January 17, 2011
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You Can Thank James Earl Ray For Getting Monday Off
Today I want you to take the time to thank James Earl Ray for your day off.
Without him, you would have to work or go to school. He assassinated Martin Luther King who was involved in the civil rights movement. And because of that assassination, you get a day off.
Now in most cases, we don’t take off complete days for one single person in the U.S. You have Jesus. We get two days for Him. We celebrate His birth. We also celebrate the fact He was risen from the dead. But Jesus was God and He was involved in creation and He came to the Earth to die for our sins. That is a pretty big deal.
But the rest of our holidays do not center around a person. You have Thanksgiving which revolved around the successful stealing of Indian land. You have Memorial Day which is all about remember those who sacrificed for our country with their lives.
But only Martin Luther King gets a national holiday dedicated to him. We get a day off because James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King and white guilt causes us to sort of make up for it.
I am not sure that Martin Luther King’s contribution was significantly greater than so many others who even died for our country. If you have any black friends (or you just happen to see one), make sure you mention the important contribution of James Earl Ray. They will appreciate your sense of history.
Be sure and take time today to reflect on James Earl Ray and his contribution to your day off.
Comments (117)
I’m celebrating Robert E. Lee’s birthday on Wednesday
tsk tsk, Dan.
Well this ought to get a few responses!
Haha Dan
<3
Fuck you.
Any time the Democrats do something there is always a nefarious political motive. In this case, keeping black people stuck on stupid voting Democrat forever and ever. Nevertheless, civil rights awareness took a great leap forward due to Martin Luther King and that does deserve a holiday, imnsho.
So, as handsome and debonair as is Southern Man, James Earl Ray, I will not be giving him a second thought tomorrow.
I’ll thank James Earl Jones instead.
@NightCometh - I’m celebrating Robert E. Lee’s birthday on Wednesday
I doubt many Germans celebrate Hitler’s birthday, and this is despite whatever amount of regional patriotism they may or may not feel.
It’s just another day in my book. Like any other day.
@Celestial_Teapot - Lee was a Christian an extremely admirable man. You should look into his life a bit
Woooow, Dan. You’re too funny.
@NightCometh - Sure. He graduated near the top of his class at West Point. Was a hero in the Spanish-American war. Got his ass kicked in 1863 in Gettysburg and bowed his head in 1865 at Appomattox Court House.
The point, though, was that he fought for the wrong side of history. When he led the Army of Northen Virignia, it was for slavery and secession.
It is fucking vile that you bring his memory in this context. Jim Crow and racial discrimination is a direct legacy of Southern antebellum. As bad as it was with a defeated South, I shudder to think if General Lee and Jefferson Davis actually pulled through.
In 1978, a small group of Irish-Americans, of no discernible means of support, decided they would approach Louise Day Hicks, a local Blue Dog Democrat in Boston, about establishing James Earl Ray Day, as a “white man’s statement”. Hicks booted them all out, as Boston was just at that point recovering from the racial tensions over busing.
Wow… only 7 comments before Godwin’s law came into play.
Well, we used to devote entire days to Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. But I guess those don’t count anymore, since they don’t exist anymore.
i read this to my mother and she laughed.
Who gets the day off? I sure don’t….and neither does my hubby.
I sense several hate comments to come.
You’re improving all the time.
@Celestial_Teapot -Actually, I’m not sure he was those himself. He only joined the Confederate because of his love of his home state over his country sadly.And other soldiers joined probably for the same reason.. And I believe Lee didn’t like secession himself but again, he loved his state and thus followed suit with that. Unfortunately, he allied himself with the wrong side but who could tell then? I believe the Confederate was winning for a time and the Union was actually not winning anything. A side that actually stood for those things..but I think the greater issue was states rights more than anything. Slavery was just the rallying cry because the south practiced that subjugation of an entire people, unlike the north. And I believe Lincoln used that to his advantage, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Just my 2 cents though =D I’ve been studying the Civil War for a few years now..it’s very interesting and just very deep.
The only other person I can imagine writing such a disgustingly racist post is Sarah Palin herself.
And without him we wouldn’t have NBA games in the afternoon tomorrow. What a tribute!
@SKANLYN - and what makes you think Palin is racist?
@greenbird321 - Oh I don’t know, maybe the fifty billion racists things she’s said.
@SKANLYN - such as? And please cite your sources, if you can scrounge up any examples.
@SKANLYN - For the record, I am:
a) a woman of color
b) a former liberal, now a conservative Independent
c) not a fan of Palin, though I agree with her stances on most issues
@greenbird321 - While campaigning in St. Louis back in 2008 she praised the Dred Scott decision then said “we need to get them back on the plantations or back on the boat to Africa.” She also said that she and John McCain would make sure that privileged white kids wouldn’t have to go to school with black kids. She’s also made racist remarks about latinos and has called for the extermination of Jews and homosexuals.
@greenbird321 - As a woman of color, pray that Sarah Palin never gets into a position of power.
@SKANLYN - LOL okay, forgive me because I totally thought you were serious when I read your first comment ^.^
@greenbird321 - I am serious and she did say those things (and more).
Now this is some industrial-strength trolling.
@SKANLYN - haha riiight :p
but no, seriously, it’s not funny to even joke about things like that, if you go too far, because there are idiots out there who would believe fictitious quotes like that. and, worse, there are nutjobs who believe in that sort of hateful crap.
g’nite, all!
@Celestial_Teapot - Oh my,has the old huggin com back?
@SKANLYN - sorry bub,if she said that then NO decent human being let alone conservative would’ve voted for her. Geeez!
@Inspectorgrampy5 - That’s standard Republican talk.
@SKANLYN - AAhahahahahaha! And you’re screwy
What we call President’s Day is technically Washington’s Birthday according to legislation.
i generally like your sarcastic tone, but this is just tasteless.
Tomorrow I will celebrate. It was on that day 10 years ago I survived my first stroke. The way I remember that day was that while going to the hospital I stopped by a bank to get some cash from my account and the bank was closed. I am a product of the baby boomer’s and can still remember white water fountains, “coloreds” to the back of the bus, white restaurants, and school segregation. Don’t understand it now, didn’t understand it then. It was the way it was and I am glad it ain’t that way now.
And unlike so many others who died for a good cause, he also had about 10,839,768 roads and highways named after him too.
I don’t have the day off. I will thank James Earl Ray for time and a half pay though
@madhousewife - @Celestial_Teapot - I’m pretty sure Lincoln had slaves. He wasn’t all that much of a saint, really.
MLK day is NOT a holiday and it is NOT a day off. It’s a day for all Americans to serve those less fortunate than themselves. MLK Day is meant to be a National Day of Service in memory of what this man stood for, not who he was.
“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. All you need is a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Do you, Dan, really think that’s such an awful thing?
I swear America has way too many holidays…
@venomxcupcake - Disagree. MOAR HOLIDAYS!!
I think America only has a lot of holidays because they can’t take as many days off as some other countries (1st world ones) can when it comes to sick leave and the like. I do believe we are terribly overworked. Well, a lot of middle to lower middle class.
@NightCometh - Unless you admit that Lee was a white, racist, bigot homophobe @Celestial_Teacups will do to you what he did to me: Spend the next 2 years working 24/7 to prove that you’re a man with multiple fake Xanga accounts. There is only one thing for you to do:
Admit that the South was rescued by those two Northern homosexual heroes, Grant and Sherman. And that Lee acknowledged gay rights for all at Appomattox, which is what the War of North Occupation was all about.
LOL I found this post hilarious even though it might get hate comments.
….”and white guilt causes us to sort of make up for it”
Really???
Today is the 50th anniversary of one of the most ominous and important addresses ever given by a sitting American president. I wish more people were thinking about that instead of Dr. King to be honest. Check it here.
Hope none of yooz guyz went runnin’ around nekkid yesterday. Peace
I thought this said “James Earl Jones”.
I haven’t had MLK day off for several years, though. Last time I had this day off was in 2001, when I was a high school freshman.
passive aggressive much? lol.
honestly, for any minority, he contributed a lot. Even though he’s BLACK, and the civil rights back in the 1960′s were mostly focused on BLACKS… the reality is, the reason why asians, mexicans, indians, middle easterns (w/e you call these folks)…and minorities in general… gets to assume certain rights and standards due to the sacrifices of folks back then… and MLK tends to be the centered individual of said movement.
MLK is the George Washington of the civil rights movement.
and i take every freaking George Washington’s B’day off.. and damn right i get paid more if i work his b’day. MLK is the same thing.
so let’s not belittle MLK’s ideals for this james earl ray(JER?) dude (for a while, i thought you were talking about james earl jones, lol)… b/c if it wasn’t for MLK, many more people may have died or been hurt, than the people you saw back then… and for that, I’m willing to accept higher pay for working his day, or getting a paid day off b/c he said let’s use peaceful protest to get what we want.. and let’s agree, it was the right cause.
today, however, it’s another story.. i have so much angst about the silly PC going on today, i could write a book about the sheer hypocrisy of it. Infact, if MLK was alive today, he may have a word or two against his racial group for the lack of achievement… especially if you compare the harsh conditions that his generation had to face JUST to go to school. ya know?
so let’s celebrate MLK day for the good that man achieved. he stood up against an entire society, and dared them to be better. not b/c they had to, not b/c he forced them, not b/c he sued them… b/c he asked them to dream a better society where more social equality could be achieved for future generations…
for that alone, i will give him props.
(and come on… can you imagine darth vader with anyone’s voice other than james earl jones just b/c he wasn’t white???
Just another day at work for me, but the first black guy I see I’ll be sure to mention Mr. Ray’s contribution. Just hope he’s not a whole lot bigger than me!
@NightCometh - And one other thing. @Celestial_Teapot - will continue to troll you mercilessly, 24/7 until you give in. Kind of like the crazy version of Sherman’s March to the sea.
But rest assured, Xanga doesn’t care about deranged stalkers. They care more about people like me who REALLY cause disruption. Evidently, I pissed off the Christians over on Revelife so bad they had my IP blocked.
TheoDan = FUCKTARD.
Oh, and your Jesus rising from the dead is hardly a fact. LOL!
where’d you get a photo of my dad?
@godfatherofgreenbay - LOL!!!
@LoBornlytesThoughtPalace - i love you so much loborne, not just because I’M a huge-ass brown-noser but i love you for you!
I don’t get the day off! Found out my coworker is racist on Friday. She said “Why don’t we have like Abe Lincoln Day?” and I responded, “I think he falls into the category for President’s Day.”
She said, “Oh, well, I think they just do M.L.K. Day to please the blacks.”
Good God. I hate Oklahoma sometimes.
Lightning rod blogging is beneath you, Dan? Guess not. But then I’m guilty of it too.
I mourn the loss of our Washington and Lincoln national holidays to the nearly- meaningless Presidents Day. Washington led our new nation into battle for the proposition that all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights by Our Creator. Lincoln advanced that same cause. But so did Martin Luther King, Lyndon B Johnson and many, many others — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — who understood what it really means to be an American.
@buddly47 - Yeah, and any damages to yourself or your property that results from that, you can send the bill to Danny boy here, right? What a piece of work. Well, more like a piece of shit. Him, not you, of course.
Nice satire! H doesn’t get that you’re joking, Dan. I really hope you’re joking and I’m almost positive you are.
I would expect nothing less
@X_no_one_like_my_lover_nick_X - I do get that he’s joking. That’s hardly an excuse that exonerates him. The fact that he’s not getting massively unfriended, and that there are comments here that do not call him out on this disgusting behavior is pretty sad.
Hmm, I didn’t think my pot needed stirring today…
Hahaha….I love nigger jokes!!!
Dan, you can be a real jerk sometimes.
@RoverMoon - I think you mean George Washington. And I never claimed anyone was a saint, just that there used to be two other people who got whole days devoted to their honor, not just Jesus and Dr. King.
@UnblemishedHonesty - That’s right. The contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. are very important to the history of the U.S. in making things better for all people of all ethnicities, not just for Blacks only The wrongs that needed to be righted were terrible societal conditions that thankfully are not around in the present. I’ll always be grateful to him, all those who fought alongside him in the Civil Rights movement, and to everyone else throughout history who fought to make sure that all people wouldn’t suffer oppression and injustice and to uphold the common good.
Theologian, for making light of such things on here, whether you are bigoted or just idiotic, you contribute to giving Americans a bad name and there is no excuse for this joke of yours.
James Earl Ray is/was a murderer, that’s a sin, a very huge sin. He broke one of the 10 commandments, thou shalt not kill. You mention about Jesus and how he died for our sins, that’s important to you, and the thing is that as we are living on this earth, we are not to succumb to sin or committing evil.
You are a Christian, but then you make a joke where people should be giving thanks to a sinner/a murderer? A bad person who killed a good person who was making a positive difference. So as Jesus died on the crucifix, on that Friday, maybe you should be giving thanks to those who played a role in getting him crucified? If he didn’t get killed, you wouldn’t have Easter and Christmas now, would you? I’m just writing this so you and everyone else can see how contradictory and dumb that is cuz It’s just like what you posted here.
Yeah, Theologian, you’re quite “amusing” on here.
You only added me just to get more views cuz I sure as hell don’t know you, never met you before and I’m glad I never knew you at all,and you probably didn’t realize I’m Hispanic and also not a Southern Baptist, like you.
Consider me one less subscriber/”friend” of yours on Xanga.
Why would you post a blog acknowledging this? This shouldn’t be turned into some sort of joke either, it’s pretty offensive. Instead I think you should have posted a little bit acknowledging MLKJ first and then blogged about the assassin. I get your point being that if it weren’t for this, then you wouldn’t have this, but there are different ways to word things you wanna say.
@madhousewife - No, I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that Lincoln had slaves. I wish I could remember where though. It’s obviously not going to be in your average fourth grade history book though, because no one wants to think that Lincoln wasn’t all that great of a guy after all…
But I’m sorry for including your name in the comment. I misinterpreted the point you were making and my comment was mostly aimed towards the other person I replied to.
@UnblemishedHonesty - Best comment of this post in my opinion!! Dr. King even state in one speech (for the life of me I cant remember which!!) that the Civil rights Movement was for all the people you mentioned as well.
I know Dan mostly posts some things to shock us but I found this in extremely poor tastes today. It basically should have said “Thank this man for murder because we got a Federal holiday”. It wasnt about what that scum did, it’s about what MLK Jr. did! I think had his assassination never happened, he would have been honored at some point anyway for all the sacrifices & good things he made.
this post is really more ridiculous than usual…. Ray doesnt have anything to do with it, the day would have just been whenever he died bc of his leadership in the civil rights movement GR
@Celestial_Teapot - I know Germans who celebrate Hitler’s birth as well as many stoners.
Dan, are you trying to get people beat up by some black people? (note some, I probably wouldn’t hurt anyone but take it to the West side of Chicago and someone might get a beat down.)
You may be the only person on Xanga who can get away with this, Dan. LOL!
@godfatherofgreenbay - I know Germans who celebrate Hitler’s birth as well as many stoners.
Sure, but by and large, German culture has repudiated Adolf Hitler and the events of World War II. This is even to the point of being reactionary: Displays of the Swatzika is banned, even on automobile license plates, letter combinations like “SS” and “SA” are forbidden. The German nation recognized and acknowledged the wrongs of WW II. They represented the wrong ideas. They were on the wrong side of history.
I don’t understand why doesn’t similar rejection permeate Southern understanding of the Civil War. Slavery is absolutely wrong. Secession was absolute rejection of our democracy and our Constitution.
@RoverMoon - Well, that’s fine, no offense taken, but I’ll save you the trouble of remembering where you read that Lincoln owned slaves because it just isn’t true.
“or just happen to see one”
hahaha you’re pretty messed up Dan, but its hilarious.
Thanks to MLK I can hangout with my WHITE friends and my black friends. Fuck you.
How distasteful Dan. this is incredibly insensitive and disrespectful
@NightCometh - Yesss, and a very kind slave owner as well.
@Miss_Vincent - Oklahoma?!! Ewwwww!!!
@ThereWillBeDragons - I know, right? Beastiality and inbreds galore.
I didn’t realize there are so many racists on xanga. Sad.
@Miss_Vincent - And lots and lots of meth. But myb 11 teeth in the whole state?
Columbus Day. That centers are one dude. Ha.
LOL! Oh, Dan…
How I’ve missed your posts….
While she had my Pandora jewelry uk argent jewelery give, she caved in me a call, pandora bangles it is too afflicted and scenic. It is the best giving. I adherence it. Ta a lot.” I was absolute adorable to heed that. I absolved crop appointment in her altogether revel. Later she adorable me the capture.
Now Now… i think it’s also ridiculous to play the name game with “Theo”. I respect him very much. Just b/c he has some interesting views or thoughts, does not make him an idiot. He’s quite intelligent with differing thoughts.
I think we live in such a PC society where you can’t speak your mind… I welcome dialogue like his, b/c it lets us to FINALLY address the thought that is thought, but not said.
in california, where i live, VERY RARELY do people actually speak the truth. it’s quite sad. it’s truth, only if it’s PC to say it. the great thing that i love about what Theo does, is he opens up debate about something as serious as MLK to something as silly as boobs.
with such open dialogue, it allows us to share differing points of view, where we can share what it means to each one of us, and thereby perhaps…just perhaps… change minds.
i’ve read so much of what Theo writes and it’s always makes me smile, laugh, make that “O” expression when i’m shocked, and sometimes it changes my mind (just slightly) about a topic i would have always leaned left or right or wherever.
so let’s not be calling out names for differing thoughts, but rather share why this isn’t so, or why we feel so stronger about it, or why we think it shouldn’t be so.
no one can force someone to change their minds… it’s a personal choice.. but we can help sway their thoughts by sharing our hearts, minds and soul.
happy MLK day! and hell yes, i worked today, and hell no, i didn’t get pay and a half.
I think there would have been a day designated for him if was shot or not or dead or alive.
I would rather Martin Luther King Jr be alive and have gone to work…thank you. James Earl Ray was/is an ignorant piece of white trash.
MLK wasn’t just assassinated. He was martyred. His work for America was good and all, but his work for the Kingdom of God was much better. I think that’s the most important thing to remember.
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Since I go to a private school, we don’t get it off. But I’ve learned to celebrate James Earl Ray Day anyway. It certainly rolls off the tongue better.
@Celestial_Teapot - Spanish-American War was in 1898. The Mexican War took place in 1846 and ended effectively in 1847. Robert E. Lee died in 1870.
Good Lord, Dan…
@seeker_nyc - Thanks Josh. Realized the error soon after posting.
@Celestial_Teapot - Can I just say that while the Nazi Regime is universally condemned, and rightfully so, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel has been lauded as an exemplary combatant. Though he was an excellent general, he obeyed Hitler’s order to execute any Jews that he captured.
While the Confederacy is the “bad guy” in the American Civil War, I’d have to say that Robert E. Lee fought for the Confederacy for the sole reason that he was a soldier and his “country”, Virginia, seceded from the Union. It’s not as if he wanted to preserve the institution of slavery.
Perhaps we should thank the US Govt, since they undoubtably created the holiday in both regards. The assasination and the legal holiday.
That being said, it’s funny to find any bitterness towards a MLK holiday, considering the little bone being thrown to African Americans that it is. We have Presidents Day, plus a week off for kids, to celebrate presidents - many of whom have been deeply involved in the subjugations of various minorities. We have the Fourth Of July, which celebrates our Independence from England, yet not a day to celebrate the independence of Native Americans – but of course they still don’t have ther independence back. We have Thanksgiving, you already covered that. We have memorial day to trump up our military-minded nation, but we have not a day to remember those who died peacefully protesting the opression at home. So, i know we’ve got it so hard being white, but i think we’ll make it. Oh yea, and i know, African Americans have black history month. Last i checked, though, W.a.s.p. history month was every other month of the year.
@seeker_nyc - Not really a good reason though, to fight for your country just because they are your place of birth. Your country must defend you, but you, not your country. Morality is not dismissable. Still, in fairness, let’s not pretend that the Union officers were on some moral high ground, either. The North had no problem cashing in on Southern Crops for almost a century after the country was formed, and Northern industries had no problem giving workers the lowest quality conditions before and after. “There ain’t no good guys.”
Canadians don’t believe in MLK. Lol.
#$%K James Earl Ray in the butt with a Large @#$@ fork
it’s also for the economic boosts 3 day vacations give.
To say that we should give thanks to James Earl Ray because he assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a very selfish way of looking at this holiday. The fact that James Earl Ray assassinated Dr. King is in my opinion irrelevant. This day is all about celebrating Dr. King and all the work he did in the civil rights movement. Instead of being thankful for James Earl Ray or a day off work, you should celebrate all the great things that came out of the civil rights movement like the abolishing Jim Crow laws or desegregation. These are the things we should be thankful for and celebrating. Without the work of Dr. King and other civil rights activists the world would not be where it is today.
Being assassinated while fighting for equality seems worthy of remembrance. Fuck the white guilt theory. We do it because he was a great man fighting for a great cause. I believe I know what tone and temperament this post was supposed to have, but it came across as arrogant, ignorant, and racist instead, which I don’t think you are. Just thought I’d give some constructive feedback on the writing style for this one.
@Luscious118 - Well said and much better written than the OP.
@madhousewife - i was wondering about that myself……I remember those close to my Birthday as a child when I was in grade school- my birthday is February 28. Whatever happened to that??
I’m assuming you’re just being funny and light-hearted, but thousands of people in 2011 still truly believe that the world would be better off without colored people.
Sometimes jokes trivialize and mask the actual severity of situations, and racism is allowed to travel and grow through such channels.
Could you use your fame to stop the trolls and bigotry on youtube videos please?
@Celestial_Teapot - I would also like to point out that Lincoln’s initial reason for declaring war on the south was not because of slavery. He was willing to let the south still be slave states, but it was because they left the union. It wasn’t until later in the war that Slavery became an issue.
@aN_amAYzInG_storrII - I would also like to point out that Lincoln’s initial reason for declaring war on the south was not because of slavery.
Sure.
It wasn’t until later in the war that Slavery became an issue.
Restricting the expansion of Slave States was an important Republican party platform during the 1860 Presidential Election. At that point in time, an direct end-all-slavery position wasn’t politically feasible.
Southern Secession from the Union occured shortly after and was a direct result of Lincoln’s election. Slavery had very much to do with it.
my boyfriend didn’t get the day off yesterday!
@LoBornlytesThoughtPalace - Glad to have helped prevent that second thought.
@monkeytreehugger - ”Stop the trolls” you ask as if it’s something that’s achievable. :-X
People with real jobs don’t get bs holidays like MLK day or Columbus Day.
Bahahahaha. Classic.
@monkeytreehugger - Do not attempt to deprive me of valuable “slag” material during my Call of Duty games. RAAAAAAGE
Democrats are more racist than Republicans will ever be. Democrats have traditionally held closer ties to the Ku Klux Klan than Republicans. It took two Union generals to form the National Rifle Association so that former slaves could have a chance to meet when other white organizations excluded them. The NRA worked to make sure former slaves understood and put to use their constitutional rights while Democrats have consistently tried to put chains back on them, as well as everyone else through “progressive” policies.
Now on to my point.
God wrote with His finger into tablets of stone a memo to the human race. “Remember the Sabbath Day.” Because the human race has forgotten the Sabbath, it has forgotten God, has disregarded traditional family ties, and has scrapped 51-52 days of rest in favor of …. what? No rest for the wicked, as the saying goes.
You would like for us to celebrate a murderer? MLK day isn’t about his death it is about his life and contribution to the civil rights movement, but I guess someone who was never hit with water hoses and who was always allowed to enter the front door wouldn’t understand that. This is a very ugly post. Dan, what would make you write this? Just wondering.