Mr. Sanneh you said: “It is like the Martin Luther King Junior's principle of speaking non-violence
to the Ku klux klan while Malcolm X was talking about any means necessary to achieve our
independence and freedom.”

Mr. Sanneh, I find what you are writing very interesting, noble and I must give you lots of respect
for what you believe in.  However, your reference to Malcolm X may be out of context unless my
interpretation of what you are trying to convey is flawed.

When Malcolm X uttered the phrase “by any means necessary”, he was talking about the people
following King.  King preached non-violence and you better believe, the American public (police and
the average citizens) inflicted all types of horrific brutality against those participating in the
civil rights or “King” marches.  Malcolm X disagreed with King’s stance of non-violence in the face
of the violence that was being perpetrated on all those who participated in this march.  This is
why Malcolm said King and his followers should defend themselves by any means necessary.  The Black
community at the time was divided on this issue.  Although many people followed King with this
non-violence stance, I would have to say, most people believed that you should yourself by any
means necessary.  Malcolm wasn’t saying you should go and pick a fight, but he certainly believed
you have an inalienable right to protect yourself from a bully.  If you don’t protect yourself, you
will always be bullied.  Each time you are attacked, the bully gain more momentum, the attacks are
worst, they come more frequently, and you lose a little dignity with each attack.  This is what
happened to King and his followers.  The Nation of Islam (to this day) is respected by some and
feared by others because of their stance.  They will not start a fight, but they certainly will not
run away from it either.


On a different note, I do think it may be a little irresponsible to say I am planning a coup or I
want to kill Jammeh on the Internet.  Those thoughts should be said in private if anyone is really
planning on doing this.  People kill people all the time, but never should you announce to your
enemy (perceived or real) that I am planning to kill or displace you.  This doesn’t make sense to me.

Disclaimer:  I am not advocating violence, each one of us, must decide what type of brutality (or
not) they are willing to take and act accordingly or appropriately.



___________________________________________
Cynthia M. Daniels
Northwestern University
Biomedical Engineering Department
2145 N. Sheridan Rd.
Technological Institute, E310
Evanston, IL 60208
Ameer Lab: 847-491-7646
Email: [log in to unmask]

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