# Let's pit Martin Luther King! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 16, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016 "2015-01-16T20:05:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/1 "2015-01-16T20:05:37Z")
So here we go again. Endless “I have a dream” clips. Every politician bending over backwards to show their love for this useless turd. Endless bullshit about “Doctor King” Hell, some pastors will even call him a saint. The idea of MLK being considers a saint makes me want to vomit a lung. Martin Luther King was a despicable human being. Dr. Seuss is more entitled to use the Doctor title than Mr. King. King cheated in college by plagiarizing his dissertation. His doctorate should be stripped. King also embezzled money, some of which was used to hire prostitutes. This so called reverend is just as bad as Jimmy Swaggart. We don’t have a holiday for Swaggart Day. Admittedly, his wife was an obnoxious bitch in her own right. Was he a communist? Probably. I’d love to get my hands on the sealed FBI files. I’m sure there’s even more reasons to hate Mr. King . Every time I see his ugly face pop up on TV screens for the next 3 days, I’ll be extending him the middle finger salute. Not worthy of a holiday , not worthy of the worship he receives, just a huckster self promoter. > **[Was Martin Luther King, Jr. a plagiarist?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343582/was-martin-luther-king-jr-a-plagiarist)** ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/2 "2015-01-16T20:08:39Z")
I predict this Pittiing will go well for you. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/3 "2015-01-16T20:09:46Z")
Fail. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/4 "2015-01-16T20:11:49Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Was he a communist? [Probably](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King#King_and_the_U.S._government) [not.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.#Allegations_of_communism) ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/5 "2015-01-16T20:14:43Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > So here we go again. Endless “I have a dream” clips. Every politician bending over backwards to show their love for this useless turd. Endless bullshit about “Doctor King” Hell, some pastors will even call him a saint. The idea of MLK being considers a saint makes me want to vomit a lung. > > Martin Luther King was a despicable human being. Dr. Seuss is more entitled to use the Doctor title than Mr. King. King cheated in college by plagiarizing his dissertation. His doctorate should be stripped. > > King also embezzled money, some of which was used to hire prostitutes. This so called reverend is just as bad as Jimmy Swaggart. We don’t have a holiday for Swaggart Day. Admittedly, his wife was an obnoxious bitch in her own right. > > Was he a communist? Probably. I’d love to get my hands on the sealed FBI files. I’m sure there’s even more reasons to hate Mr. King . > > Every time I see his ugly face pop up on TV screens for the next 3 days, I’ll be extending him the middle finger salute. Not worthy of a holiday , not worthy of the worship he receives, just a huckster self promoter. > > [Was Martin Luther King, Jr. a plagiarist? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2449/was-martin-luther-king-jr-a-plagiarist) Those moral failings didn’t stop him from, in concert with others, achieving the greatest moral victory of the twentieth century. So why should I care about his failings? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/6 "2015-01-16T20:22:17Z")
After a few centuries as an inhabited continent one of our icons was bound to have non-admirable qualities in addition to the ones for which he or she is revered. I knew this intellectually, but I just didn’t think it would happen so soon! And especially since what we celebrate about MLK is his academic integrity and marital fidelity. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/7 "2015-01-16T20:24:03Z")
I’m never 100% sure of the motivations of people who post shit like this. I mean, one possible motive is obvious, but there are others. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/8 "2015-01-16T20:24:30Z")
Did you read Cecil’s last paragraph: “…neither King’s sexual wanderings nor his scholarly misdeeds detract from his core achievement. By continually publicizing black grievances while putting a palatable, nonviolent face on resistance to jim crow, King paved the way for the landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s and a major turnaround in public attitudes about race. But there’s no getting around the fact that he was a complex and deeply flawed man. Was he a great American? No argument here. Was he a fraud and a hypocrite? He was that, too.” If you’re going to vilify frauds and hypocrites, please cancel President’s Day too. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/9 "2015-01-16T20:24:55Z")
Yeah, not really on board with this one. I’d suggest **dalej42** “discover” that he left the Dope open on his work computer, and that this pitting is the work of a prankster. Hey, it worked for **Hal Briston**! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/10 "2015-01-16T20:27:59Z")
The greatest moral victory of the 20th century was the Allies defeating the Axis powers. I’d support an FDR holiday, hopefully without the political correct wheelchair. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/11 "2015-01-16T20:31:22Z")
I would suggest that the greatest example of personal courage would be posting on an internet message board. For the OP, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Boogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Boogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boogly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/12 "2015-01-16T20:32:53Z")
I’m pretty sure that was a military victory. What about Columbus Day? Is Columbus worthy of your middle finger as well? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/13 "2015-01-16T20:33:03Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > The greatest moral victory of the 20th century was the Allies defeating the Axis powers. I’d support an FDR holiday, hopefully without the political correct wheelchair. I know (online) a lot of RWs who would object to that; they think FDR was the most evil American ever. It’s not (well, sometimes, but usually not) about the war, it’s about the New Deal. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/14 "2015-01-16T20:35:11Z")
[The man was no lightweight.](http://youtu.be/fAtsAwGreyE) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/15 "2015-01-16T20:40:35Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > The greatest moral victory of the 20th century was the Allies defeating the Axis powers. I’d support an FDR holiday, hopefully without the political correct wheelchair. So where do you rank the granting of long overdue civil rights to a large group of citizens? And who do you give credit to? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/16 "2015-01-16T20:47:41Z")
Just another pitting of MLK by the OP. He does this almost every year since he’s been here. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/17 "2015-01-16T20:55:23Z")
Well, it’s good to have a hobby. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/18 "2015-01-16T21:00:16Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > So where do you rank the granting of long overdue civil rights to a large group of citizens? > > And who do you give credit to? I give credit to Lyndon Johnson. If King hadn’t been assassinated, he’d be seen with the same level of skepticism as Jesse Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/19 "2015-01-16T21:02:08Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’d support an FDR holiday, hopefully without the political correct wheelchair. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone describe a _medical appliance_ as being “politically correct” before. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016/20 "2015-01-16T21:02:26Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I give credit to Lyndon Johnson. If King hadn’t been assassinated, he’d be seen with the same level of skepticism as Jesse Jackson. Johnson was at the end of a long process. All he had to do was sign the bill into law. What and who got the ball rolling? And who was the leader in the movement? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-martin-luther-king/710016.md?page=2)