A thought I had about Rosa Parks today

[Plaid Adder]

I was trying to figure out why some of the media celebration of Parks after her death was irking me, and I think I have put my finger on it.

There have been several cartoons done showing Parks in heaven and Gabriel or an angel or whoever offering her a seat in the front. I understand the gesture, but I think it also points out something about work that still remains to be done about race in this country: that too many white Americans, even us liberal ones, still think of rights, equality, justice, and so on, as things that are ours to give...which suggests that somehow, we own them.

I guess I am just thinking that Parks's statement was not just about where people are 'allowed' to sit on the bus, but about who owns it, and that it's the ownership thing that more than anything has not been dealt with by the post-1960s discussion of race.

We really have come so far in 40 years, it is certainly something to celebrate. But there is so much left still to fight, and it is so difficult to figure out how to go after it. I hope someday we see or become part of a new generation of leaders willing to tackle the race/poverty nexus, the way MLK was starting to do before he was killed.

Peace,

The Plaid Adder

[melissinha]

1. Many of the speakers have addressed this

Hillary just told us to have out Rosa Parks' moments...

"she sat down ... not that we stand still""the life of Rosa Parks demands deeds not epitaphs" Kerry

[bullimiami]

2. i think its the hypocrisy.

these neo-mccarthy freaks, bush included, would have been on the opposite side from her on whatever injustice there was.
they are the oppressors and the fawning and fakery is disgusting.

[Neocondriac]

3. In Bushworld....

Rosa parks gets tasered and dragged off that bus.She gets thrown in jail and is accussed of treason and spends the rest of her life in jail.......The next time someone says that one person can't make a difference, think of Rosa.

[TahitiNut]

4. True leadership lies in showing us what we all can do.

It's not self-serving tripe ... it's modeling. Only Granholm shined a spotlight on that fundamental truth.

[havocmom]

5. Good point Adder. No one GAVE Rosa Parks a seat. She held it herself

And that is a lesson too many still do not want people to learn.

Years ago, Rosa Parks spoke at the UA in Tucson. Havocpup was in high school just down the street and went to hear a real hero of mine. She was amazed at how tiny Parks was. She wondered how so big a spirit could stay contained in so small a frame.

Today, Havocpup is at a march in Tucson. My guess is, the small woman who is my daughter feels she is NEVER alone when she stands and acts for what is right. She got to see a great teacher who was very small in size, she got to hear a frail voice that rattled the arena.

Collectively and personally, we received a gift from Ms Parks. She showed us how to set and hold boundaries against those who think rights are trinkets to be given or withheld.

You are spot on, Plaid Adder, too many still need to learn they are not the owners of rights, dignity, respect.

[Lisa]

6. "we gave you the right to vote"

I heard this recently from another Canadian (referring to how Asians didn't have the franchise until after WWII).

There is a big difference between "giving" a right, and "recognizing" one (namely, that all people born in Canada, or who have moved here and become citizens, have the right to vote once they come of age).

The most important rights are not "given", at the discretion of those in power. They were there all along. They are not treats, or bribes, for "good behaviour". In fact, they are responsibilities, which shape what it means to be a human being.

I always cringe a bit when I see that picture of Rosa Parks on the bus, because what she is doing is in part a rebuke. She is confronting that man who wanted her seat -- and the bus driver -- and the bus company -- and the legislators and justice system of Alabama. And the people who went along with the status quo, whether or not they were allowed to vote.

When I see her eyes looking out at me from the picture, I find myself wondering about when I've been unfair in word, thought, or deed -- to people who were poor, or from a different ethnic group or religion, or a different part of the country. And because I know this has happened, I blush.