Will the Real MLK Please Stand Up? Misappropriations of Dr. King by the Right and the Left.

Dr. Jeffrey K. Mann, Professor of Religious Studies at Susquehanna University, presenting on what the Right and the Left miss with regard to the life and legacy of MLK. This presentation was part of the Susquehanna University Annual MLK Teach-In.

[@poling1990]

Its worth noting that the broad goals of these movements represent only a facet of the problem. The other problem comes about when we see policy proposals that are specific but are not realistic or actionable, or in some cases would make the problem worse. These usually come about because those proposing the policy don't have the background necessary to understand the systems they wish to reform. (Perhaps it is this very reasonable lack of understanding about an exceptionally complex system that gives rise to the idea that in order to fix the system it must be torn down).
The "Defund the Police" movement, and the associated specific policies, represents a good example of this. One issue raised is that police do not receive adequate retraining once they graduate the academy. In order to fix this issue one must have the funds to hire additional police so that they can continue to provide the same service but also have folks work through an annual training cycle. Another facet of this is the idea that we would provide skilled social workers, mental health workers, etc to replace the police. I think most folks don't reasonably think that these specialized individuals can replace the functions of a police officer. At the same time it is perfectly reasonable to state that we ask our police to do too much and providing specialized resources that can work in tandem with police would help a great deal. But again this requires additional funding and not less.
Then we come to the flawed idea that proposed solutions require federal (national level) actions. In the case of defending the police this requires the incorrect assumption that all police departments across the nation are somehow one entity or are connected. The simple fact is that the Minneapolis police department is different from the Atlanta PD. They have different training, different laws to enforce, different cultures and police different communities. One issue with the defund the police movement is that it seeks a national fix for a system that is managed and funded at the local and state level. It also assumes that the problems in one department are reflective of the problems in all departments. So on that sense you have policy recommendations that are not only flawed on their conception but the desire to enact them in a broad manner. Again it is a failure to account for the complexity of the system they seek to fix. I think this same mindset can be seen across many of the social and political movements which have spread through our nation in the past few years.

[@poling1990]

I also would say that the point made regarding inherent biases and their association with being racist requires a very broad and inclusive definition of the term racist. The more modern desire to broaden the blanket that this term covers (while also seeking to shield some groups from being defined as racist) is harmful to any cause for social justice. I don't think its a fallacy to try and roughly divide the world into three groups (anti-racist, racist, and everyone else) but it should come with the understanding that the group defines as "everyone else" likely makes up the vast majority of the nation. Its wrong, at least in my view, to try to broaden the definition of racist in order to try and capture as much of the Middle group as possible under that definition. Its even more problematic to try and say that everyone in that middle is a racist by default. It cheapens the meaning of the word. I get that the idea is to try and force people off of the sidelines but the simple reality is that the vast majority of people have more than enough on their plate just living their lives and providing for their families and as such are just not involved in politics or social justice. The contentious nature of these subjects is then plenty to keep the majority of people well away from them on top of that.