First, for the record, here are the words that has the right in a full tizzy:
| We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. [Standing Ovation] But Coretta knew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor. |
They were spoken by Rev. Joseph Lowery, the man with whom MLK founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was a close personal friend of the Kings, and was there with them from day one of the civil rights movement. He knew them as perhaps few others ever could.
The outrage? He dared speak those words in front of President Bush at the funeral. Because, you know, when you're burying one of the most important members of the civil rights movement, you're not supposed to mention issues that were, oh.. .I don't know... CENTRAL TO EVERYTHING THEIR LIFE STOOD FOR?!?
As for those who would somehow suggest that they know best what Mrs. King would have wanted, I offer you a response from her husband, Martin Luther King Jr. himself:
| Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator — that something we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. Every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning.
If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards, that's not important. Tell him not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness. |
Rather than rant on and on about this, let me try something else.
One day, when I die, I want my friends to throw a party. I want them to come together to smile and to remember my life. It should be a moment to share and remember, and if they feel so inclined, to speak about the things that mattered most to me, no matter who happens to be in the audience. I want them to remember my life as it was, no matter who that might offend. I want them to remember that if I wasn't afraid to be myself, they shouldn't be afraid to let the world know. That's all I ask.
UPDATE: Want a good laugh? Firedoglake has a great best-of on the subject.
UPDATE II: Remember my thoughts a few weeks back about Google. Cut, copy, and past about CNN, too.
--------
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: STOP THE FUNEARL MADNESS!!!.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blog.alexwhalen.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/541
Subscribe to this blog's feed
Leave a comment