one of the founding figures of the civil rights movement, rosa parks dies at 92 years old.
and you know, i hadn’t quite realized she was that old, really. i mean, rosa parks is this near-mythical persona, she was a living legend. and while some argue that really she didn’t do anything more than sit her tired ass down, she made an impact on the nation. true, she was no dr. king, no malcom x…but…at least everyone has heard of rosa parks. (this is a generous assumption as far as the southern states are concerned)
however, while death is always a sad thing wrought with mourning and loss, you can’t help but think ms. parks lived a full life, and that it was good. she certainly lived a long life, or maybe as long as needed for her own personal fulfillment; but at the very least, now she’s free of this tormented world and all of its suffering. finally free.
what strikes me most is that it was barely even 50 years ago when a whole giant portion of the nation was considered second-class citizens — yes, yes, i know, in some places damn near every non-white person is considered a second-class citizen. classism, racism, sexism, it’s all still there. it hasn’t gone anywhere, perhaps it’s only been mildly diluted at best. but in a way, civil rights have made great, galloping strides as well as seemingly microscopic baby steps. the biggest adversary to equality in the US — and the world, as well — is basically stupid human nature and ignorance. personality defects & superiority complexes. fear of that which is unknown and different.
all men are by no means created equal — at least not until cybernetic robots or complete human cloning or some scifi space-age shit like that is perfected — and that’s exactly the thing that seems to boggle the mind so much that it leads to all sorts of batshit crazy behavior. different people, different races, different ideas, different religions, different beliefs, different everything…everything you are and everything you do and everything that makes you who you are is terrifying and unknown to someone out there. if you’re a woman, there are men out there who will hate you for that simple fact. they could never understand what being a woman is like, or have the first clue about what that might entail, but they will hate you all the same. that lack of knowledge and understanding is frightening — to pretty much all people on some level — and the number one easiest response to that fear is plain ol’ stupidity and violence. ignorance and aggression. if you speak english and someone else speaks french, you will regard each other with wary caution. are they saying something bad about me? a doctor will never know what the life of a retail clerk is like, and vice versa. a jewish person is never on the same page exactly as a muslim or hindu. self-interest and personal agenda usually clouds any opportunities to make an effort to perhaps learn more about what is different. to understand. to accept.
somewhere along the line of human progression, difference begat fear. the unknown begat caution and suspicion. and all of these confusing elements served nothing but to bring out the worst in humanity. the antithesis of humanity, really.
only 50 years ago, american society was divided so much that something as simple as going to the bathroom or getting a drink of water became an arduous trial & strain on personal endurance. things aren’t much better now…but they have improved. again, the fierce tension of the 50s & 60s appears to have been greatly diluted, but not completely distilled…largely in part to the apathy of society. it’s so much easier to steroetype things you only barely grasp the concepts of. turn people into objects, depersonalize entire cultures. passive agressive backhanded slander. misconception. affirmative reaction. mental segregation. you’re not racist if you only think it, right? you’re not a bigot if you’ve never been to a klan meeting. you’re not a hero if you’ve never reported a cop for racial profiling, or filed a discrimination claim, either.
apathy is the new scourge of society — actually, it’s about a distant third behind the avian flu & teh mansechs (which is tied with scientology). as far as we’ve come as a society, the wider scope of things makes it seem as if we haven’t progressed at all. the incentives don’t appear — initially — to compensate for the effort expended. if you endeavor to make a change alone, the opposition seems to great. separate, struggling efforts here and there are commendable in theory; but in and of themselves they are the opposite of the unification they may be striving to achieve. it’s a slippery slope. and sometimes hunkering down and just trying to weather the storm seems like the safer bet. less liablity, less disappointment.
hooray for apathy.
but where is our corresponding modern-day version of dr. king? where is our militant & impassioned malcom X version 2.0? and what will be today’s stand for the next rosa parks?
one thing is for certain, however…sleep deprivation does nothing for any cause whatsoever. be it civil rights, or you know, a functioning human being in the daylight hours. and with that i say: rest in peace, rosa. you deserve it.
