Like many people, Martin Luther King had a public side and a private side. His public side was commendable. His civil rights efforts were noble and needed. However, his private actions included assaulting one of his mistresses the night before he was shot, frequently cheating on his wife, swearing profusely (uncommon conduct for a clergyman), and cheating in college. If King had been white and had been conservative on even just a few major issues, I doubt that liberals would be willing to overlook his private actions.
Liberals were outraged in 1989 when MLK's close friend and fellow civil rights leader, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, published his book And the Walls Came Tumbling Down (New York: Harper Perennial, 1989). Most of the book said very positive things about King and his efforts, but it also contained some shocking revelations about King's private life. When Rev. Abernathy appeared on NBC's Today show following the release of the book, host Bryant Gumbel found it hard to contain his anger toward Abernathy for revealing King's dark side.
Abernathy detailed a particularly disturbing event that occurred the night before King was shot, an event that Abernathy witnessed with his own eyes because he was in the hotel room with King when it happened (pp. 434-436). One of King's mistresses came to confront him about something. An argument ensued. As the argument heated up, King "knocked her across the bed." Abernathy qualified that slightly by saying that "it was more of a shove than a real blow" (p. 436). However, Abernathy did not try to soften what came next:
Now, can you imagine what liberals would be saying if one of Roy Moore's closest and long-time friends revealed that Moore had done the same thing--knocked/pushed a woman across a bed and then had a full-blown fight with her? Gloria Allred would be holding daily press conferences. CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times, etc., would be calling for whatever legal action could be taken against Moore. Or, just imagine if one of Donald Trump's closest friends revealed that Trump had engaged in such conduct.
In reading Abernathy's account of the incident, one gets the impression that this was not the first time King had used violence against a woman. The fact that King would knock/shove the woman and then physically fight with her in front of another person suggests that this was not the first time he had behaved in this manner. Significantly, Abernathy's account says nothing about King expressing remorse for what he had just done.
What if it were determined that Roy Moore had engaged in plagiarism when he wrote his dissertation in college? (Boston U. Panel Finds Plagiarism by Dr. King). Would his university still decline not to revoke his degree, as Boston University did in King's case? Would liberals say that was "fair under the circumstances"?
What if it were discovered that Roy Moore, while publicly professing to be a born-again Christian, used the vilest profanity on a regular basis in private? Would liberals ignore such hypocrisy?
What if one of Roy Moore's best friends revealed that Moore routinely cheated on his wife, as Abernathy revealed about MLK? Of course, most liberals could not care less about adultery or any other sexual sin, but when a conservative is found to have engaged in such conduct, they are quick to attack him or her.
As I said, I think Martin Luther King did a great service to the country with his civil rights efforts, but the seriously disturbing aspects of his private life make it hard to view him positively overall. I think Booker T. Washington was and is more deserving of a federal holiday than MLK.
Liberals were outraged in 1989 when MLK's close friend and fellow civil rights leader, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, published his book And the Walls Came Tumbling Down (New York: Harper Perennial, 1989). Most of the book said very positive things about King and his efforts, but it also contained some shocking revelations about King's private life. When Rev. Abernathy appeared on NBC's Today show following the release of the book, host Bryant Gumbel found it hard to contain his anger toward Abernathy for revealing King's dark side.
Abernathy detailed a particularly disturbing event that occurred the night before King was shot, an event that Abernathy witnessed with his own eyes because he was in the hotel room with King when it happened (pp. 434-436). One of King's mistresses came to confront him about something. An argument ensued. As the argument heated up, King "knocked her across the bed." Abernathy qualified that slightly by saying that "it was more of a shove than a real blow" (p. 436). However, Abernathy did not try to soften what came next:
She leapt up to fight back, and for a moment they were engaged in a full-blown fight, with Martin clearly winning. (p. 436)
Now, can you imagine what liberals would be saying if one of Roy Moore's closest and long-time friends revealed that Moore had done the same thing--knocked/pushed a woman across a bed and then had a full-blown fight with her? Gloria Allred would be holding daily press conferences. CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times, etc., would be calling for whatever legal action could be taken against Moore. Or, just imagine if one of Donald Trump's closest friends revealed that Trump had engaged in such conduct.
In reading Abernathy's account of the incident, one gets the impression that this was not the first time King had used violence against a woman. The fact that King would knock/shove the woman and then physically fight with her in front of another person suggests that this was not the first time he had behaved in this manner. Significantly, Abernathy's account says nothing about King expressing remorse for what he had just done.
What if it were determined that Roy Moore had engaged in plagiarism when he wrote his dissertation in college? (Boston U. Panel Finds Plagiarism by Dr. King). Would his university still decline not to revoke his degree, as Boston University did in King's case? Would liberals say that was "fair under the circumstances"?
What if it were discovered that Roy Moore, while publicly professing to be a born-again Christian, used the vilest profanity on a regular basis in private? Would liberals ignore such hypocrisy?
What if one of Roy Moore's best friends revealed that Moore routinely cheated on his wife, as Abernathy revealed about MLK? Of course, most liberals could not care less about adultery or any other sexual sin, but when a conservative is found to have engaged in such conduct, they are quick to attack him or her.
As I said, I think Martin Luther King did a great service to the country with his civil rights efforts, but the seriously disturbing aspects of his private life make it hard to view him positively overall. I think Booker T. Washington was and is more deserving of a federal holiday than MLK.
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