Beware the Moderate Your Greatest Enemy

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

— Letter From Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr.

The radical is seen often by the moderate in a negative light. The moderate is content with the status quo.  Often moderates are contest as long as things stay relatively calm and undisturbed. The moderate often gives lip service to injustice and the ills of society agreeing with truth but remaining unwilling to oppose the system. The political arena calls for this in the form of bipartisan or just getting along. All you have to do is embrace the evil so the other guy will give you a little of the good.

Why would the state need to even discredit the Anarchist if those who hear the truth anarchists preach will do nothing but accept the state? The greatest tool the state has is the average citizen lives a life of moderate complacency for fear of ‘rocking the boat’ or drastic change.

A life of little conflict with assurance not much will be disturbed is often more important to people than to see wrongs turned right. The greater danger is those who hear the truth but will not act upon it or oppose the what is for what ought to be. The state is not my greatest opposition as an Anarchist, but the moderate who will hear but not oppose the state.  This extends to the current race issue also. Too many are complacent in listening to the prejudice arguments against migrants and Muslims all the while stating that something is wrong but never reaching the point they are willing to stand against the wrong. The bigot, islamaphobe and racist have made their stance clear. They only ask you to not oppose them.

In cases of sexual abuse the perpetrator is the easiest to side with. The victim actually asks you to look at the evil and do something or confront it. The abuser or oppressor is content with you just looking the other way and not making any noise. You don’t have to stand up for the evil and victimization as long as you do not do anything to stop it.