AsiaLIFE

Those of you who are addicted to Facebook are likely to have stumbled across the following posting that is attributed to Martin Luther King Jr.

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

The American killing of Osama Bin Laden has provided added poignancy to these words. Did the US have the right to kill Bin Laden without trial, regardless of the scale of his crimes? Was it seemly for a mass of Americans to celebrate his death on the ashes of those who died in that fateful attack on Sep. 11, 2001?

The only problem is that Luther King never actually said or wrote those words. Or to be more accurate, he never said all of those words. The final three sentences are indeed from Luther King, at least according to WikiQuotes, which credits the words to “Where Do We Go from Here : Chaos or Community?” (1967).

The first sentence is from one Jessica Dovey, who posted the Luther King quotation with the introduction: “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.” Thus the initial line is authentic Dovey rather than re-hashed Luther King. Presumably in forwarding on the original post, somebody omitted the speech marks, thus implying that the whole quotation was Luther King rather than a mix of Dovey and King.

Where does that leave us, apart from with a warning not to take Facebook postings too literally? In “Where Do We Go From Here,” Luther King precedes the words above with the following:

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.”

This is the sad truth of the US military action against Bin Laden, and indeed the preceding nine years of the war on terror. Sympathy for Al Qaeda in the Muslim world has only increased since the US’s retaliatory attack on Afghanistan’s Taliban regime. The killing of Bin Laden coupled with images of Americans dancing in celebration at the loss of life is only likely to exacerbate this effect.

As a child, I grew up in a London that was subject to a series of attacks from the IRA. The London Underground was often closed due to the finding of suspect packages or anonymous bomb threats. The Queen’s recent visit to Ireland, the first by a reigning British monarch in 100 years is testament to how far the process of peace has come. This process was initiated by the mothers of children killed in the bombing campaigns stating that enough was enough, and one American senator who allowed both Unionist and Republican parties the space to speak.

Although I dislike terms like “evil”, the sentiments of Luther King are as true now as they always were. Through celebrating the act of violence that leads to the death of an individual, we only serve to perpetuate that violence rather than bring about lasting peace.

“Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate,” continues Luther King in “Where Do We Go From Here.”

I, for one, agree with Jessica Dovey. I too mourn “the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.”