Rosa Parks

[Tormod]

So...I was hoping some of our US members would have a comment about Rosa Parks today?

[Buffy]

Whew! Where do you start? This woman single-handedly started the civil rights movement. Indeed, if it hadn't been for her arrest, Martin Luther King Jr. would not have then led the bus system boycott that made him a key leader in the movement. And she kept going, recognizing her responsibility as a symbol right up until she died. She was a truly great woman.

 

On the other hand, she's the cannonical example of what some people might still call--or at least think--"uppity." Its sad that we've come so far, but that we have so far to go. Here's a really interesting commentary in the Washington Post about Condi Rice's recent "return" to her home town in Alabama. Prejudice is still everywhere, although not as out in the open except for freaks like Lamb and Lynx Gaede...

 

A moment for the real founder of the civil rights movement....

 

Equal we all are,

Buffy

[questor]

Buffy, you may be equal, but i'm not. i'm not equal to Einstein, or Bill Gates, or Michael Jordan, or Nelson Mandela, or Richard Speck or John Wayne Gacy. it always grates me to hear someone say this, when it's so obviously false. if you give it some thought, you'll find a lot of people you are not equal to. what does this statement mean , anyway?

[Buffy]

Buffy, you may be equal, but i'm not. i'm not equal to Einstein, or Bill Gates, or Michael Jordan, or Nelson Mandela, or Richard Speck or John Wayne Gacy. it always grates me to hear someone say this, when it's so obviously false.

Equality is as equality does. If we're unequal, what do you think we should do about our inequality? Get rid of the dumb ones or the ugly ones? Or should we try to give people who have less more help? Should we keep the less capable separate from the more capable so the former does not hold the latter back? Or do we throw them all together so that they can all contribute, possible allowing the less capable to go beyond what they can do?

 

Do you not want to be equal? Do you want people to treat you as a lesser? Or are you so sure of your superiority that you just want to maintain your advantage? What's wrong with being equal? Should equality be a goal or be abhored?

 

Bottom line, no we're not all "equivalent", but that's not the same as being "equal in the eyes of the Lord/Law/Fellow Man."

 

Inconsistency for Hobgoblins,

Buffy

[questor]

Buffy, you have now qualified your statement, which makes it more correct. we may be equal in the eyes of the law and of the lord, but certainly not in the eyes of your fellow man. i'm sure you have met some people who are not your equal either on the upside or the downside. if you haven't, you must have had little contact with the outside world. do you think all cultures and ethnic groups of the world are equal in their contributions to the world?

[C1ay]

Mankind has lost one of it's greatest contributors to society. May her message last eternally.

[infamous]

Mankind has lost one of it's greatest contributors to society. May her message last eternally.

Absolutely C1ay, may her dear soul rest in peace and may the strength of her will endure for the eventual fulfillment of the righteous goal of racial equality. Not only in the eyes of the law, but ultimately in the hearts and minds of every citizen of these United States.

[WildRose1010]

I agree with all who said that Rosa Parks is a great woman. She is a symbol of strength for all African-Americans as well as women and she is very well honored. May history never forget her.

 

As for the being equal thing, what makes Bill Gates any better than any of you? His smarts or little pieces of paper with dead men's faces on them? Or what about Jordon? Does his long legs make him any better than you? Yes, some people can do extrordinary things, but they are still human, therefore, as prone to mistakes as anyone else. Let me say this loud and clear, lest someone not understand my meaning, No human is perfect! This means that even those as messed up as me to someone as perfect as those supermodels we see on TV are still equal, no matter the status. We were all born the same way (not exactly the same, but you get the idea), and we will all die in the same way too (again, not the exact same way, but you will die, I promise).

 

Whoa, I've gotten too deep for my mind right now. Need time to shutdown and reboot.

 

Ah, yes, Rosa Parks. Role model to all. May she be remembered as such throughout time.

[questor]

to clear up any misconceptions about equality.

1. people are obviously and proveably unequal in gender, height, weight, abilities,

mentality and personal goals. to say we are all created equal is a lie.

2. we ARE created with equality before the law, and the Lord ( for those few on this site that are believers ).

this is fairly simple isn't it?

Rosa Parks could not have made such a large impression unless many people in the country were ready to recognize the need to change their ways. she provided the spark.

in my opinion, we are now at the point where it's not the color of the skin, it's the

culture of the individual that is the sticking point. that goes for all colors, whites included.

you have certain rights given to you, but you have to earn your own way by your own efforts. those unwilling to earn deserve no respect from the rest of us ,regardless of skin color.

[rockytriton]

not trying to belittle her or anything, but she did that at a time where we were aproaching the boiling point. If it wasn't her, it would have been someone else, and I'm sure there were plenty more cases exactly like hers that happened before but didn't escalate to the same level.

[Tormod]

to say we are all created equal is a lie....we ARE created with equality before the law, and the Lord

 

No, we are not. Your background makes a huge upbringing. Why is a disproportionate amount of inmates in US jails black? How does that translate into "all are created equal before the law"?

 

I think Rosa Parks is one of many heroes. We will never see an end to the need for people like her, unless humanity dies out.

 

To use your own wording - if she provided the spark, then she was needed.

[questor]

Tormod, you said:

 

'' Why is a disproportionate amount of inmates in US jails black? How does that translate into "all are created equal before the law"?''

 

from this question am i to assume we are to put a proper amount of each ethnic group into jail to make things ''equal'' ?

is it possible that a disproportionate number of blacks commit crimes? have you checked penal statistics for data?

[C1ay]

Why is a disproportionate amount of inmates in US jails black?

Why are a disproportionate number of burglar bars sold in black neighborhoods?

[rockytriton]

I don't know if I would call her a hero, that words seems to be thrown around a lot nowadays. What she did was important but it would have been nothing if it weren't for the people who were willing to go against what they were grown up to believe and willing to go against what was socially acceptable and support her. Yes, even the politicians who risked their careers.

[Tormod]

is it possible that a disproportionate number of blacks commit crimes?

 

Let me return that question: Is it possible that the people in the juidicial system tend to punish certain citizens harder than others?

 

Can it be proven that a legal system is just?

[rockytriton]

Why are a disproportionate number of burglar bars sold in black neighborhoods?

 

Maybe it has to do with supply and demand?? :)

 

But seriously, everyone seems to want to blame whitey for things that are sold in black neighborhoods. Gun shops, liquor stores, but the fact is, if the demand wasn't high, they wouldn't make money and they wouldn't be there. Plus, it's not "whitey" who runs the liquor stores, it's usually Koreans. :)

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think black people in general are to blame for anything, but I don't people should blame whites or any other race of people for the problems in the black community.

[questor]

Tormod, the answer is yes. people who commit crimes are more likely to be prosecuted than those who do not.