The Washington Mall is one of the greatest places in America to take a long stroll. An hour or two of your time, could bring about a beautiful sense of awareness of our history. However, there is one memorial that I refuse to visit. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of my favorite Americans, but his memorial is awful. In addition to it being an overall ugly memorial – Martin Luther King was humble, and the memorial makes him like he is big, scary and mean – there are plenty of reasons why you should not only avoid it, but also hope for its destruction.
Now, in online magazine writer school, they teach us that everyone likes lists. So here’s your list of…
Reasons why the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial should be destroyed:
It is made in China: I know nearly everything we use, including our tables, coat hangers, and coffins are made in China, but do we really need to import a monument for one of our national heroes? With the recession putting tons of Americans out of work, and outsourcing eliminating plenty of American jobs even before the recession, it would have been nice to give work to one of our own artists. If there weren’t any suitable artists, let me take you on a stroll through Harlem, or the South Bronx, and I can show you plenty of Americans who would have done an amazing job, with pride.
It is made in China: Martin Luther King believed in democracy. He wanted voting rights to be expanded and all barriers to full participation in our republic removed. China is an authoritarian oligarchy, with only one political party. The Martin Luther Kings of present-day China are all serving lengthy jail terms. The last time China had anything resembling King’s March on Washington was in 1989 in Tiananmen Square, and we all know how that ended.
It is made in China: Martin Luther King stood up for the rights of America’s minorities. In China, ethnic minorities are persecuted, or their lands are occasionally turned into amusement parks. The Uighurs and Tibetans have had their lands confiscated and given to majority Han Chinese, and the Dai have to celebrate their yearly holidays every day for the amusement of the Han.
It is made in China: Let’s be honest. How many statues of Chairman Mao sitting in Beijing were made in the USA? Exactly!
The sculptor, that made the memorial, Lei Yixin, has said “Martin Luther King is not only a hero of Americans, he also is a hero of the world, and he pursued the universal dream of the people of the world.”
Lei is right. What’s wrong though, is that Lei made the monument. Our national monuments should be made in America. A monument to a hero of democracy and defender of minorities shouldn’t be made in a country that stifles democracy while repressing its own minorities. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial should be destroyed.
About Eric J Cortes
I realize you’re exaggerating here to make a point, dude, but if u were white, and writing about illegals coming over here and taking our jobs, this article would have the same tone. Also, I was at the MLK Dedication ceremony. It was pretty awesome. I actually think that, other than the Roosevelt & Lincoln Memorials, MLK’s is probably the coolest one there. It’s 3-D (not just his bust, but there are 2 pieces of the “frame” set back behind and to the sides of the bust, so that he pops out even more). As to the size vs. his humility, Ambassador Andrew Young, who was a trusted aide to Dr. King and eventually rose to executive director of the SCLC, offered a very entertaining observation during his speech: “[Dr. King] was really just 5’7” and he was always getting upset with tall people who looked down on him. Now he’s thirty feet tall looking down on everybody.”
Those are some harsh words about this memorial. Unfortunately, I do not have the same point of view as you do and I honor the King as well.
Wow… Great post Eric.
It looks like your post about blowing up the MLK, Jr. Memorial was pulled from Being Latino’s wall. Seems that when certain writers (no names, of course) celebrate the nuclear bombing Hiroshima or ape the Taliban in advocating the destruction of art, your “publisher” will facilitate pushing a few buttons but appears lacking a spine in handling the push-back…
Thanks. I like my article. Its a travesty that there are so many aspiring artists in America, and we are outsourcing more of our jobs to China. I mean come on no statues of Chairman Mao sitting in Beijing are made in the USA. Do you honestly think an American worker couldn’t have done a better job.
As for your comment on “if I was white, writing about illegals…”, I’m not Anglo, and I’m not writing about undocumented immigrants so your point is…?
I love Washington D.C., and I love every monument. I have a special love for the Vietnam War Memorial too, which was made in the US by an American woman of Vietnamese decent.
Again, this Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was made in an anti-democratic country that kills its minorities. It should have never been built.
It wasn’t about blowing it up. It was about replacing it with one made in America, not an anti-democratic, minority destroying country. Thanks for reading.
I actually saw the statue when I went to DC last month… There’s a lot of people who feel the same way that it’s not the best representation of Dr. King. The sentiment is well meaning… But the actual statue COULD have been better. It looks unfinished with the rest of the slab attached to the back, and there were people saying that his eyes do look a little more Asian. The placement along the water, and accents featuring quotes from some of his iconic speeches are great…. But I can concur with the idea that the statue should have been completed by an American artist. As for the hater above… Look up the word Satirical… Though, even acknowledging such presence is indeed giving too much attention.
Eric, point taken about my choice of words. No doubt if we take your advice and see the monument “destroyed” gently rather than blowing it up, that will be proof positive of our kinder, compassionate nature towards works of art that one may disagree with.