How Dare They
How dare they, conservatives are ranting. How dare those Democrats, of all things, of all places, of all times, how dare they mention political issues at Coretta Scott King’s funeral! What scum! How irreverent! Whatever happened to civility and good taste? Those Democrats have no class! Rant! Rant! Rant!
This is an interesting phenomenon, one which started at Paul Wellstone’s funeral, and which you can bet the conservatives were just waiting to pounce on here again. Apparently, when a prestigious liberal leader, an important figure in the progressive movement passes away, Democrats are strictly forbidden to mention anything to do with that person’s politics at their memorial, else the conservatives get all condescending and attack them for having no respect for the dead.
Sorry, but what a stupid stance to take. Coretta Scott King made it her life’s work, like her husband, to fight for civil rights. So how dare those nasty Democrats have the gall to go and mention civil rights at her funeral! She spent decades fighting injustices, so how dare those opportunistic Democrats actually talk about those injustices at the memorial service!
The answer is obvious: that’s what her life was about. That’s what she dedicated herself to, right up to the end. It was fully and greatly appropriate to memorialize her death by saying the things that she would want to have said, to celebrate her causes, to point out the lessons she wanted us to learn.
The real snub, the absolute disservice and disrespect, would have been to silence the voice of this great woman just so George W. Bush wouldn’t be embarrassed by how badly he has done by her dedication and her causes.
Not to mention that in taking on this Democrats-have-no-class attitude, conservatives are being royal hypocrites. Let us not forget the fact that when Reagan died, conservatives held a one-week orgy of politicization.
So if you’re a conservative and you’re offended by what Reverend Joseph Lowery said about weapons of misdirection, then chill out. If you respect Mrs. King, then you will respect the messages she stood for. If those messages make you uncomfortable, then maybe you should sit down and think for a minute about why that is. That would be a respectful memorial.
Update: What’s more, the so-called “liberal” media buys into the conservative view full-blast–when the Reagan binge was going on, the media didn’t question it, but with the King funeral, you see stories like this all over the place. Truly a double standard, and often a vicious one at that.
It would not be a good precedent for conservatives to be able to turn the funerals upon the death of prominent liberals to their advantage.
In the 1960s when liberalism was in its high tide, and Nazisim, Fascism, and KKKism and bigotry was everywhere in retreat, the leader’s with the most charisma got gunned down, almost routinely, to the advantage of the then down and but not quite out conservative movement: JFK, MLK & RFK all gunned down.
Coincedence? I suppose. But first you gunned down JFK, then MLK, then RFK, then you manage to get Nixon in office. Think Nixon would have lasted against RFK? Think there would have been riots in 1968 if there had been no assasinations? I doubt it on both counts.
Now, 40 years later, Repubs are finding political advantage by mocking the outrage and frustration of liberals when one of their own dies. Jeeze thats a dangerous situation where I can see conservatives going after liberals for the sport of it. Not good.
But I am glad that Bush has had to suffer some embarrasing public moments lately: the state of the union and now this. Its the least he should have to suffer for what he has wrought.