Full tweets with context: https://xcancel.com/hasanthehun/status/1932168427470516520
this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2025
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MLK wasn't discussing Watts in that quote, he was speaking very broadly about placing emphasis on the conditions that lead to riots instead of the riots themselves, and specifically on how much condemnation to place on them vs the conditions that lead to them.
In yours, he's speaking directly to people who are living in a slum where violent retribution was a commonly understood feeling, and who had every reason to feel justified in lashing out in revenge. He specifically uses Watts as an example of an extreme expression of that revenge.
The LA protestors are not lashing out in revenge - I don't think that quote, in the context in which it was given, applies to the protestors in LA. And I don't think MLK's thoughts on Watts in particular have any applicability to what's happening in LA, but I do think it's worthwhile for Sanders to take a lesson from MLK on where to place his condemnations.