Why did MLK jr and JFK get assassinated? What actual threat did they pose against the status quo? Did people never think these two "progressives" would ever come?
The guy who assassinated MLK was named James Earl Ray and he was a racist asshole.
Lee Harvey Oswald was assassinated before anyone could find out why he assassinated JFK, if you believe the Oswald is who did it. So one can only speculate.
I think it was Lindsay Ellis who speculated that in the case of people like Lee Harvey Oswald (and potentially the guy who shot Lenon), it’s about notoriety. Oswald was a loser, who couldn’t hold down a job, thought of more of himself than deserved, was unhappy with how his life was going and wasn’t particularly bright. Due to his time in the military though, he could shoot a rifle.
Time and time again, there a plenty of people who are either contributing nothing to society or less often, are forgotten by it. They become bitter and in some cases are also mentally unwell. So they decide to make their mark by killing people. In the case of celebrities and political figures it’s a mean of forcing their way into the history books. I’m sure some of the time there’s an element of political motivation but it feels secondary it a lot of cases.
JFK I suspect was less about being progressive, but that’s just speculation. I think the more interesting name to add here is “Malcolm X”. It’s crazy/suspicious that we don’t know who did it
I always wondered about his ideology. I get the goal but taking a militant stance on the subject is just strange. I kinda wonder if at some point his power at least a little bit go to his head. Kind of like what was displayed in the movie by Spike Lee. They are outside a courthouse or police station and Malcolm says his piece and point to his followers to walk a certain way and they come to attention like soldiers. Can't find the scene.
Obviously non violent resistence is ideal, but ther comes a point where you do have to defend yourself or die. We have the luxury of looking back on history and knowing the progress that was made before we even open a history book, but they were living it, with no guarantees about if things would get better or worse. Given how the usa has treated black people, it absolutely makes sense that they would look at the situation and decide that the best thing to do is arm themselves. And, it worked. The reality is that MLK was as popular and effective as he was bc Malcolm X also existed. Basically, change was coming to the usa and it could either be MLK's way or Malcolm X's way. People tend to choose the peaceful option in that situation.
There were a lot of black civil rights leaders shot by racist white southerners to maintain white political power. It wasn't a surprise that MLK was assassinated.
8 Comments
IWW4@lemmy.zip · 17 pts · 10h
The guy who assassinated MLK was named James Earl Ray and he was a racist asshole.
Lee Harvey Oswald was assassinated before anyone could find out why he assassinated JFK, if you believe the Oswald is who did it. So one can only speculate.
CTDummy@piefed.social · 10 pts · 9h
I think it was Lindsay Ellis who speculated that in the case of people like Lee Harvey Oswald (and potentially the guy who shot Lenon), it’s about notoriety. Oswald was a loser, who couldn’t hold down a job, thought of more of himself than deserved, was unhappy with how his life was going and wasn’t particularly bright. Due to his time in the military though, he could shoot a rifle.
Time and time again, there a plenty of people who are either contributing nothing to society or less often, are forgotten by it. They become bitter and in some cases are also mentally unwell. So they decide to make their mark by killing people. In the case of celebrities and political figures it’s a mean of forcing their way into the history books. I’m sure some of the time there’s an element of political motivation but it feels secondary it a lot of cases.
seat6@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 10h
JFK I suspect was less about being progressive, but that’s just speculation. I think the more interesting name to add here is “Malcolm X”. It’s crazy/suspicious that we don’t know who did it
Patnou@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 9h
I always wondered about his ideology. I get the goal but taking a militant stance on the subject is just strange. I kinda wonder if at some point his power at least a little bit go to his head. Kind of like what was displayed in the movie by Spike Lee. They are outside a courthouse or police station and Malcolm says his piece and point to his followers to walk a certain way and they come to attention like soldiers. Can't find the scene.
FearMeAndDecay@literature.cafe · 1 pts · 47m
Obviously non violent resistence is ideal, but ther comes a point where you do have to defend yourself or die. We have the luxury of looking back on history and knowing the progress that was made before we even open a history book, but they were living it, with no guarantees about if things would get better or worse. Given how the usa has treated black people, it absolutely makes sense that they would look at the situation and decide that the best thing to do is arm themselves. And, it worked. The reality is that MLK was as popular and effective as he was bc Malcolm X also existed. Basically, change was coming to the usa and it could either be MLK's way or Malcolm X's way. People tend to choose the peaceful option in that situation.
bowsertattoo@piefed.social · 6 pts · 3h
mlk posed a huge threat to the status quo, and was making real progress
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club · 5 pts · 4h
There were a lot of black civil rights leaders shot by racist white southerners to maintain white political power. It wasn't a surprise that MLK was assassinated.
RumorsOfLove@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 9h
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin%E2%80%93Kennedy_meeting
Burn_The_Right@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 9h