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> Suffice it to say MLK can hardly be said to represent the sentiments of all black Americans, let alone all Americans. Let's not even say that, he was just a
by vlod 6y ago
> Suffice it to say MLK can hardly be said to represent the sentiments of all black Americans, let alone all Americans.
Let's not even say that, he was just a person who was trying to communicate how we should treat each other. It's easy to label him to a group and start saying he does/doesn't represent that group. Let's keep it simple and say he was 'Homo sapien'.
I find the association between cultural identity and the color of ones skin a simplistic way of looking at things.
"Blackness"/"Whiteness" are so overloaded and it often brings confusion.
Being a s/w engineer I immediately went to edge cases, where skin color can muddle the waters:
- Elon Musk was born in S.Africa and living in the US. Is he African American? Technically yes.
- A black French person, raised by white French parents, living in the US would refer to himself as French.
- A white French person, raised by black French parents, living in the US would refer to himself as French.
I'm a white Englishman who's living in the US, but there's not a chance you can say I'm the same as a classic white born American.
Heck my parents are not English, so you'd be hard pressed to compare me to a 'standard' Englishman.
Ultimately I try and view MLK 'spirit' of the talk, which is are you a good/bad character (irrespective of your upbringing) and that's how you should be judged.
Edit: formating
- malandrew 6y ago> Elon Musk was born in S.Africa and living in the US. Is he African American? Technically yes. I believe that makes him just African, not African-American.