Quoting MLK (and others without knowing it)

Martin Luther King, Jr. said and did many amazing things, and in critical moments in history his words resound with timeless authority and clarity. So it's no surprise when, as people strive to make sense of the news of Osama bin Laden's death, folks started quoting MLK on Facebook and Twitter. After all, at a time when an anti-hero falls, who better to invoke than one of history's true heroes?

The quote that's been widely circulated the past few days (I'm sure you've seen it and maybe posted it yourself) is this:

"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." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

It's a great quote, though as has now been pointed out, only the latter part of it was actually ever said by MLK. The first part was a personal reflection by an ordinary Facebook user in a status update, sharing her thoughts about bin Laden's death followed by what she considered a timely quote. The quotation marks really make all the difference in this case. Unlike the morphed version above, the original post appeared like this:

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." MLK jr

In a world where news of the death of the world's most wanted man breaks on Twitter and Facebook a full twenty minutes before it does via the mainstream media (which presumably employ editors, proofreaders and fact-checkers), this is just one example of many in which well-intended people in the heat of the moment get facts wrong. It wasn't the first and it won't be the last.

In this case, the consequences weren't that significant. Those pasting the elongated quote didn't smear anyone and didn't really misrepresent what MLK could have said. Throw a little animosity or ego into the mix, however, and all of that changes. At any rate, it's a reminder to all of us that before copy and pasting the latest viral status update -- and before forwarding the latest sensationalistic email in support of one's pet ideology -- it wouldn't hurt to pause for a moment and make sure we've got our facts straight.

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