Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man. He was a hero to some and regarded as the father of the civil rights movement. According to reports he was also a habitual cheater. Who not only cheated on his wife constantly, had a sexual rendezvous with a woman around the time he was murdered. No one knows for sure if King actually ever cheated on his wife and his wife denied her ever being aware of any affairs he may or may not have indulged in. This of course is not stopping the internet from spreading the allegations. In King’s defense, any time a great man; especially a great Black man is accomplishing something in this world he is faced with attacks of some kind. It could be attacks of his character, behavior or his even his past. This makes it difficult for many people to trust the validity of this rumor.
Moving away from the character ruining rumors about MLK, because I am not here to tarnish his memory but merely pose a question. The question it launches is whether or not a man who possesses such greatness should get a pass if he cheats? In other words, if you are a woman who is romantically involved with a man who is great, and you know that he is great, should you assume that he will one day cheat on you? After all she must also assume that he will have his groupies who also will see his greatness and want a piece of it. So, does his greatness allow him the excuse to also be a great cheater? What if he was a cheater but never embarrassed you with it or made you feel as if you came second?
What is greatness? Greatness could be defined in many ways and depends upon the woman’s perspective. For some a great man could be a rapper, actor, Preacher or even a community leader. A man that goes to work every day and brings home the big dollars and pays bills could also be viewed as being great. I have seen woman straight act a fool over a guy who works for the city. To them, he was great.
Does a woman’s acceptance of cheating depend upon the quality of the man? If she knows that this man is special and has pronounced greatness that others will see, should she prepare herself for the inevitable? Should she prepare herself for the chance that other women will see this greatness as well and want a piece of him? Should she be more willing to accept cheating from a great man versus a regular Joe?
Honestly, I can’t say whether I would be willing to leave a great man like MLK if I was his wife and he cheated on me. Then again, I do not know how I would react. I have never been put into that situation and hopefully never will.
Thoughts?
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