To the Editor:
I was reading the comics section of the Daily Sun and saw that the Mallard Fillmore comic (which is a joke as it hasn’t had anything comical in it for the last ten years) had a comment comparing Trump with Martin Luther King Jr. Now, I could send a letter to the Daily Sun, but it would be a complete waste of time as they don’t print any letters anyway.
I am not going to compare the lives and deeds of the two men, but am going to point out the behavior of one specific day in each of their lives.
Aug. 28, 1963: King speaks to an estimated 250,000 in front of the Capitol, and delivers his I have a Dream speech, continuing his consistent message of peaceful protests.
Jan. 6, 2001: Trump speaks to an estimated 25,000 people at the Capitol and urges them to “fight like hell, because if you don’t, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
Now I want you to switch the speeches: suppose King had said those words that Trump had spoken, and that he was the one walking with the crowd up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol. And police were pushed out of the way, maybe some people dying along the way. Would King have been seen as a hero to the American establishment? Do you think that had he lived, MLK would have been a nominee for the next presidency? Pretty sure he would have rotted in jail, more probably hanged as a traitor.
Comparing Trump to a deeply religious leader who saw that violence would not be an answer to the problems of America is an insult to the intelligence of every American. Trump displayed bully behavior, and the Republican party should be ashamed that they stood by and rewarded him for those deeds. Jan 6 will always be a stain on Trump’s legacy, and it will never be erased.
Phil Sutton
Village of Belle Aire
