I wish I could talk to Rosa Parks. I'd ask her about the eyes staring at her as she did something very simple, the simple act of participating in a public activity. Many others were in public with her, yet the eyes were burning hard in her direction.
I wish I could talk to Rosa Parks and ask her if tension followed her wherever she went. I'd ask her how she convinced herself that it was better to endure isolation in jail as she stood up for herself rather than follow the crowd.
If I could talk to Rosa Parks she might have said she relied on prayer. She may have had long talks with God about her worth as a human being and that she deserved to express her worth in a way that was courteous and fair.
I wish I could talk to Rosa Parks and ask her how she held her composure while angry, panicked people overreacted to her quiet act of independence. I wonder if she was just tired of trying to discuss the obviously misguided beliefs impacting so many lives.
I wish I could talk to Rosa Parks and thank her for her courage as all the eyes watched her be taken away by police. I would thank her for her decision to not let Emmett Till die in vain. I can't help recalling the men and women throughout history who died defending our Constitution. It is such a dishonor to all of them as we too easily agree to recently enacted laws that violate our inherent freedoms.
I wish I could talk to Rosa Parks about the fear within her own home as she recounted her grandfather gripping his shotgun while the Ku Klux Klan marched down her street. I would ask her what she thinks of our 2020 slogan that we are safer at home. While she may not have felt safer at home, I would tell her I felt as if I am banished to my home.
I know how the recent stress has impacted my psyche and health. I can't imagine anyone's neurotransmitters tolerating this for a lifetime. Rosa Parks lived a long busy life until the age of 92. I wish she could tell me her secret to remaining upbeat and energetic around so many negative people.
I now dread going to the store, even though I have a right to buy what I need. Spontaneous conversation among strangers rarely takes place in a town I consider to be friendly. I bet if I could talk to Rosa Parks she would tell me to cut out the self pity and stick with my personal mission.
I live in a state that was given an executive order by its governor to wear a mask if social distancing cannot occur. With plexi-glass hanging everywhere and colored dots spaced out on floors, social distancing is quite easy to maintain. But now that's not good enough. I dared to step away from the majority even though social distancing is quite attainable.
Masks have become a badge of honor and not wearing masks is the new scarlet letter.
Rosa Parks couldn't hide her skin color. I surely do not hide my stance on wearing masks. But there's no time for respectful conversation regarding masks being unnecessary. Instead, I have to leave. And as I leave I feel a sudden surge of sadness.
I am overcome with disappointment because the fear has won without a proper course of due process. So called "emergency orders" continue to feed the raging fire of fear. It has been successful because truth is set aside over dogma.
Fear is the enemy that breaks down the immune system. Fear creates the biochemical change in children that can leave them emotionally dysfunctional for their entire lives as demonstrated by the 1995 Adverse Childhood Experience study.
People who are already at a disadvantage early in life now have a surge of debilitating cortisol under this new stress. It adds more fuel to the comormidity conundrum that is killing a lot of people.
If I could talk to Rosa Parks, I would ask her if she believed adverse childhood events impacted her negatively every time she stepped on a bus or walked down the street. I know I have that rotten pit in my stomach whenever I am social distancing inside a store.
I am not a mind reader of others around me, but the verbal backlash I've experienced by a few workers makes me leary of the ones who don't speak to me. And how do I notice welcoming facial expressions? Their faces are covered up!
Now, I am prejudging everyone. I assume they are angry and hateful toward me because I social distance without a mask. I could be correct in my prejudging or I could be wrong. But either way I am prejudging based on my negative experiences with a few uptight people who barred me from their businesses. As it turns out they are just as prejudicial because they fearfully believe I am a dangerous germ spreader.
If I could talk to Rosa Parks I would ask her about the snowball effect of this constant prejudice. I would ask her how to encourage more friendliness inside the stores.
At this time, I am only comfortable in my home, my office, and my car. Thinking about going anywhere immediately puts my nervous system at some level of fight, flight, freeze or faint. If I could talk to Rosa Parks I would ask her how did she decide it was time to stand up for her freedom rather than give in?
I bet she would have told me she was always standing up for her freedom. It was in small ways at different times. She was educating herself, meeting with like minded people, and constantly giving back to others with kindness. She wasn't waiting for that moment to attract attention and get arrested. But the moment came and she made a decision while Emmett Till's murder was very fresh in her mind.
Emmett Till may have changed the world as a teenager. Rosa Parks also made a major impact on us while she was in her early 40s. What are we going to do in 2020 while facing certain challenges? What are we going to do in the next ten years? The next twenty years? How will we equip our children to do the same?
I wish I could talk to Rosa Parks.
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