Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
To say that he was a bigot is flat out incorrect! Malcolm shaped his words and actions based on his experiences and on how he was taught.
I read his autobiography. He called whites 'devil white man' more times than I can count. Are you saying his autobiography was forged, or that 'devil white man' isn't a bigoted term?
Bobby Shelton shaped his words and actions the same way. And he was a class A bigot, too.
But aren't those rationalizations for Malcom's racist outlooks rather than a denial that he did promote such stances?
If there was a white person who employed the "N" word frequently, who expressed contemptuous opinions of African Americans as a collective, who claimed that mixed marriages were an offense against the Christian god and that school desegregation was the worst mistake the nation has ever made, would it not be reasonable to term this person a bigot?
Now, if on behalf of this person I explain that he grew up in impoverished circumstances with ill educated parents who were also bigots, that this person was beaten and robbed by some black kids when he was a teenager, and that he once lost out on a job he was trying to get because it went to an affirmative action hire instead, would you conclude that the person in question wasn't a bigot at all? Just someone who was shaped by "his experiences and on how he was taught."?
That seems to be what you are claiming for M X
A bigot is such for a reason. As indicated, he has had some experiences that influenced his choice of bigotry.
Malcolm was nowhere near that of a bigot. I stand behind my argument that Malcolm's experiences influenced his thought. However, that does not make him a bigot.
As for integration, it was Malcolm's argument that integration/desegregation, presented a lot of problems. While integration/desegregation is correct, let's be real: the results were not always good, like racial flight (parents pulling their kids out of the school system because "the school is going bad") or racial beatdowns once the student gets to the school.
I read his autobiography. He called whites 'devil white man' more times than I can count. Are you saying his autobiography was forged, or that 'devil white man' isn't a bigoted term?
Bobby Shelton shaped his words and actions the same way. And he was a class A bigot, too.
Words shaped by Elijah Muhammad. And when Malcolm left the nation and went to Mecca, his views changed!
I read his autobiography. He called whites 'devil white man' more times than I can count. Are you saying his autobiography was forged, or that 'devil white man' isn't a bigoted term?
Bobby Shelton shaped his words and actions the same way. And he was a class A bigot, too.
You have to consider that it was not uncommon for some black people in Malcolm X's generation to have never met a white person who didn't hate them, where as on the other hand, It is common for white people like Robert Shelton to hate Black people although they never met one.
You have to consider that it was not uncommon for some black people in Malcolm X's generation to have never met a white person who didn't hate them, where as on the other hand, It is common for white people like Robert Shelton to hate Black people although they never met one.
Why someone hates people over their skin color is irrelevant to whether they are a bigot or not. They are. That's one of the definitions of a bigot.
Words shaped by Elijah Muhammad. And when Malcolm left the nation and went to Mecca, his views changed!
Who shaped them does not change whether they are bigoted or not. If someone calls an Hispanic by a hateful racial slur, for example, the caller's childhood experiences do not make him or her not a bigot.
As for Mecca: I read about that, too, and all I got from it was: "Wow! Hurrah! There can exist white people who aren't devils! I see the light!" I will grant that the experience taught him that not all whites deserved his hatred. Which would be sort of like Bobby Shelton admitting that while the rest of the black race were still a bunch of [racial slur of your choice], his neighbor DeShawn was actually a pretty okay guy. Doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the [r s o y c] aren't a bunch of [r s o y c], just that a few of them might be okay. Shelton would still be a bigot, just slightly less of one, if the measure of bigotry is how deeply and how universally one hates people different than one.
If you took Malcolm X's book, and replaced 'white' with 'black' every time, you'd call it hate literature. Flaming hate literature. It would be banned all over the place.
There are arguments you could make in his behalf, and I do not know why you are not making them, rather than the one you can't possibly win.
A bigot is such for a reason. As indicated, he has had some experiences that influenced his choice of bigotry.
Malcolm was nowhere near that of a bigot. I stand behind my argument that Malcolm's experiences influenced his thought. However, that does not make him a bigot.
As for integration, it was Malcolm's argument that integration/desegregation, presented a lot of problems. While integration/desegregation is correct, let's be real: the results were not always good, like racial flight (parents pulling their kids out of the school system because "the school is going bad") or racial beatdowns once the student gets to the school.
You have pretty much recycled your original post, but I don't see any explanation for why MX should escape being labeled a bigot. You seem to be arguing that there is no such thing as a bigot anywhere because experience excuses such attitudes. Do you hand out this same pass for KKK members?
Ah yes, I remember being in college when the first rodney king jury verdict came out.
My friend, an actual real life pacifist and all around nice guy, got beaten for being white and walking on the street by a mob, some wearing that fabulous X hat. Oh yeah and he wasn't walking in compton, watts....but rather was beaten by black students attending the University of Illinois, one of the better public universities in the nation. I wonder how many of those proud individuals now aged 40ish feel about their past actions?
Ironically most of the morons wearing the trendy (at one time) X hat probably thought he was killed by a white guy.
Why someone hates people over their skin color is irrelevant to whether they are a bigot or not. They are. That's one of the definitions of a bigot.
It wasn't the color of their skin per. se., but the way every one with white skin treated Black people. I myself was quite old before I learned that every one with white skin wouldn't sick their dog on me, throw rocks at me, gang up on me and run, or call me names from the comfort of their porch. That was how I first formed my opinion of "The White People" Some where I read that the word "Apache" means "those who always fight us" Only the the Klan has an irrational hate for black people for the color of their skin. I would argue that Why some one hates another person is not irrelevant but important as it can lead to the root of what a person fears about the person they hate and if that hate is rational or irrational
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oh yeah and he wasn't walking in compton, watts....but rather was beaten by black students attending the University of Illinois, one of the better public universities in the nation. I wonder how many of those proud individuals now aged 40ish feel about their past actions?
