humanity. love. respect. The people in the theater audience yesterday were ignorant of MLK's message to the world, a message he died for.
(Image by B.S. Wise) Details DMCAYesterday I attempted to view the film "Selma." I mean, I went to the theater, stood in line, purchased a ticket, took a front-row seat, and attempted to watch the film.
Standing in line, I was surrounded by African Americans. No big deal, right? One of them was giving the lone ticket seller a very hard time, holding up the line. The ticket seller was close to tears as she was berated. I felt for her. Then I noticed a large, middle-aged man standing opposite me. I moved ahead of him but first asked if he was in line. Without a word, he moved angrily in front of me. I eventually got to the head of the line, thinking that if they have to stand in line to vote, I'll stand in line to buy a ticket. But it wasn't about crowds. Was it about me? I found a seat in the front row--I like my space, especially when I want to review a performance. I didn't look around to check the racial hew of the rest of the room.
But I could write no review. Disturbances occurred sufficiently often that my concentration was impaired. People moved in and out of the theater. Some came in very late--I didn't know why. A large man sat down next to me and placed his arm aggressively on the arm rest so that I had to scrunch to the other side of the seat. At the end of the film, I wanted to cry. I knew it was meant to be a beautiful ending.
I was also crying because those people in the theater didn't seem to care that MLK belongs to all of us--that his message concerned all people, a prayer that we all improve and embrace each other as brothers. I refuse to take the blame for the brutal, racist murders that have occurred most lately. I write about them as a human rights activist and will continue to attack discrimination wherever it occurs.
I must also fight for my human rights every day. In a building filled with people of every race, I often experience bad treatment, which fuels my writing. I'm fighting for all of us when I fight for voting rights. I wanted all of those people in the theater to know that the Voting Rights Act they celebrated yesterday was being gutted, in case they didn't know, and that I wrote about that frequently. They were fighting the wrong person.
I couldn't review a movie that was "theirs" yesterday. They wouldn't let me. Who's the racist? I belong to an ethnic group that has been persecuted for the last 2500 years at least.
Marta Steele is an author/editor/blogger who has been writing for Opednews.com since 2006. She is also author of the 2012 book "Grassroots, Geeks, Pros, and Pols: The Election Integrity Movement's Nonstop Battle to Win Back the People's Vote, (more...)
