Quote:Valid. I was more talking about only focusing on the various cultural achievements, rather than self-improvement. I am sure everyone heres knows of the proverbial guy who shook the presidents hand and it was the highlight of his life. Well its kind of sad, if that is the only highlight. Why is it sad because the highlight of someone's life is shaking the presidents hand? 


 

I am not saying it is an injustice to celebrate, just don't let it end there. I went to a private highschool we had to come to school on MLK day. Everyone knew that come MLK day, all the black students would skip school and say they were celebrating when most of them were not. Well my Junior year we had a Black SA President who had a convocation the Thursday before MLK day, and he thrashed the black male students especially. He quoted statistics that said that 1 in 4 Black men would be arrested in their life, and went down the aisle counting to 4. He also said that he was having that speech that day because he knew that all the black students would skip on MLK day. He unequivocally advocated that students try to improve themselves and overcome their own limitations rather than just 'celebrating' MLK's life, i.e. He wanted them to live the way MLK said they should live, rather than just pointing to MLK as a 'great man.' Well at my school All of the African American kids attended school on MLK day, and we even had assignments dedicated to the impact he along with other pioneers made on society. I along with other students used sports figures who were inspiring to me.


 

You should have seen the fallout. It was probably one of the best speech's I heard while I was in school, but it got nothing but hate. It was sad. That is what I mean. People shouldn't let other peoples success become an excuse for their own lack of success. He achieved so I don't have to. Its like a reverse denial, I keep pumping up somebody else, so people don't look at me. It like the reverse of making fun of people to make ourselves look less bad. But with either one of these methods, the point seems to be to ignore individual roles and emphasize the other people. Anyway, you have some valid questions, and I don't pretend to have answers to everything, but hope that clarifies. ​Was it one of the best speeches you heard in a while because he "criticized' his own race, but yet you applauded him for recommending people not just celebrate MLK's life? I ask that question because again, many people celebrate those who have achieved milestones and have laid a path of history. As for the rest of this statement, I think you are making a inaccurate broad assumption of how some people view other's success. 


 

I also want to briefly touch on the issue of self-hatred. The other problem with today's society is that if we dont feel comfortable embracing our own cultures for fear of ridicule, many outsiders will try to use the self-hatred tactic to suppress someone's feelings about themselves or how they embrace their culture by labeling them, or try to apply a stereotype.