So Y'all wanna play around with MLK quotes. M'kay, I'll bite.

“A riot is the language of the unheard.” From The Other America (1967)

“The principle of self-defense, even involving weapons and bloodshed, has never been condemned, even by Gandhi.” From Where Do We Go From Here (1967)

“Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. But it is a legitimate right of the individual to defend himself against violence.” From a 1957 essay “Nonviolence and Racial Justice” (published in Christian Century).

“The Negro has the same right to self-defense as any other American.” From an interview with Playboy (1965)

“I do not condemn violence in all circumstances. I cannot say that a man who is being attacked by a mob and who is being lynched should not defend himself.” From Stride Toward Freedom (1958).

So y'all can toss out that “only love can do that” quote all you want. But MLK believed in nonviolence as a strategy, not as a demand that Black people submit to being brutalized, and he never confused love with silence, submission, or the preservation of unjust order.

So stop your cherrypicking!