Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Mark Ruffalo--An Avenger to Check White Privilege?


Mark Ruffalo, the actor who plays the Hulk in Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), is also a progressive voice on social media.  But instead of focusing on Climate Change as is his wont, Ruffalo chose to be an avenger of supposed white privilege.

Ruffalo commended an article from a liberal website and urged White America to stop talking about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Baltimore 'Riots'.  It would seem from Ruffalo's punctuation that he doubts that there was rioting in the Charm City.  Oh, so the millions of dollars in damage from looting and burning was all a chimera, just like Ruffalo's green screen cinematic heroics. 

More likely, Ruffalo considers the unrest part of the Baltimore Uprising, a liberal justification for malfeasance because of years of governmental oppression.  Well, Democrats have consistently ruled Baltimore since 1967. The Obama Administration has been in power for nearly 6 1/2 years. So the so called Baltimore Uprising is against Democrats, Obama-- of course not, it's the Republican Congress' fault per President Obama.

What is intriguing is Ruffalo's advocacy for intellectual apartheid. Ruffalo cautions "White America" not to quote Martin Luther King, Jr. about Baltimore.  So truth is acceptable based upon the pigmentation of the person.  Isn't that what Martin Luther King fought against?  Progressives have come a long way from diversity to right think fascism.  This is like the "Check Your White Privilege" at the door, in which even allies are silenced because they do not fit the proper pigeonhole.

 Historically, one could argue that Dr. King became more radicalized later in his life opposing the Vietnam War and planning for the Poor Peoples' Campaign in 1968 before he was assassinated. This weltanschaaung would be eager to associate MLK with supporting the economically undertrodden like West Baltimore. 

However, much of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy was about character and self discipline.  MLK's niece, Dr. Alveda King, stresses how those who were participating in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s needed to be inculcated with discipline to be non-violent no matter what provocations and to stand together for what is right. That sort of emphasis on character contradicts the politically correct conclusion that rioters are rightfully acting up because of economic or policing provocations. 

 It seems that liberals are trying to rewrite Dr. King's legacy to be only acceptable for selective quotations by the "proper people".  It is bad enough that the Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King employs copyright lawfare to control MLK's image and profit from his words.  Now, progressives want to restrict quoting MLK based on skin color or inconvenient truths. 

As someone who appreciates aphorisms, I come across pearls of wisdom from figures who have a complicated legacy.  But it is a mistake to dismiss the thought simply because the person is not perfect.  Public figures with whom I may not readily align myself can offer instances of insight. Should we apply a racial test to discern if we can agree?

As a conservative, I have learned to detach my feelings about an entertainer's opinions from their performance. My modest proposal is that Ruffalo apply a similar philosophy between wisdom and the source citing it. 

The Avengers: The Age of Ultron opens on May 1st.  It would seem that Mr. Ruffalo does not care if he offends "White People" just before opening weekend. 

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