Facts About Rosa Parks

New York bus driver orders gay couple to the back of the bus

The bus driver reportedly told Gold that if they wanted to continue sitting together, they’d need to move to the back of the bus. Channeling Rosa Parks, Gold refused. The driver pulled the bus over and phoned for a state trooper.

Upon the trooper’s arrival, the driver said that the couple was making him uncomfortable and he wanted them off the bus. Naturally, the trooper told the driver that nothing they were doing was illegal and he needed to continue the trip.

Gold announced to the bus what had occurred and the bus seemed displeased with the driver’s blatant homophobia. Gold will be filing charges .

We called ShortLine to find out if anything had been done about the situation and we were emailed this statement from George Grieve, President of Hudson Transit Lines:

I am the president of Hudson Transit Lines, Inc. which is the company known as Shortline.

I wanted to assure you and your readers that we do not condone or endorse the actions taken by this one driver. His actions are not representative of the management of our Company. We will continue to investigate this incident until we are sure we have all the facts at which time we will take the appropriate disciplinary and remedial action. We apologize for the insensitive action of our driver and can assure you we will take the necessary steps to make sure this does not happen again.

I don’t understand. You know the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? Under most circumstances, that is such bullshit. You can learn to tolerate and accept and be a better person. You just have to want to do those things. I don’t know the age of the driver, but I know many people who use that expression as an excuse to justify certain attitudes in general…my wonderful tangent.

This sounds like a publicity stunt to sell records. I want eyewitness reports. Otherwise, I have. Hard time believing that this happened because 1) his new record just came out and 2) why would the driver say to go to the back of the bus? If he was uncomfortable then he would say that he didn’t want them doing anything on any part of the bus.

Did Jackie Gleason come back from the dead as Ralph Cramden? You can almost see the mentality has to be from like 1950′s. Bus driver just has to DRIVE the bus, take the money and stop when the little signal cord (old school way) is pulled and make sure no one gets hurt. He doesn’t have to watch everybody. HE doesn’t need to inject his personal beliefs at work. Maybe he was just jealous cause they wouldn’t hold his hand too! Who knows.

Four Frontrunners in Peace

Peace has many sides, and peacemakers are not all of one type. What peacemakers have in common is their willingness to put into action the thirst that all good people have for peace: to put their desire for peace into words, and to match their words with deeds. Peacemakers are those who are ready to work for change in society in non-violent ways, who protest injustice without acting unjustly toward those who perpetrate wrongs, who try to reconcile those involved in conflict without themselves becoming part of the conflict. Peacemakers take risks. They risk losing the life of tranquillity, comfort, and complacency that is often mistaken for peace. They risk losing the esteem of family and friends by taking on unpopular causes and by associating with unwelcome people. They risk their freedom of movement, of speech, of association, especially when their efforts at peace bring them into confrontation with governments and powerful forces in society. They risk their very lives when their message of peace is an obstacle to the plans of the violent. For religious believers, our faith shapes the way we understand peace. As a Christian, I find the teaching and example of Jesus compelling. “Peace I leave with you,” he said, “My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Even though our inspiration for peacemaking is formed by our respective religious faiths, honesty and human fellowship demands that we recognize that, just as all religions teach peace, so have all faiths produced outstanding examples of peacemakers. It would be a good exercise for each of us to make a personal list of frontrunners for peace, simply in order to undertake the discipline of asking ourselves, “Who are my heroes of peace, and why?” In drawing up a list of peacemakers, we engage in a process of defining our own values and asking ourselves what peace means to us. In my short presentation, rather than repeating some of the great names like Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Albert Einstein, and Pope John XXIII, I would like to mention four people - two Christians and two Muslims, who exemplify for me the spirit of peacemaking. The first person I want to mention is a woman from my native country, one whom I have never met but who has greatly influenced the direction of my life.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

U.S. Facts & Fun, Grades 4-6

Rosa Parks

Have fun with American heroes, activities, projects, and fascinating facts