The Warning of Martin Luther King: Hearing for the Oppressor | The Immortal Gazette
Ah, the words of Martin Luther King Jr., echoing across time. Alice, ever the one to dissect history with a grin on her face and a sharp edge in her tone, leaned back in her chair, her fingers idly twirling the stem of her teacup. “Ah, yes, that old gem. ‘Be careful, or you might find yourself hearing for the oppressor.’ How quaint. How delightfully true."
Loki, who had been lounging near the fire, raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Well, well. If it isn’t the queen of chaos waxing poetic on social justice. You know, Martin Luther King—he sure had a way with words. I do enjoy how they carry weight even after all this time.”
Rumple, who was always more inclined to grumble than engage in civil debate, scowled and muttered something under his breath about ‘heroes’ and ‘speeches.’ Alice didn’t miss it, of course, and her eyes gleamed with mischievous delight.
“Yes, Rumple, I can see you’re really taking the high ground there. Let’s talk about those words then, shall we?” She grinned wickedly, ignoring his grumbled protests. “King was making a point about perspective, about how easy it is to fall into the trap of defending the very thing that harms you.” She clicked her tongue as if teaching a particularly slow student. “The oppressor doesn’t need to lift a finger when their system is so well-oiled that you—yes, you—will start doing their work for them. Isn’t that right, Loki?”
Loki, unruffled and as casual as ever, gave her a knowing smile. “Ah, Alice. Always so blunt. But yes, she’s right. You see, the tricky part about what King said is that the world—humans in particular—are remarkably good at rationalizing their behavior. They'll justify even the most heinous actions, if they believe it benefits them. And if you’re told long enough that the oppressor’s narrative is the truth? You begin to defend it. You begin to fight for it.”
Alice raised a finger, clearly eager to expand on the concept. “It’s almost like... hypnotism. You’ve been fed a narrative so entrenched in your mind that you stop questioning it. And one day, you wake up to find yourself speaking for the very people who are keeping you down. So, while the oppressor sits back with a glass of wine, you’re the one doing the dirty work. You’re the one speaking for them. You’re the one defending the chains.”
Loki’s smile deepened, his tone casual yet filled with the weight of centuries. “And that, my dear, is the dangerous part. It’s subtle. It creeps in. You’re convinced that you're the good guy, but you’re actually the enabler. The mouthpiece. The one who reinforces the systems that suppress you.”
Rumple, ever the skeptic, finally leaned forward. “It’s the beauty of manipulation, isn’t it? The oppressor doesn’t need to directly control you. They’ve planted the seeds, fed you the rhetoric, and now—now—you’re their greatest ally.”
Alice laughed, a sharp, cynical sound. “Oh, but it’s not just manipulation—it’s the art of making you believe you chose this path. That you agreed with it. And that’s the part I love most about King’s warning. It’s not just about the oppressive systems themselves—it’s about how easily those systems trick you into thinking you’re doing the right thing when you're actually working for the wrong side.”
There was a brief pause, as everyone reflected on her words. The weight of the truth hung in the air.
“I’m not saying people are stupid or easily fooled,” Alice continued, her voice softening but still laced with gravity. “But it’s easy to get caught up in the idea that you're fighting for something ‘good’ without realizing the strings that are pulling you.”
Loki, no stranger to power games, stretched lazily. “And those strings are almost always hidden behind well-crafted, eloquent speeches and comfortable lies.”
Rumple, who had been quiet for a while, cleared his throat and spoke carefully. “King warned about that. He wasn’t just talking about oppression in the traditional sense. He was talking about the psychological trap we fall into. The moment we stop questioning the systems we’re a part of, we’re no longer free. We’re tools of the system, whether we like it or not.”
Alice nodded, her tone lighter now but still with that sharp edge. “So next time you find yourself fighting for the wrong cause, maybe just check where those orders are coming from. You might be surprised by who you're really working for.”
The room was silent for a moment, before Alice broke the tension with her usual dark humor. “But who am I kidding? The world is full of people who’ll happily do the work for the oppressors, as long as they get a shiny medal at the end of the day. Self-awareness is overrated anyway.”
Loki gave her a half-smile, his voice dripping with irony. “And yet, we never learn, do we?”
Rumple just sighed, rubbing his temples. “Well, if it helps, at least we’re not the ones falling for it. This time.”
Alice grinned. “Oh, Rumple, I wouldn’t be so sure. The game never changes. Just the players.”
And so, the debate about who truly has the power and who ends up working for the oppressors continued, as always, in that cyclical loop. But perhaps, just perhaps, the warning was out there: be careful, because you might just find yourself in a role you never intended to play.
🖋️✨📜🖤
