Several years ago I remember having a conversation with my parents about Martin Luther King Day. Background: When I was a kid I heard my Dad grumble about why we had to have it as a holiday. When I asked who MLK was, he said something to the effect of, "Oh, he was a rabble-rouser."
Anyway, a few years ago I recounted this conversation to them, and asked why they said that, since they don't seem to have any beef with it now, and my dad said, "We didn't know what all was going on then, the newspapers up here (Northwestern PA) didn't report much. We didn't know about all the killings and beatings and stuff." Whether or not that is entirely truthful, I don't know. Though I am willing to bet there is some truth there.
For my mom's part, she doesn't pay much attention to the news even now, but she did have a brick thrown through the store where she worked (in a small town) during a riot, and didn't understand the situation fully.
Unfortunately neither of them made much effort to find out the reasons for the uproar, beyond what their neighbors said. If they had, they would have been pissed off. My dad has no qualms about disagreeing with people, and my mother has the same streak of "justice for all" and "being a good Christian" that I do (I get it from her).
More after the jump...
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