4 ms·

"So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be." Everytime I hear or read this line I get chills down my back.

by physcab 17y ago

"So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be." Everytime I hear or read this line I get chills down my back. He took a word with an incredibly negative connotation (still remains true today) and turned it into a call for action. This is how I imagine true leaders-- people who listen to their criticisms, but use their intellect and common sense to turn their perceived weaknesses into strengths.

anamax 17y ago
"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"
- redcap 17y ago
  Actually had to look that one up only to find that it was by an American politician I'd barely heard about (Barry Goldwater). It's a really good line, and it seems he turned into a figurehead for the Libertarians. It just strikes me as funny that there's no room in American politics for a 3rd party.
unalone 17y ago
The connotation exists, mind, because most people who are labelled with the term are so labelled because they've lost some touch with reality. Mind you, protesting for basic human rights, that's not extreme. It was seen as extreme at the time, but that's moderate. Similarly, some protests today, like the "don't let companies rob us because we're dying" protests, might be called extreme by the "other side", but they're not really extreme. That's a rational cause and most of the people protesting for it are rational people. On the other hand, last year I participated in a handful of protests, largely because I had nothing better to do, and there you find real extremists. You find people who think that the Jews are all part of a conspiracy to kill nonJews, and you get the people who think organizations of any time are detrimental to society, and you get the antitech people. I remember posting once on a friend's wall that while I appreciated her passion in supporting gay rights, I couldn't help but think gay rights parades were obnoxious and hurting the cause. A friend of hers in turn responded in a rant that said I couldn't possibly understand society if I was heterosexual, I was probably a repressed homosexual, I was actively harming his existence by living, and I was a pretentious bourgeoise without a mind. In response to that unwarranted rant, I decided to become an extremist moderate. My intolerance is towards extremists. In the half-year since I decided that, I've found that in every situation I choose to insert myself, I feel I'm fighting for a good cause. People who refuse to listen to the words of their opponents are never wholly the good guys.
- thisrod 17y ago
  I remember posting once on a friend's wall that while I appreciated her passion in supporting gay rights, I couldn't help but think gay rights parades were obnoxious and hurting the cause. That's exactly the position that King's letter rebuts. Where do you think his reasoning starts to go wrong?
  - unalone 17y ago
    The reasoning goes wrong when the parades become less about a bunch of sincere people campaigning for their rights, and becomes more a grotesque parody of what that group looks like in the public eye. I go to a school where there are more gay people than straight people, so I know straight-up how awesome gay people are. I also live in a very conservative town, and I know that a lot of homophobia stems from people not knowing gay people. The more you know, the more you realize they're just like us. So when you're somebody who knows nothing about gay people or gay rights, the right way to get attention is to have more casual protests. Get a large block of people that look normal to peacefully march through a city, looking like everyday citizens. You do not want people in tight leather humping 30-foot-tall dildos, because then they look like freaks and people will lose sympathy for them. My irritations during this argument with this kid were furthered when he claimed that the dildo-humping was essential because gay people are over-the-top like that. I mean, if you're going to protest against unfair depictions of you, don't perpetuate the stereotypes yourself.

by physcab 17y ago

anamax 17y ago

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"

redcap 17y ago
Actually had to look that one up only to find that it was by an American politician I'd barely heard about (Barry Goldwater). It's a really good line, and it seems he turned into a figurehead for the Libertarians. It just strikes me as funny that there's no room in American politics for a 3rd party.

unalone 17y ago

The connotation exists, mind, because most people who are labelled with the term are so labelled because they've lost some touch with reality. Mind you, protesting for basic human rights, that's not extreme. It was seen as extreme at the time, but that's moderate. Similarly, some protests today, like the "don't let companies rob us because we're dying" protests, might be called extreme by the "other side", but they're not really extreme. That's a rational cause and most of the people protesting for it are rational people. On the other hand, last year I participated in a handful of protests, largely because I had nothing better to do, and there you find real extremists. You find people who think that the Jews are all part of a conspiracy to kill nonJews, and you get the people who think organizations of any time are detrimental to society, and you get the antitech people. I remember posting once on a friend's wall that while I appreciated her passion in supporting gay rights, I couldn't help but think gay rights parades were obnoxious and hurting the cause. A friend of hers in turn responded in a rant that said I couldn't possibly understand society if I was heterosexual, I was probably a repressed homosexual, I was actively harming his existence by living, and I was a pretentious bourgeoise without a mind. In response to that unwarranted rant, I decided to become an extremist moderate. My intolerance is towards extremists. In the half-year since I decided that, I've found that in every situation I choose to insert myself, I feel I'm fighting for a good cause. People who refuse to listen to the words of their opponents are never wholly the good guys.

thisrod 17y ago
I remember posting once on a friend's wall that while I appreciated her passion in supporting gay rights, I couldn't help but think gay rights parades were obnoxious and hurting the cause. That's exactly the position that King's letter rebuts. Where do you think his reasoning starts to go wrong?
- unalone 17y ago
  The reasoning goes wrong when the parades become less about a bunch of sincere people campaigning for their rights, and becomes more a grotesque parody of what that group looks like in the public eye. I go to a school where there are more gay people than straight people, so I know straight-up how awesome gay people are. I also live in a very conservative town, and I know that a lot of homophobia stems from people not knowing gay people. The more you know, the more you realize they're just like us. So when you're somebody who knows nothing about gay people or gay rights, the right way to get attention is to have more casual protests. Get a large block of people that look normal to peacefully march through a city, looking like everyday citizens. You do not want people in tight leather humping 30-foot-tall dildos, because then they look like freaks and people will lose sympathy for them. My irritations during this argument with this kid were furthered when he claimed that the dildo-humping was essential because gay people are over-the-top like that. I mean, if you're going to protest against unfair depictions of you, don't perpetuate the stereotypes yourself.