Productive Hypocrisy

After completing The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I spent some time digging through Delicious and Wikipedia to gain insight and perspective on his passionate life. What I was looking for specifically was narrative into his character that wasn’t driven by Malcolm X himself. For instance, I was looking for outside, third-party directive, similar to the epilogue that Haley wrote after Malcolm’s death. (The Playboy interview is radically awesome, but it was written by Haley.)

The reason I was hunting down this perspective is because I wanted insight into Malcolm’s character trait that I will call a “productive hypocrisy.” Malcolm’s life can be split into five parts: fear as youth, hustling as a young adult, finding identity in jail, racial extremism with Elijah Muhammad and finally a push for racial equality post-Mecca.

The reason I call it a “productive hypocrisy” is because Malcolm treated each aspect of his life with a productive, forward moving passion, even if his current views conflicted with his previous agendas.

I find it common that we feel stuck to non-existent priorities from previous aspects of life (business, personal or otherwise) when it only takes away how we react to being present. Malcolm excelled at being present, pushing onward to what he felt the strongest about at any given time.

In Malcolm’s case specifically, my point is that it’s possible to cite examples that are radically hypocritical. However, with the proper historical context, his jumping agenda was courageous and admirable, regardless if I agree or disagree with any part of it.

And even at the end, similar to Hunter S. Thompson, Malcolm’s presence sensed death approaching. Thompson sensed it coming within himself, as Malcolm sensed it from his adversary. However, a large aspect of Malcolm’s adversary stemmed from the force of his own spirit, his powerful fuel that encouraged him to keep moving:

Mankind’s history has proved from one era to another that the true criterion of leadership is spiritual. Men are attracted by spirit. Be power, men are forced. Love is engendered by spirit. By power, anxieties are created.

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Post Tags: Hypocrisy, Life, Malcolm X, Philosophy, Psychology

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Incredible book–great read…but it seems that most of us are not aware of the autobiography until well after high school, when it would likely have to most educational value. As an education aficionado, why do you think it so absent from general curriculum?

Matt added these pithy words on May 18 09 at 10:37 pm

I agree, it's a powerful read.

It wasn't part of my high school curriculum, and I'm assuming it wasn't part
of yours. However, I have spoken with some high school kids who did read
it. But, it's certainly not as common as To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and
Men, etc.

My explanation is that the civil rights movement is covered less radically
and more broadly, and by reading Malcolm would be thin-slicing the
movement. The book and his respective movement is extremely important, but
the high school courses probably cover it in less detail than the
autobiography does to leave room for more underlying sources.

alexjmann added these pithy words on May 19 09 at 7:10 pm

I agree, it's a powerful read.

It wasn't part of my high school curriculum, and I'm assuming it wasn't part
of yours. However, I have spoken with some high school kids who did read
it. But, it's certainly not as common as To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and
Men, etc.

My explanation is that the civil rights movement is covered less radically
and more broadly, and by reading Malcolm would be thin-slicing the
movement. The book and his respective movement is extremely important, but
the high school courses probably cover it in less detail than the
autobiography does to leave room for more underlying sources.

alexjmann added these pithy words on May 19 09 at 9:10 pm

I agree, it's a powerful read.

It wasn't part of my high school curriculum, and I'm assuming it wasn't part
of yours. However, I have spoken with some high school kids who did read
it. But, it's certainly not as common as To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and
Men, etc.

My explanation is that the civil rights movement is covered less radically
and more broadly, and by reading Malcolm would be thin-slicing the
movement. The book and his respective movement is extremely important, but
the high school courses probably cover it in less detail than the
autobiography does to leave room for more underlying sources.

alexjmann added these pithy words on May 20 09 at 2:10 am

alex j. mann (.com)

Productive Hypocrisy

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