SMH: MLK image disrespected

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is on Monday, so now we're dealing with the usual shows of disrespect that tend to pop up this time of year.

This time around, though, I'm not complaining about the MLK retail sales you see advertised from time to time. Those are mild in comparison to the party fliers featuring the image of the slain Civil Rights leader which are being passed around.  One I spotted on Facebook earlier this week had the nerve to show a doctored image of King wearing a set of headphones. Another flier has a falsified image of King wearing a giant gold chain and throwing up a gangsta-like hand symbol.  The latter was designed to advertise a "Freedom 2 Twerk" party for teens scheduled for Saturday in Flint, Mich. Thankfully, that event has been cancelled, according to the New York Daily News.

"I feel like we have failed to reach these [groups]," Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., told an Atlanta-based TV reporter.  "This imagery thing is just appalling, and it's almost embarrassing. For me, as his daughter, it's like 'wow,' I lost a father who sacrificed everything for them to live a much more dignified and respectful life, and for it to come to this makes me sad."

It makes me mad. It also makes me wonder, who raised these disrespectful cretins who think this kind of imagery is acceptable or might make folks show up at their party?