[free-sklyarov] Protest strategy & goals
Ethan Straffin
drumz at best.com
Sat Jul 21 21:12:56 PDT 2001
Bob La Quey
>I am old enough to have lived thru the Rosa Parks era. I find the
>analogy worth exploring ...
There can be no doubt that Rosa Parks remains an inspiration to many of us
who believe that unjust laws must be exposed -- even if that means
violating them. For the record, I do believe it applies here. I would
only suggest that, precisely because Parks's story *is* so symbolic to so
many people, it's important when employing it to consider one's audience.
In the second episode of the sadly-missed _Sports Night_ (which some may
remember as Aaron Sorkin's project just prior to _The West Wing_), an
anchor uses the Parks analogy when called on the carpet for expressing
public support for the legalization of marijuana. His African-American
boss, who supports the anchor, nevertheless delivers the following
warning: "No rich young white guy has ever gotten anywhere with me
comparing himself to Rosa Parks."
I don't really agree with that stance; I think the argument transcends the
arguer and don't believe in shooting the messenger. It's just something
to think about when making historical analogies, whether to WWII-era
Germany or segregation-era Montgomery.
Ethan
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