Say What?
The Alabama Legislature has given final approval to a bill that would facilitate the granting of a pardon to Rosa Parks. The bill passed through the House on a vote of 90-0, although Governor Bob Riley has yet to sign it. Parks was convicted under the Jim Crow laws that aimed to enshrine segregation. These same laws saw convictions passed against many other civil rights activists, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and he, too, would be given a pardon under the "Rosa Parks Act".
There are two ways to look at this, I suppose. One is the "it's-never-too-late-to-apologize" viewpoint. The other is to wonder why these people aren't already staggering under such a load of shame over their Jim Crow past, that they don't just shut the fuck up, put their heads down and wait quietly for the stink to gradually clear away.
I am reminded of the Catholic church and their "apology" to Galileo Galilei. The man was already an established mathematician and great thinker when his troubles with the clergy began. In 1597, for instance, he had invented a military compass that brought him fame, as well as his already having been a lecturer at the Florentine Academy, the University of Pisa, and the University of Padua.
In 1604, a new star appeared in the "complete and perfectly ordered universe" in which the church declared the Earth stood at the centre. The sudden appearance of this star led to Galileo's downfall, because he began publicly to espouse Copernicus' theory of a rotating earth and a stationary Sun. In 1614, a Dominican priest filed charges against Galileo at the Office of the Inquisition, and before it was all over, Galileo, while having escaped the death sentence meted out to most of those who found themselves in conflict with the aforementioned venerable Office, nonetheless found himself under a life sentence of imprisonment at the pleasure of the Inquisition. He served this sentence under house arrest, until his death in 1642.
In 1757, when the theories espoused by Galileo were proven beyond all doubt, the still-active Office of the Inquisition removed its ban on all books dealing with the theory except for those written by Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. You would think that any time then would have been just the right time for the church to put its tail between its legs and slink away in shame, just as the legislators of Alabama should do now.
Instead, in 1992 pope John Paul issued a statement expressing regret for the way the church had treated Galileo. The only problem - great, BIG problem - with the Pope's ramblings about Galileo is that they are viewed as working to "pardon and rehabilitate" Galileo. Say what? Likewise, the only problem with the Rosa Parks' Act is that it seeks to grant a pardon as though there is actually a need for one.
The signatures of both J.P. and B. Riley should be affixed to documents that state: "We purposely used violence in our quest to silence all those with the courage to speak out against our refusal to relinquish a claim to superiority. To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our wilful stupidity, we do humbly apologize."
Period. End of story.
There are two ways to look at this, I suppose. One is the "it's-never-too-late-to-apologize" viewpoint. The other is to wonder why these people aren't already staggering under such a load of shame over their Jim Crow past, that they don't just shut the fuck up, put their heads down and wait quietly for the stink to gradually clear away.
I am reminded of the Catholic church and their "apology" to Galileo Galilei. The man was already an established mathematician and great thinker when his troubles with the clergy began. In 1597, for instance, he had invented a military compass that brought him fame, as well as his already having been a lecturer at the Florentine Academy, the University of Pisa, and the University of Padua.
In 1604, a new star appeared in the "complete and perfectly ordered universe" in which the church declared the Earth stood at the centre. The sudden appearance of this star led to Galileo's downfall, because he began publicly to espouse Copernicus' theory of a rotating earth and a stationary Sun. In 1614, a Dominican priest filed charges against Galileo at the Office of the Inquisition, and before it was all over, Galileo, while having escaped the death sentence meted out to most of those who found themselves in conflict with the aforementioned venerable Office, nonetheless found himself under a life sentence of imprisonment at the pleasure of the Inquisition. He served this sentence under house arrest, until his death in 1642.
In 1757, when the theories espoused by Galileo were proven beyond all doubt, the still-active Office of the Inquisition removed its ban on all books dealing with the theory except for those written by Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. You would think that any time then would have been just the right time for the church to put its tail between its legs and slink away in shame, just as the legislators of Alabama should do now.
Instead, in 1992 pope John Paul issued a statement expressing regret for the way the church had treated Galileo. The only problem - great, BIG problem - with the Pope's ramblings about Galileo is that they are viewed as working to "pardon and rehabilitate" Galileo. Say what? Likewise, the only problem with the Rosa Parks' Act is that it seeks to grant a pardon as though there is actually a need for one.
The signatures of both J.P. and B. Riley should be affixed to documents that state: "We purposely used violence in our quest to silence all those with the courage to speak out against our refusal to relinquish a claim to superiority. To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our wilful stupidity, we do humbly apologize."
Period. End of story.
1 Comments:
How correct you are. Pardons are for those that have committed a wrong. When you have wronged, you apologize. What's up with these idiots?
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