# MLK plagiarist page **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 19, 2004, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-plagiarist-page/255820 "2004-07-19T14:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jerryku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc79bd/32.png) [@jerryku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerryku)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-plagiarist-page/255820/1 "2004-07-19T14:17:55Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030502.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030502.html) Hello, I just found the Straight Dope site thanks to a political chatroom. I read the MLK article on plagiarism, and it said that MLK wasn’t a communist. I believe that Dr. King was actually a “democratic socialist”. Here is my webpage on this. [http://balder.prohosting.com/jerryku/redrom/mlk.html](http://balder.prohosting.com/jerryku/redrom/mlk.html) Straight Dope’s statements on King’s sexual behavior were really surprising, and depressing for me ☹ Also, maybe some time Straight Dope can deal with the MLK conspiracy trial results. The King family won a civil trial in which the jury ruled in their favor, saying that the government helped to kill Dr King because of his increasingly radical politics and actions. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-plagiarist-page/255820/2 "2004-07-19T15:26:17Z")
I don’t know why any of this is surprising to you, given that you consider yourself an expert on King (and if you don’t consider yourself one, why did you create that webpage?). This has all been known for a long time. Yes, he was a womanizer. Yes, he plagiarized things in his thesis (a major thing) and in his speeches (a minor thing). Yes, he certainly had problems with capitalism as practiced in the U.S. I’m not so sure that “democratic socialist” is the best term. He wanted more redistribution of wealth through taxes and such, but he didn’t want state ownership of most businesses. ---
**Author:** ![jerryku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc79bd/32.png) [@jerryku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerryku)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-plagiarist-page/255820/3 "2004-07-20T06:02:21Z")
I’m surprised once again! I’m shocked to hear that publishing a webpage on a person requires expertise on a person. Also, my source on the webpage says that Dr.King specifically described himself as a democratic socialist… and his close friends knew him as such. I heard that King was a womanizer, but never to this extent. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-plagiarist-page/255820/4 "2004-07-20T06:12:45Z")
Nevertheless, he was one of the greatest heroes this country has ever had. He was flawed, he was human but he was heroic. Heroism is not defined by perfect character but by what humans do _despite_ their own flaws. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-plagiarist-page/255820/5 "2004-07-20T06:31:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Also, my source on the webpage says that Dr.King specifically described himself as a democratic socialist… and his close friends knew him as such. I knew one of his close friends and I would be interested in knowing which of his friends specifically have said that. You provide no information here about your source or how she or he would have access to this information about how Dr. King described his own politics. It’s not that there is anything particularly wrong with being a _democratic socialist_. That pretty well describes my own beliefs. What do you think it means? My heroes have never been perfect. Gee, I don’t think I would put up a website about someone that I knew so little about.