I have been volunteering to textbank with Moveon.org for the last week (link here if you want to sign up). I like how they are approaching volunteering this year, texting is not the only activity available, but for those of us, like me, who can no longer spend all day on their feet walking to canvas, and don’t want to go to another location to phone-bank, this works well!
I am able to work on my own time for as little or as much as I like, when I like, and rest when I like (I’m not myself, still) so volunteering is fitting well into my current routine. What’s different about volunteering this time, is how mean and evil Trump supporters are being. It can be upsetting, and most frustrating, trying to not respond or react to provocation.
I’ve had a stressful day, today, doing my bit: apparently there are a LOT of Trump trolls in the Democratic databases. They are especially nasty, cruel, vicious this year.
So, tonight, I was GLAD when I finished my shift in time to catch the latest episode of Dr. Who. I was looking forward to relaxing; what I wasn’t expecting was to come away from the end of the episode feeling impassioned, inspired, in tears — Ready to Resist (Thanks, MoveOn) .
This third episode of Doctor Who tackled the question, “How significant an impact would there be on the course of time and the universe itself, if Rosa Parks had NOT remained in her seat on the bus, December 1, 1955?”
I didn’t know what to expect of tonight’s episode (I almost didn’t watch it), and I confess, I was a little nervous at how this oh-so-important history was going to be handled. I needn’t have worried.
This wasn’t a matter of an episode exploring the road not taken by Ms. Parks, but rather, addressing the need to prevent a deliberate act of sabotage to stop Ms. Parks’ act of protest — trying to explore a small change in circumstance can lead to significant impacts for earth and the larger universe (paraphrasing both the Doctor and the antagonist). “Screenrant” published a story on the episode that sets it up like this:
We know the names Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, and what they stood for. Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall made a brave, bold choice to set an episode in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, with the Doctor and her friends not trying to alter the course of history, but rather, letting it all play out exactly as intended.
The showrunner and episode co-author Chris Chibnall could have forced the other co-author, Malorie Blackman, to take the story full-on fictional-syfy, fill it full of alien battles in the midst of the Jim Crow South and right on into lala land, but he didn’t. Ms. Rosa Park’s story was told with its stark ugliness in tact; it highlighted its beautiful, defiant protest, its small moments, the pervasive fear and determination in the African American community — and kept it right up in the viewers faces.
No veils or rose-colored glasses applied to pretty up reality, this time. I believe it’s a must-see for all of us activists and progressives; go below the fold to learn why.
The Doctor and her companions run into Rosa Parks early on. Ryan, Yaz, and Graham have a full-on fan-boy/girl meltdown (which Ms. Parks doesn’t understand at all). The TARDIS has taken them to Montgomery because it has picked up small bursts of time energy that shouldn’t be there. The doctor finds that a good deal of it is gathered around Rosa.
The “why” is the the real mystery: there’s a stranger there, a time traveler (an escaped prisoner with a teleport wrist band) out of time himself, on a mission. The Doctor and Companions eventually discover he means to prevent Ms. Parks from keeping to her seat on the bus on Dec. 1.
The Doctor’s little band all grow frustrated quickly — Yaz and Ryan most of all, at the treatment, the cruelty, the prejudice and callousness displayed by the good folk of Montgomery. Ryan is shadowing Ms. Rosa, trying to keep her safe, but he isn’t very good at it. She invites him into her home — Ryan has stumbled into an early NAACP meeting attended by a young Dr. Martin Luther King (cue fanboy rapture again). Ryan goes looking for the saboteur, afterwards, and confronts him whilst the others are trying to figure out what and how he’s steering the actions of key people. The answer the man gives Ryan’s “Why?” is stunning.
There is recognition, here, for him, and for us, as we look at the stranger with new eyes. This recognition is very significant and relevant to the situation we face in the US, with both fascism and white nationalism on the rise.
Hope I haven’t violated fair use, but one more quote for the road:
The scene on the bus [in real life, 1955] played out just as Doctor Who depicted it (except the Doctor and her friends weren't present, of course). Parks was riding home after a long day at work as a department store seamstress. She didn't realize the bus was being driven by [James] Blake [he’d thrown her off the bus once before for coming through the front door]. When the bus filled up, Blake ordered four black people to stand. Three complied, but Parks did not. When Blake asked if Parks was going to move, she calmly replied that she would not. Blake said he'd have to call the police, and Parks simply said "You may do that." Her subsequent arrest triggered the Montgomery bus boycott ...
I was almost a year old when Rosa Parks relatively small act of protest began a change that impacted the whole world in ways we are still experiencing. I felt I had some detachment from the events of December 1, 1955, that this was just almost-ancient history. I was wrong.
The episode was painful to watch. It was uncomfortable. Prejudice, segregation, racially motivated violence, and injustice were confronted head-on. There is no whitewash here, no prettied up euphemisms. It is, what it once was.
And the ending … be prepared to hear Andra Day’s “Rise Up” embellishing and coloring the moment of truth. I’m tearing up once more, thinking about it.
This episode is an accurate retelling of Rosa’s story, of how she resisted, of how she persisted in the face of a terrible power imbalance which could have cost her everything (and very nearly did).
Doctor Who, episode 3, “Rosa”, should be seen by everyone, I think.
As we move towards the mid-terms, it is too easy to forget just how small acts of resistance, of persistence, of defiance, coming in the face of oppression or marginalization can greatly matter.
Standing our ground to do the right thing, doing the hard thing when we feel so powerless can change everything. I feel renewed, and much better. I don’t want to give spoilers — the episode will be available on cable, on-demand, for the next week. Do watch it.
Resist. Vote.
{{Edited for flow and spelling}}