From: Olga Bourlin (fauxever@sprynet.com)
Date: Sun Jun 01 2003 - 00:06:12 MDT
From: "Harvey Newstrom" <mail@HarveyNewstrom.com>
> Olga Bourlin wrote,
> > Certainly, I can understand why a 13-year-old would think that (most
> > teenagers are prone to narcissism, anyway - it's probably even an
> > important developmental step).
>
> Also remember that this boy is still in the formative stages gathering
> input. He just finished his degree. He has been learning everything
given
> to him. I have no doubt that he excelled in his learning of the Bible and
> church studies as well. He has not yet gotten to the stage where he is
> questioning what he has learned or started producing new ideas to replace
> the old ideas yet. That comes with experience.
You're right.
Even as I initially brought up Greg Smith, I was thinking of the whole issue
of who gets to bat the ball - who gets the TV coverage, book deals, Larry
King Show, etc. No uppity people need apply. No boat rockers.
And, talk protective coloration. In Taylor Branch's first biography of
Martin Luther King - Branch wrote of how there had been many qualified
candidates for black leadership positions, but that it was important for the
"Negro leader" role to be filled by a person perceived to be a "man of god."
In essence, the United States needed *a* Martin Luther King, Jr. On the
world's stage, it was embarrassing that the United States practiced
segregation, and the Bible Belt wasn't going to give up its old wicked
habits without a fight. So, a *religious* (read: "safe") leader was
essentially given the helm to aid the *U.S.* out of this embarrassing
situation (of being an alleged democracy where democracy was not truly
practiced). MLK didn't just aid black people - he saved the US from being a
laughingstock.
It was all rather orchestrated ... even the incident with Rosa Parks.
Although the incident was the real deal, there had been other incidents like
that over the years, but Rosa Parks was "chosen" as a good representative
martyr/victim. She was "sympathetic" (read: "safe").
Olga
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