Sexism is Alive and Well
August 2nd 2010 08:21
Friday, I was treated so disrespectfully by a misogynist man that works in a parking garage across from the Walt Disney Hall Concert Halll in downtown Los Angeles. Sexism is alive and well in today痴 society. This man showed hatred and contempt toward me because I was a woman that questioned his directions. True story. I experienced this kind of sexism when I was younger; I was shocked to see it again.
My first overt experience with sexism was when I was in my twenties. I had driven my car into the dirt, it need a lot of repairs on a shoestring budget. My solution was to piece my car together with random fix-it people and low-end auto shops. The car needed a bushing, which is a rubber mounting that connects metal parts. This rubber bushing needed to be assembled onto one of the metal arms of the car. This assembly of the rubber to metal could only be accomplished by a special machine. I found an auto shop open on a Saturday, had the piece of metal removed, purchased the bushing and had it in hand to be fixed. A group of friends gave me a ride to the auto shop, I found in the phone book, which had the special machine and could assemble the bushing. Upon arrival I approached the man behind the counter. I asked him if he could complete the work, which was minimum, and he agreed he could for an over inflate price. I was not happy but I had no choice. While he was putting the bushing on the arm, I copied down his license number and information. He saw this and went crazy. He yelled at me, accused me of turning him in. Then he refused to do the work! Yes, he refused to do the work. My friend Lance asked me to step away and go to the car while he had a chat with the mechanic. I did without saying a word. Soon we were on our way with the part and work completed! This was great! I asked Lance, what did you say to that guy to get him to finish the work. Lance would only tell me once we had driven away. He smiled and said, I told him I would chastise you when we got home. What! I could not believe it, the mechanic did the work because he thought I was going to be beat up when I got home? I was furious. Lance laughed it off but I never forgot it. I have not seen that level of sexism again until Friday.
This time Lance was not around to superficially protect me. I pulled in the wrong parking garage for jury duty. I showed my paper and the attendant said drive ahead and that guy will tell you what to do. So I followed the car in front of me and parked. This random guy yells you cannot park here. You have to leave and turn right; he motions to the right and park there. I start my car and start toward his gesture. He yells no not that way! Ok, I don稚 get it. I turn around and say; hey I don稚 know where I am going will you tell me where to go? He looses it! He starts yelling at me: are you asking or telling me. You think I am going to listen to a w------, then he stopped in mid-sentence. He was going to say women talk to me this way. He was waving his arms, raising his voice and being a general nuisance. I told him to have a nice day. He was still yelling when I drove off. Do you think I am going to let a women talk to me this way? The name of the parking is Classic Parking, not so classic. There was nothing I could have done correctly in that situation his disdain for my questioning him was overwhelming.
I live in America where people are supposed to be treated equally. Well, the truth is many people each day are not treated equally. Whether its health care, gay rights, immigration, sexism or ageism people each day struggle with human rights. This week the ugly head of hatred touched me personally and it is a reminder that the struggle for human rights is not over. I have a responsibility to work toward freedom especially when I知 not experiencing discrimination.
| 113 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
