Mary Theroux at The Independent Institute asks what would Rosa Parks do about the TSA?
What I do know is that standing up for basic human dignity, even when it inconveniences other people, has historically advanced our civilization towards greater humaneness and respect for the individual. We must not abandon Rosa Parks’ example.
Rosa Parks’s dramatic refusal sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and eventually led to governments having to back down across the board, from public buses, to public schools, to rescinding black codes and Jim Crow laws that constrained private commerce and voluntary relations among races.
Today, pundits from the left to neocon right argue that airline passengers give up their rights when they “choose” to travel by plane. They would no doubt have argued that Ms. Parks similarly gave up her rights when she “chose” to ride the public bus.
Ms. Parks in her simple eloquence knew such thinking was just plain wrong. Whether an individual is ordered out of her seat by a public bus driver or made to either “assume the position” or be subjected to unwanted intimate contact by command of a government agent, she is no longer sovereign; she is a subject.
Ms. Parks knew when it was time to say enough. Do we?
“Will you accept your second class status…Will you stand still for it, or will you take to the hills?” –Roger Waters (“Home”, from Radio K.A.O.S.)
Rosa Parks did not accept her “second class status”, and she made a difference in the world. I will not accept my “second class status” from the TSA, either. I urge each of you reading this to stand up for what is right. Write your senators and representatives. Let’s put an end to the nude scanners and TSA groping at the airports! It does not buy us much — if any — additional security, and it is a clear violation of the 4th Amendment!
That’s it. A boycott would be great. WWF is a good start, but what about when they spread to bus/subway/train stations and seaports? How many people would support a boycott if it meant they couldn’t travel at all?
If it comes to that we will need more than a boycott. A national day of rest would be called for.
Rosa would have protested! With way more tact that the “Jamaican Bobsledder Cool Runnings” scrotum eggs! https://bit.ly/bpR7Ac
She probably would approach the gate wearing shoes and demand to be seated in the airplane or arrested. Do we have that simple courage?