Why each day should be Rosa Parks Day and why we'll never need a Kanye West Day
Why each day should be Rosa Parks Day and why we'll never need a Kanye West Day
Two steps forward, one step back
I wish human culture would be on a linear path towards a better society, with higher moral values and more respect toward each other. An optimistic route through history that leads to more equality, individual freedom, support for those who need it, peace, prosperity, and a world where kindness is the norm and not the exception.
But at best, it's a process of two steps forward and one step back.
On a chilly day in November 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a crowded bus, paid her fare up front, and then defied the law that required Black people to exit and reenter through the back door. She resisted the bus driver's demands for cooperation until he yanked her coat sleeve in a fit of fury. Parks refused to give in and got off the bus. A moment of everyday racism in Montgomery, a city governed by Jim Crow laws, that would never make it to the history books.
But some two weeks later, the 42-year-old Rosa Parks was taking a bus home from a long day of work, and that day is one for the history books. Today, December 1, 67 years ago, she got into the bus driven by that same bus driver.
She sat down at the back of the Montgomery bus because it was segregated; the front seats were designated for white people and the ones in the back for people of color. However, when a white man boarded at a different stop, every seat marked "white" was already occupied. The driver then moved the white portion further back and instructed the passengers in four "colored" section seats to get up. The other three passengers complied, but Rosa Parks refused. When two police officers arrived, they arrested Parks.
Two steps forward
Soon after, 35,000 leaflets announcing a planned one-day bus boycott on the day of Rosa Parks' trial were delivered to Black schoolchildren's homes. More people than anyone anticipated supported the boycott; the rest is history.
The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was established to manage the boycott, and they elected a reverend of just 26 years old as its president. His name was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The campaign ended a week after the Supreme Court declared bus segregation unlawful on November 13, 1956. And nearly half a century later, on October 24, 2005, when she was 92 years old, Rosa Parks passed away, becoming the first woman in American history to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol.
One step back
Rosa Parks should be a "trending topic" on Twitter. Perhaps she was; I didn't look for it earlier in the day, but when I just checked, the trending topics were about the world's top football event in a country where Rosa Parks' voice for fairness and equal treatment is needed. And there were two more trending topics on Rosa Parks' day: Kanye West and Alex Jones.
Kanye West was suspended from Twitter until Elon Musk bought it and immediately welcomed him back on the platform. Just like Donald Trump, who recently invited West for dinner after the rapper made antisemitic remarks. A third dinner guest at Mar-a-Lago was white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
Mr. West has some 30 million followers on Twitter, numbers that make him a super influencer. And it's that influence that makes it so concerning when he spreads lies and hatred like he just did again in the interview with Alex Jones, the radio host who denies the Sandy Hook school shootings. West spreads hate, is a holocaust denier, and publicly declares he likes Hitler: "I see good things about Hitler … Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler."
Lessons from history on preaching hatred
We are not born with feelings of hate and discrimination, but we can learn to hate. Just look in a kindergarten where each child is colorblind. We know from history how preaching hatred can lead to the murder of millions of people. West reaches millions, and Musk gives him the platform. We can't allow normalizing hate; we are on track to a society that makes the same mistakes as we have seen in the past.
Rosa Parks twice made a stand. Once by standing up and leaving the bus, and once by remaining seated.
We can leave Twitter and move to Mastodon. Or we can remain seated on our Twitter accounts and refuse to be bullied to the back.
But the Twitter bus is owned by one man. It's a different situation, and choices are difficult to make. For now, I remain active on both social media platforms, standing up for what I have to say on Twitter, and enjoying the alternative of Mastodon. However, I found that rapidly growing Mastodon is far more effective than you would expect.
Mastodon beats Twitter
I noticed that again today. In the afternoon, I sent the same post to my more than 300,000 followers on Twitter and my 3,700 followers on Mastodon. It was the famous picture of Rosa on the bus, with the heading "On this day in 1955".
After an hour, I checked on both accounts. It was retweeted 60 times on Twitter. And what did the one percent of all my followers do that have moved to Mastodon? You would expect 0.6 times as one percent of 60, but to my surprise and delight, they shared it 148 times!
So my post was more than twice as much shared on the platform, where I have about one percent of my Twitter followers. I don't want to conclude that this proves that Mastodon is about 250 times better, but it certainly feels that way.
Elon's algorithm may have found me on Twitter and keeps my tweets out of sight. Or, more likely: all tweets with the hashtag Rosa Parks were sent to the back on the day that it is 67 years after she refused to do so.
The good news is that we have found our community on Mastodon, decentralized, not ruled by one man, and above all, a friendly place to hang out where you meet Twitter refugees you may not have seen for several years.
On this day, 67 years ago, Rosa Parks' brave stance gave hope to millions and set history two steps forward. Today men like Musk, Trump, West, Jones, and Fuentes set one step back. Our common bus follows a rather bumpy road through history, hopefully toward a better future for all.
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Notes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/rosa-parks
first photo: Associated Press; restored by Adam Cuerden, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
second photo: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
« I wish human culture would be on a linear path towards a better society, with higher moral values and more respect toward each other. An optimistic route through history that leads to more equality, individual freedom, support for those who need it, peace, prosperity, and a world where kindness is the norm and not the exception.
But at best, it's a process of two steps forward and one step back. »
By Alex Verbeek
I find your text very informative and this paragraph sums it also. Thanks.
I agree that Rosa Parks and other courageous heroic women and men ought to be honored daily...not vacuous billionaires and soulless media personalities. I was approved to join Post today. It feels great to have a backup to my @RealMonkeyCat Twitter account.