Martin Luther King Jr. vs Gary

I find it interesting just how hard it is to get your message out into the media. I repeat the same message a thousand times and still some media outlets get it wrong.

The latest example of this problem is the Hamilton Spectator story yesterday called, "Caledonia activist urges 50 to join him in jail" This story is so poorly done that I refused to link it from my site.

There are many news stories on my site that say many negative things about me. I have no problem with these types of stories - people have the right to their views.

The problem with the Spectator story is that it is presented as if they got the information from me and therefore, the facts they present represent my views. Many details that have already been published appear to be suddenly changed by the Spectator. Now we are all humans and we all make mistake so in many ways I understand why some facts are reported wrongly.

The Spectator claims that Mark & I were held overnight by the OPP - quite untrue. Mark Vandermaas was released after a few hours. They also state that I was naked for the whole time while in jail - also quite untrue.

But the most serious problem with the story is that it claims that I compare myself to Martin Luther King Jr. This is a gross misrepresentation of my views. I am not Martin Luther King Jr. and I do not see myself as him.

I see that history often repeats itself because people fail to learn the lessons that those who came before us fought so hard to teach us. I need not compare myself to some great war hero who paid the price for Canadian freedom to appreciate and quote from such a hero.

The fact that I see the greatness of such people like Dr. King and am willing to learn from their life, their example of peaceful protest and their committment to a cause does not mean that I see myself as Dr. King. Many people followed Dr. King without believing that they were Dr. King. Many people quote from Dr. King without believing they are Dr. King.

I am truly amazed by the Black struggle in the South and have been for 20 years. Here we have a group of people who experienced violence for generations and who created a movement based on Justice and Peaceful protest. No matter how much evil the KKK and White Supremacists threw at them they remained peaceful.

The whole country was changed without the use of weapons, without the need for violence and without the need for racial attacks against those who were oppressing them. It wasn't just that Dr. King spoke about peace and conducted himself in a peaceful way, but the Black people agreed with and followed his example. Dr. King set an example for all of us to learn, that you focus on the system that created the Two Tier Justice.

Dr. King was proud to be an American and as far as I can tell he held no hatred toward "white" people. As a Christian he was able to speak out against the injustice without harbouring anger in his heart towards "white" people.

Truly Amazing!

Imagine if we could do the same - speak out against the injustice without harbouring any anger toward Native people. Quite the standard to live up to but one worth living up to.

I do not see myself as Dr. King, but will openly admit that with all the talk of possible violent reaction, we all can learn from and admire a person who has proven that Peaceful Protect is the ONLY way to cause real change.

This is Martin Luther King Jr. week and there are many shows on him and the Civil Rights Movement in the USA. This great man set a standard that all of us should learn from and follow anywhere we see Two Tier Justice. Where justice is not applied equally there truly is no justice, and as Dr. King stated, justice denied anywhere is justice denied everywhere.