apparently a bunch of people genuinely believe that once americans found out what was going on in birmingham in 1963 they were horrified by it. they weren’t. they overwhelmingly said they thought the blacks deserved it.
the idea that MLK won by sitting back and waiting for moderates to become outraged by what they saw on tv was written into the history books by white moderates after his death to ensure that no one could repeat his success.
MLK knew that he couldn’t win that way. he didn’t want moderates to love him, he wanted them to fear what might happen if they didn’t come to the table. and white america hated him for it. in 1966 gallup found that 63% of all americans had a negative view of king.
for comparison, that’s a higher disapproval rating than richard nixon had when he resigned. the moderates didn’t coopt king until well after his death.
so yeah if someone pulls out “i would support you if only you were more peaceful/moderate/civil, like MLK” they’re full of shit and absolutely would’ve hated MLK
