In Memoriam: Malcolm X

We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.

While I don't always agree with everything Malcolm X said - especially when it came to fighting bigotry with bigotry - I do understand completely why he said it, and I couldn't agree more with the above statement. As for this need we seem to have nowadays to always agree with everything someone says in order to admire them, I have no idea where it comes from. Probably, as the world becomes safer and more anodyne, this is one of the things we do to re-insert some drama into our lives.

In all honesty, I believe that Malcolm's legacy was to serve as a shadow self to Dr. King; maybe the in-your-face rhetoric of the one scared a few whites who were on the fence in the 1960s into supporting the more touchy-feely agenda of the other, and that's a victory in and of itself.

Today would have been Malcolm's 85th birthday; perhaps if he'd have survived his assassin's bullet, today he'd be a genial old grandfather taking a blue pencil to the more militant speeches he gave in consideration of his legacy, an option denied to him on that day in February 1965 when he fell. Then again, he might still be as fiery as ever, a feisty old firebrand giving publicity whores like Al Sharpton the occasional stern what-for.

Merely considering it, though, is the best way I can think of honouring his memory today.
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