Pseudo Shaming, Self Righteously

THE ESSAY "Hiding Racism In a Glass House" seems to have engendered some degree of controversy. The controversy derives from a single allegation: that this website allegedly used the Martin Luther King holiday, his approximate birthday, to attack Donald Trump and to attack conservative ideology, and that there is something shameful about this. Actually, this website used the occasion to attack racism, particularly the widespread hatred of King among conservatives when King was alive and the blatant racism displayed by Donald Trump throughout his life. What better occasion to attack racism than on King's day of commemoration? In point of fact, this website vigorously criticizes both Trump and the conservative movement in general nearly daily, and hardly needs to take advantage of any particular occasion to do so, and therefore does not. This website is perfectly willing to criticize Trump and conservatism in general on anyone's birthday, indiscriminately. Arguably, it was Trump himself who took full advantage of the King holiday to perform a gesture of admiration of King; anyone who wishes to may honor Dr. King on any day of the year. The article here was about racism, Trump, and conservatism, not King. It could further be argued that the United States of America, and by extension everyone in it, takes advantage of King's birthday; for a three day weekend. Rarely does the King holiday actually fall on King's true birthday, January 16, or something, and then, only by sheer chance. Heaven forbid that we should celebrate King annually on his actual birthday, which every year falls on a different day of the week, often in the middle of the week or on weekends, thus forcing us to forego our three consecutive days off work. Methinks those who protest any "shameful exploitation" of King's holiday doth protest too much, by protesting at all, and it has a hollow ring of self righteous, feigned outrage. One particularly prideful complainer pointed out that he can name several conservative who in fact respect King, and for that he presumably deserves the congratulations he seems to seek for his ability, to quote Jefferson in another context, to extract diamonds from a pile of dung. Doubtless there are many conservatives, even millions of conservatives, somewhere, who respect and cherish King's memory today. While King was alive, there were not, and all hatred of King, then and now, derives from within the conservative community, which enjoys considerable membership. as does racism generally, which was the actual point made in the previous essay. Goethe said that nobody is sufficiently fortunate to escape either praise or blame. Martin Luther King was blamed and hated far too much while he was alive, and has been praised far too lavishly since his tragic, premature death, like Abraham Lincoln, like many people. Such is human nature. King, like millions of other good people, embraced and stood bravely for a just and noble cause, the cause of human dignity and equality. It is that cause which we should celebrate and commemorate, not any particular individual. In the spirit of that noble cause, let us replace Martin Luther King Day with "Racial Equality and Justice Day". It is possible that King would agree. He was a humble man, not given to feigned, self righteous praising, blaming, nor complaining.