Is It Just Me?

There's been a bit of controversy over the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Much of it has been over the fact that a sculptor from China was selected for the honor of doing the work. In our area, as the memorial has been coming to fruition, there has been more controversy because most of the workers on it were brought from China, have been living in near sweat-shop conditions, and the project has meant very few local jobs in a city with high unemployment, especially among African-Americans.

But the Black-Chinese thing doesn't get me all uptight as much as looking at the actual memorial.  Have you seen a photo?

What does the body language of this sculpture say?  Crossed arms are a sign of

• Defensiveness
• Closed minded
• Confrontation

My mental image of Dr. King is one of open arms, joy in dialogue, love in his every gesture.

If you go to Google Images and put in his name, you'll see MANY, MANY photos -- and maybe only one in this position. In fact, his photos are some of the least confrontational in body language that you'll see in a collection of a 20th century leader.

Is it just me?