While hurt people revel in hurting people I believe in healing people and keeping them well. And what brings healing like laughter? Enjoy!
In the famed words of Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge, “It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
I hope to spread some here in a new installment (est. 4.16.20) of things that crack me up called, THE FUNNIES. Here is a spoonful of sugar for whatever ails you. And many THANKS to everyone who responded in prior weeks and to those who wanted to and just couldn’t make it happen.
MARTIN aND BALDWIN
In this heightened time of social awareness related to the unjust killings of Blacks, whether by police, racists, or at the hands of other Blacks, there in the blogosphere, Twittersphere, and random social media atmosphere, are many re-quotes by James Baldwin and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. So I then set out on my own to find the two men together, knowing that Baldwin esteemed Dr. King and considered him a dear friend. What I discovered was something unexpectedly humorous, like those satirical jokes I find myself drawn to much more than the flagrant foolishness present in slapstick comedy–which was not the intent of my journey but bodes well for “The Funnies.”
To say Dr. King had a way with words is a verifiable understatement but who knew he had a way with humor, too. Yet there it was. Deliberately tucked inside an article James Baldwin freelanced for Harper’s Magazine in February of 1961 entitled “The Dangerous Road Before Martin Luther King.” Baldwin and Dr. King were not yet friends at this writing but I can only assume that this encounter was the start of that subsequent change. After the article was published, Dr. King would later express to Baldwin that this article allowed readers to appreciate “the dilemma that I confront as a leader in the civil rights struggle” (King to Baldwin, 26 September 1961).
Now here is the funny part. But brace yourself because the humor is wrapped around a truth that may still make some members of society uncomfortable. Here are Baldwin’s words on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our greatest American leader, in my opinion.
“. . . we’ve got to stop lying to the white man. Every time you let the white man think you think segregation is right, you are co-operating with him in doing evil.”
“The next time,” he said, “the white man asks you what you think of segregation, you tell him, Mr. Charlie, I think it’s wrong and I wish you’d do something about it by nine o’clock tomorrow morning!”
This brought a wave of laughter and King smiled, too. But he had meant every word he said, and he expected his hearers to act on them.
You can read the entire article at:
DARE TO DISAGREE
Martin and Malcolm – This picture, taken on March 26, 1964, is a blessing to me because as we all know, these two men did not agree line-by-line regarding civil rights. Yet in this encounter they are smiling, in fact, laughing together.
In 2020, we should also be able to do the same, to agree to disagree, for as the slogan goes, “When two partners always agree, one of them is not necessary.” Since we learn from differing opinions to common goals, why can’t we stay connected without becoming bitter and hateful in our discourse?
Here are two quotes to better the disagreements you should welcome into your space. We don’t have to welcome bitterness and hate but we can all learn from the disagreement and try to have a laugh or two while we do so.
To Better Disagreements
UNTIL NEXT TIME…
What joy overwhelms everyone who keeps the ways of God, those who seek Him as their heart’s passion!
Psalm 119:2 TPT
🌸 STAY HAPPY! STAY SAFE😷. BE BLESSED ❤️
If anything sparked joy or touched your funny bone, please let me know. And be sure to read past funny pages, #thefunnies, posted each Friday for your reading enjoyment.
We as black people find ourselves not too far removed from these same set of circumstances we experienced so many years ago. Even though things are much better than the 60’s offered, there is still that division that remains. Since the most segregated day of the week was Sunday as MLK stated so long ago, it still is segregated in so many churches and we’re in the year 2020. What a wise man Martin was!
I love the portion on agreeing to disagree because of some recent friction in my own life with people who don’t see eye to eye feeling as if they need to cut you off instead of just changing the dialogue. God has a plan and LOVE is at the very top!
LOVE it, lindaslovelyfaces! My hope is that friction will fizzle with the people in your life and that racially segregated churches will get with the love, do themselves a favor, and be more inclusive. If they aren’t inviting people of other races in then they are truly missing out. No joke! Ha.
Thanks Really,Leah