Love it-love it-love it!!!
I am copying this review from the Evanston Round Table, because I think it will be removed from the newspaper website very soon!
The Sentinels at Theo
Tag: women rights
TIME Magazine: The Myth of the Male Breadwinner
Like this article states, “Implying it should be the standard for all because it is the way it “always” was, however, is wrong—literally, and because it holds everyone back from their full potential: both women and men.”
Continue reading “TIME Magazine: The Myth of the Male Breadwinner”On Abortion
At the PAC event on March 18, the speakers mentioned the number of out-of-state abortions performed in Illinois per year. Even before Dobbs, the numbers were high: 19K in 2022 and 87K in 2023. They didn’t have the numbers for 2024 yet, but I can only imagine!
That’s for this Saturday morning, when I was once again in escort by the FPA clinic on West Washington.
The anis are trying to blend in with the colors very similar to ours, but you can still tell them! And you can see how close to the clinic entrance they are!
One woman I was escorting to another clinic entrance said that she “didn’t expect these people to be there” and asked: Are they here every day? I said: yes, and they are not coming from other states, those are ours, “homegrown” antis. And she said: Oh, I am not from here, I am from Texas! Then we had a usual conversation about ” why are they doing this? what are they trying to achieve? that’s my choice.”
I knew that people from Texas come to Illinois to have an abortion, but that was the first time I met someone who went such a long distance to get the care they needed. And once again, it reminded me how important it is to preserve all rights and freedoms in our state.
A Turnaway Play
Tuesday was the day of the DevOps conference, and after it was over, I went to one more event: a staged reading of the excerpts from the Turnaway Play, a play by Lesley Lisa Greene that looks at what really happens when a woman is denied access to abortion. The play was inspired by the Turnaway study, which offered the first scientific examination of the consequences of abortion bans. The reading was followed by a discussion with Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.
Several things were interesting about this event. The venue was Theo Ubique Cabaret, which I patronize several times a year, and it was a political fundraiser I hadn’t attended for a while. Adding to that, the topic is really close to my heart, and I felt the unity and readiness to fight, which I didn’t feel for a while.
The best moment from the play reading was when the lecturer posed a question to the class. She described a young woman getting into exciting educational program, being able to participate in a research of her dream. However, she does any rainy day fund, and she is not in a stable relationships, and she finds out that she is pregnant. What should she do? – asked the lecturer. Should she get abortion or should she keep the baby? And the answer is: it’s not your business! Only she can decide what’s the best for her! And that’s the statement I agree with 1000%!
The political speeches were very empowering. Sarah Resnick and Daniel Biss talked about the importance of the local elections and our commitment to defend the humanitarian values locally when the federal governments doesn’t. So were the talks with the guest – I didn’t feel so good for a very long time!
Overall, this day, which ran from 7 AM to 9 PM, was prefect: revitalizing and inspiring.
Time Magazine:The Dating Wealth Gap
Time Magazine article The Dating Wealth Gap is Getting Wider talks not about the “gap in wealth” between two people dating, but more precisely, about situations when women make significantly more than men. That reminded me of how I recently saw a discussion about DEI where people said, “Well, nobody would object if the wife brings home an extra 30% of the income.” When I saw this comment, I thought: that has nothing to do with women’s equality! I wonder how you would feel in a relationship when a woman makes four or five times more than her partner! Or even fifteen times more. If everyone feels comfortable in this situation, we can discuss equality!
Continue reading “Time Magazine:The Dating Wealth Gap”Escorting
I haven’t done escorting since early November because I can’t stand still during the cold months, and on Saturday, I finally returned. OMG, I completely forgot how it feels! It’s awful!!! They yell loudly, screaming “mam, don’t kill your baby!” at each patient. They walk around breaking the bubble zone. They yell “go back to Ohio!’ when they see the license plate…
Also, we were told that Mayor Johnson didn’t approve the quiet zone ordinance, so we still do not have any legal protections…
The Start of Women History Month
From February to March: on Wednesday, which was still February :), I went to the event which celebrated women who advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, hosted by Wintrust. I had never been inside this building, one of those that make the Chicago Financial District and embody the Gloden Era of our city, when the buildings were designed to ensure the customers that their savings are secure :). I love LaSalle Street, it’s silhouette, and each of it’s buildings!
There was wine, cocktails, and bites, and some desserts at the end, and there was a lot of people! Mostly women, and many, like me, didn’t know a single person in the room, but everybody was happy to start a conversation.
The panelists were great, although I am starting to resent the idea that “women have to put their careers on pause to have children.” However, there was one thing which struck me most, because it echoed a conversation we had during the other panel two days earlier. Incredibly smart and gorgeous Tope Sadiku, who is of Nigerian origin but lived most of her life in the UK, mentioned how she rejected the offers to participate in any Black issues discussions, panels and committees, because she didn’t know the UK Black issues, and could not meaningfully contribute. The keyphrase was “I didn’t know I was Black until a came to the US.” At that moment, I recalled the question from one of the participants of our Black History Month panel at work. He asked our speaker whether, in his opinion, Black people or women are in more of a disadvantage at the workplace. I think that even if a workplace prejudgement might be close to equal, to hostility is proportionally on the side of race.
I Finally Watched Barbie
A friend asked me whether I watched it and said that she didn’t like it, so I finally made an effort to watch it (rented it on Amazon and watched it in parallel with some boring home activities). And I didn’t like it, exactly for the same reason as my friend didn’t like it: It’s an extremely important topic, and the movie had great potential which, in my opinion, was not fully realized. Yes, there are some excellent dialogues and monologues, but in my opinion, they do not blend into the movie fabric, and the whole movie is losing its point. Maybe I got it wrong, but for me, it sounded like women should not be discriminated against. Instead, men should be discriminated against and removed from everywhere.
There is definitely a problem statement in the movie, and lots of important questions are raised, but then nothing happens.
I take it as a positive thing that at least it raised awareness and prompted many people (of all genders) to speak up. So far, conversations seem to be productive, and we’ll see what will change.
Gender Bias
There is one more episode that happened at PG Conf EU that I wanted to talk about. Several weeks before the conference, I received a dinner invite from the Swiss Postgres User Group for the third evening of the conference. Having my previous experience with that group, my original intention was to decline, but then I decided to give their organizer a third chance (he is a very nice person!) I accepted, and we went.
The group was bigger than their largest table could accommodate, so the restaurant added a smaller table, and somehow, Boris and I decided that we would have a better conversation if we chose the seats at this smaller table, especially because the organizer sat there as well.
Well, we were wrong. It was the same story as in the summer of 2022, after which I decided to “never-ever.” Six people at the table; Boris and I are the only two who do not speak German, and the conversation keeps going in German with the occasional “attempts” to talk to us on the usual topic: “So you are Russian, and you drink vodka.” BTW, it started when a Romanian at our table asked for still water, and the waiter brought a pitcher “which looked like vodka,” according to other people at the table. After the second round, I asked to drop this conversation; however, it continued. Another attempt to include us in the conversation was, “So you are from Chicago. And you traveled that far?..
I silently lamented the wasted time and thought about leaving when, all of a sudden, the conversation changed. These two, who were speaking German all the time and asking me about vodka, suddenly started to talk about Postgres, asking me questions, taking notes, and saying that their DBAs should buy my book.
On our way back to the hotel, Boris said he couldn’t understand why they suddenly started behaving “normally.” But I knew. It started after I saw them checking the conference schedule on their phones and asked them whether they decided where to go the next day. Apparently, until that moment, they thought that I was a plus one of Boris. And after I asked them which talks they liked and answered a professional question, they finally realized that talking to me may be helpful!
The moral of the story:
- That’s why we need “Barbie talks” at community conferences.
- “Never-ever”
Our Small But Important Victory
Not sure whether this Tribune article is visible to non-subscribers, so copying it here:
Aldermen move to establish quiet zone around downtown abortion clinic
By A.D. Quig
Chicago Tribune
•
Published: Nov 13, 2023 at 3:47 pm
Following anti-abortion protests and alleged “attempts to harass and intimidate women seeking health care services” at a downtown abortion clinic, aldermen moved Monday to create a new “noise sensitive zone” in the streets surrounding the facility.
The City Council’s Public Safety Committee voted to bar protesters from using a bullhorn, loudspeaker or hitting a drum or other object “to produce a sharp percussive noise so as to interfere with the functions” of Family Planning Associates clinic.
Two aldermen voted against the proposal, citing concerns about protesters’ rights and how officials would decide whether protests crossed a line.
The ordinance from Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, follows what he said were multiple noise complaints about loud and disruptive anti-abortion protesters at the clinic, including from nearby residents as well as FPA clinical staff. The clinic offers abortion care and other gynecological services.
Continue reading “Our Small But Important Victory”
Hettie's Reflections 