Who was the more influential civil rights leader?

Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.

Mahatma Gandhi

Background:

posted 01-17-2011 by matt

133253

view results

Both were deeply religious civil rights leaders expounding the tenet of non-violent demonstration. But, who do you think had a more profound impact on the world?
Gandhi
Martin Luther King Jr.

Debate It! 13

Gandhi was an asshole: "Hitler killed five million Jews...But the Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher's knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs." and he slept with little girls so...there's that.

Posted By Actionamy, 01-17-2011 (1 years and 4 months)

The question is who was more influential, not who was the better person. The sad truth is that our heroes are complicated people, and we can't always pick and choose them based on the hagiography that we try to apply to them. They can still be influential and they can still teach us even when we're exposed to their messy history. It's as true for Gandhi as it is for Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, and so on. We have the disconnect between our founding fathers and the ideals they fought for, ideals which their descendants had to refine. One thing to keep in mind is that without Gandhi, there may not have been a King as we remember him. Warts and all.

Posted By jogden, 01-17-2011 (1 years and 4 months)

ghandi gay

Posted By abby2cute, 01-17-2011 (1 years and 4 months)

You can find negative things about both, such as Dr. King cheated on his wife or that Gandhi broke bottles in the parking lot and yelled, "punk rock" but let's try to focus on the good things and results they accomplished.

Posted By AnubisibunA, 01-17-2011 (1 years and 4 months)

Jogden makes a very good point. Hitler himself was one of the most influential men on the planet even though he was a horrible person. Maybe we should have the same ToT but for who's a better person.

Posted By lockheed40, 01-17-2011 (1 years and 4 months)

@matt, gettin' all serious. I thought this site was for the great Bieber debate. Shouldn't the ToT be "who is cuter, Gandhi or the Beebs?"

Posted By Karla, 01-18-2011 (1 years and 4 months)

MARTIN MARTI MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MARTIN MUST WIN!

Posted By BLUEWATER021, 01-24-2011 (1 years and 3 months)

in my mind they both had something to share with the world and stood up and showed us that , who could ask for more?

Posted By Megan252, 01-25-2011 (1 years and 3 months)

omg i respect martin luther king more than anyone else but i know barely anything about gandhi. but martin luther king learned from gandhi. imma just try to even this up so ill vote for whoever has the least votes

Posted By Someoneudontknow, 01-25-2011 (1 years and 3 months)

MLK just jumped on the bandwagon and started leading it. Everything he did would've happened with or without him, perhaps just a few years later without. Ghandi made a real difference.

Posted By davidjosepha, 01-26-2011 (1 years and 3 months)