Reason has out a video, “Martin Luther King Jr.’s Unwavering Opposition to Violence Still Matters.” He said, “I think for the negro to turn to violence would be both impractical and immoral.” (Today of course that reference is antiquated.) The video shows clips from a 1966 interview, in which King says, “Riots are self-defeating and socially destructive.”
I am glad that, overwhelmingly, the protesters of late have avoided violence. It is unsettling, though, how many “intellectuals” have vocally egged them on to violence.
We should recognize here that the context is protests versus rioting and looting. Violence in cases of actual self-defense is another matter entirely.
Tags: racism