Montgomery, Alabama police arrested Rosa Parks in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. It matters little that Parks wasn't the first black person to refuse a seat to a white person. It matters little if Parks, an NAACP activist, planned the confrontation. What matters is that the courage of a 42-year-old seamstress sparked a bus boycott that resulted in the abolition of the racist transportation policies of Montgomery. The bus boycott in turn helped charge a greater movement that overturned racist laws and challenged racist traditions. Rosa Parks died a freer woman Monday because of the actions of Rosa Parks. May she rest in peace.
I'm usually in disagreeance with the Ayn Rand crowd about a lot of things, but there certainly are great people out there who as individuals have made a difference. Rosa Parks is such an individual.
Rosa Parks was certainly an atlas and I think everyone can/should celebrate her achievments. You don't need to be a hero worshiper to realise this.
Rosa Parks, rest in peace.
When someone dies, you're *supposed* to say only "nihil nisi bonum". Well, I think I recall, maybe in D. Horowitz's red-daiper-baby autobio Radical Son, that NAACP-planned bus boycott - as plain and righteous as the issue was - was also similar to or even related to American Communist Party tactics.
Clue (from the article linked in the post): "I had no idea it would turn into this," Mrs. Parks said 30 years later. "It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in."
In our liberty-loving acknowledgement of what our country has gone through to help guarantee equal opportunity, it's tempting to overlook how shady are some aspects of movements for "social change".
Am I the only one who finds it difficult to lavish praise upon a person who constantly reminds you of how much he/she deserves it? Look no further than her outrage at the movie "Barbershop"...
I dunno...I like my heroes a bit more humble...
RIP
Haven't seen Barbershop, what's (in)famous about it?
The site www.negrospaceprogram.com puts a hilarious spin on liberal idealization of civil rights movement.
ftr, there's one mention of Rosa Parks in Radical Son, where Horowitz's mother, longtime Communist Party activist, happily tells teenaged son David that Parks is "one of us".
