General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: W/ Respect to Baltimore and Freddie Gray. Have you forgotten the origins of the US? [View all]wiggs
(7,788 posts)time in our recent past...Thurston Clarke's 'The Last Campaign', about three months of the RFK campaign in the 60's. Amazing book, amazing candidate and person in RFK. But at that time there was extreme civil unrest, killing of blacks (including leaders like MLK), wealth inequality, unjust war, public health debates. REALLY striking parallels to our time now. The sad thing is we are arguing about many of the same issues! But RFK was able to knit various interests together, create coalitions of unlikely bedfellows because he was truthful, honest, authentic, and realistic. He not only spoke truth to power...but even as a representative of the powerful he spoke the truth. He admittedly had money and everything in life that one could ask for and said as much during his campaign speeches...but he spent the most time and effort with the poor and suffering...learning, seeing, feeling, understanding.
RFK's approach was that he refused to talk just about law and order to white audiences and just about civil justice to black or poor audiences. He courageously stayed in reality and talked about both justice and law and order wherever he went. He was authentically compassionate but had civil order creds...was apparently becoming a rock star 'change' politician prior to his assassination.
He was refreshing then and would be even more so now. Tragic for our country that he wasn't able to serve as president. I highly recommend the book for not only historical perspective but for insight into our own current state of the nation.
Re the OP...He did not think violence was necessary, but he thought a revolution was. More so a moral revolution than an armed one. More so inspiration to do something productive than to do something destructive. It was GIANT change without blood (he had witnessed enough blood, of course).