22-11-2012, 09:12 PM
Jim DiEugenio Wrote:Charles:
If you want to propose to everyone to get handcuffed, placed in a paddy wagon, booked, jailed, arraigned, set for trial, fined, and then return for a trial at your own cost, OK. I guess that is your idea of leadership.
If you want to guarantee that we all look like a bunch of 9-11 Truthers, instead of negotiating, fine. See how far you get. Or what you achieve.
Facing up to power does not always mean getting punched out, or arrested, or killed. It means doing something sensible to force a settlement, so you get something reasonable instead of a court date. If you recall, this is what King did in Montgomery and other places. And before you say, he got killed, Jim DiEugenio in not King, and neither are you. And he achieved a lot more than we did or ever will.
Know your enemy.
I do not know myself as a leader of anyone.
Are you a leader, Jim?
A certain historical event was explained this way: "Suppose, a people rise in revolt. They cannot attack the abstract constitution or lead an army against proclamations and statutes...Civil disobedience has to be directed against ... some other particular point not that that is our final end, but for the time being it is our aim ..."
The event in question has come to be known as Gandhi's "Salt March."
I am anything but expert in the life and teachings of Gandhi. But if memory serves, it was in a place called Dharasana where thousands of nonviolent Salt March protesters stood silently as they were savaged by British troops. And the world took note. And an empire trembled.
Who will take note of your negotiations, Jim? Who will you make tremble with your negotiating style?
I'll take it, then, that if you had been present when Gandhi proposed the Salt March and all its attendant risks, you would have responded, "OK, because I guess that's his idea of leadership," and then gone on to try to negotiate with the British.
You don't have a clue about who and what you're up against, do you?
You don't have a clue about the significance of Dealey Plaza, do you?
Why don't you address Linenthal's observations within the context of my references to them?
As for Dr. King: Correct me if I'm wrong, but he is not remembered for writing, "Letter from a Birmingham Office Building in Which I'm Trying to Negotiate with Racists, After Which I'll Go to a Book Signing."