black man saved my life in Vietnam, and how dating a black girl in high school resulted in vandalism and violence directed at me personally. ("Just Another War Story" and "The Nigger Lover.") Being a son of the south, I have fought all my life against the stereotype of the ignorant, racist redneck. I am truly "color-blind", and given my background and upbringing, that in itself is a glowing testimony to Dr. King's legacy.
However, I will mention your project in an upcoming blog post. I suppose another statue dedicated to Dr. King won't hurt. My concern for humanity is that now that the playing field has been leveled, so to speak, we have elected an incompetent socialist as our first black president, and anyone who disagrees with his policies is reactively deemed a racist by the liberal Left. Dr. King's aims were truly humanitarian, and not necessarily linked to the politics of the moment.
I wish you good luck with your project, and I will speak positively of your goal when I get around to writing a blog post about it. I write painfully slowly, and procrastinate about checking and answering my e-mail. That is about all the assistance I can offer; I hope it's sufficient.
-------Original Message-------
From: Lowell Dempsey
Date: 04/18/10 13:11:30
To: Possumtrot
Subject: Re: Following up on my last email
Thanks for getting back to me Robert. I respect your opinion and appreciate your willingness to help us spread the word. Feel free to use any (or all) of the information from www.mlkmemorialnews.org for your post. You can copy and paste directly from it. If you can, please send me a link to your post once it goes up. I'd like to share it with the rest of my team. Thanks so much!
Best,
Lowell
From: Possumtrot
Date: 19-Apr-10 5:28:48 PM
To: Lowell Dempsey
Subject: Re: Following up on my last email
What I really meant to say, and didn't, was this:
Wouldn't it be more in the spirit of what Dr. King believed in if you spent the money collected for yet another shrine on those people and places who need it, i.e. the disenfranchised among us? Christian humility suggests that we do good for our fellow men, and if anonymity can be evoked, so much the better. Dr. King has been honored in the public square beyond his wildest imaginings; I think gazing down upon us from the afterlife, he would nod approval if money collected for another memorial was spent on community service. There are plenty of people who need help with taxes and mortgages; why not an endowment in his name? Drug addiction, teen pregnancy, and the "gangsta" way of thinking are rampant in the black community; why not community centers and counseling giving tribute to MLK and what he stood for?
The dream of equality and justice is 95% realized; why not carry it the rest of the way by righting societal maladies? I think that would be a greater tribute to Dr. King, were it done in his name, than all the statues in all the town squares in America.
Obviously, your cause and letters have provoked some thought on this end. I thank you for that. Our nation has a checkered history when it comes to racial equality, with both the Native Americans and African-Americans. I saw the last bad parts of that history unfolding in the South before I was old enough to read; drinking from a "Colored Only" water fountain at the age of four earned me the only slap my grandmother ever delivered. I knew then that something was wrong, and ignored redneck upbringing from then on.
I know that community centers, Clinton's "midnight basketball", VISTA and other social experiments have been tried repeatedly in the past. Many have failed. Still, I think a greater legacy that would serve the memory of Dr. King better is contained in the suggestions I've made here.
When I write my blog post about your worthy cause--including a link to your site--I will ask the questions that your original solicitation has brought to mind in the context of the article. As a white man, I am "politically incorrect" to address issues that overwhelmingly concern the black community. As a human being, in the true sense of "color-blindness", I don't see how I can do otherwise. My skepticism about another memorial for Dr. King arises from this general concern for humanity. My wife works for a community service agency, so I am acutely aware that there is much wrong in the world, and people are hurting. Although it may be putting band-aids on a traumatic amputation, I think your funds might be better spent offering assistance in whatever form you might deem best to those who need it. Building a shrine to a man who articulated great ideas is a noble cause, but there are other, more immediate issues that need to be addressed. With your funding, you are in a position to help.
Should you wish to continue this--hopefully--mutually enlightening dialogue, please e-mail me when you can spare a few moments. I wish you good luck with your endeavor.
Confederately,
Robert
posted by Robert at 4:48 PM
4 Comments:
Wow. You are so eloquent in your writing. You said it all so well. Yes, it is time to stop memorializing and start helping those who need help. If groups like this, our churches and us as individuals would put our money and our time into the care of others instead of memorials, we wouldn't need a nanny government that forces charity through taxes.
Good stuff!
Good thoughts Possum. I only take exception with one thing. That is, that MLK's aims were "not linked to the politics of the moment". I think his aims were all about the politics of the moment. He wanted radical change, and he wanted it fast.
In his "I have a dream" speech he said: "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism... It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment."
MLK has been elevated in history primarily due to his oratorical skills. They like to play snippets of his speeches that sound "timeless", but most people seem to forget the fact that he was a real leftist.
He may have been a Republican, but he was definitely a leftist. He was in favor of redistribution of the wealth. He was in favor of the failed "War on Poverty". He was in favor of health care for the poor (read: "free"). He was about as socialist as they come. That's why Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton are socialists (they follow in his footsteps). And that's why the Liberals have canonized him as a saint.
That's another reason in my personal opinion why he doesn't deserve any more statues.
(:D) Best regards...
Well said, my friend!
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