Comment and Opinion

Martin Luther King Jr. – An Historical Examination
(This site disappeared in 2003, but in 2010 I was advised that it had returned. It is now much more obvious in its intent.)
(Disappeared again in 2013. Gone forever? We can only hope so. The link now goes to the Web Archive copy.)

This site was Highly Commended in the 2002 Millenium Awards. The citation read:

See someone else's comments about this here.

Speaking of Martin Luther King … (30/8/2003)
One of the Highly Commended sites in the 2002 Millenium Awards was a hoax site created by the racists at Stormfront which pretended to be some sort of official Martin Luther King site. It was very nicely done, looked professional, and consisted of much malicious gossip and derogatory "news" items about Dr King. To sentient beings, whether Dr King was an adulterous boozehound or not is irrelevant to the validity of his messages about tolerance and equality. He was not, after all, tub-thumping about morality and then getting caught leaving brothels with his shoes in his hand while bleating about "just providing pastoral care" to the unfortunate ladies within, like so many other preachers. His campaign was civil rights, and his personal life had nothing to do with this unless it conflicted with those ideals. On the other hand, racists need every lie and innuendo they can find to attack opponents, because they can't rely on the logical and intellectual vacuum of their philosophy.

The Stormfront hoax site is no more. By pure coincidence, I found out that it had disappeared when I ran a regular link check on the day which happened to be the 40th anniversary of Dr King delivering his famous "I have a dream" speech. It would be nice to assume that the Stormfront nazis had closed this deceitful site so as not to offend decent people, but it would also be nice if I were to be fabulously wealthy, irresistible to potential sexual partners, and simultaneously at the top of the world tennis rankings, the Formula 1 drivers' championship table and the Billboard album charts. And just about as likely.

[In 2010 I was advised that the site was back. The new version is much less deceptive, but still could be mistaken for an official King site.]

Some of the visitors (5/11/2005)
The program which analyses visitor statistics also tells me where people come from to get here, and one place which featured highly during October was a discussion forum on the racist Stormfront site. What had brought them here was something I said back in August 2003, when I was commenting on the disappearance of a hoax site that Stormfront had once made about Martin Luther King. The particular words which knotted their underpants most were "[to] sentient beings, whether Dr King was an adulterous boozehound or not is irrelevant to the validity of his messages about tolerance and equality". Apparently I was being duplicitous (they, of course, did not use such a big word) by giving King some sort of free pass for bad behaviour, as it was assumed that I would not grant such a courtesy to David Duke. I have to say first up that I have never heard any rumours about David Duke being either a womaniser (or even a maniser) or a booze abuser, but if I did I wouldn't care. I apply the same rules to everyone – unless their behaviour is evidence of hypocrisy because it contradicts their preaching I don't care what people do, what parts of their body they do it with, or to whom they do it, as long as it isn't harming anyone. King's message was in what he said about people's rights, just as the message from the head of the Ku Klux Klan is in what he says about people's rights. The only slight difference is that I might think less of King if I found out that he was a child molester but I find it hard to imagine what I would have to find out about Duke that would lower my estimation of him. Absolute zero is absolute zero.

(While looking for a picture of the KKK in action I came across the lovely cartoon at the left. It almost makes me want to believe in Heaven so that I can imagine it coming true.)