11 minute read
Opinion
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MEMORIES OF RUTH
SO MANY OF US STAND ON HER SHOULDERS
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was leading the ACLU Women’s Rights Project as a lawyer while I was an undergrad majoring in theater, with a minor in “What the heck should I do with my life?” I wish I had known about her then, as it was 1970, I was 17 and attending Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.
As I bounded up the Student Union building stairs, a boy in a cowboy hat and boots wolf-whistled at me. I whistled back. I had read Robin Morgan’s “Sisterhood is Powerful” when I was 14 and knew that I wasn’t OK with the whistle. I hadn’t planned what I would say beyond my ear-shattering whistle, so I walked over to him.
I sputtered, “That’s not cool.”
He laughed, “Why not? You’re good looking.”
“I don’t care. I’m not livestock you’re judging… or calling. We used to whistle for our horses to come in for their dinner...” I retorted.
“You don’t have to be such a bitch.”
That’s where I froze. Why was I a bitch because he had bad manners? I had managed to get through life without whistling at another person, ever.
Seizing the moment, he continued. “You’ll never get a husband with that kind of attitude.”
“I’m going to be a lawyer, so I won’t need a husband for his money!” I shoot back.
He starts guffawing, and—I kid you not—takes his hat off and slaps it on his thigh. “Girls can’t be lawyers!”
“If you’re so smart, name one girl lawyer…”
I froze a second time. I could not think of one female lawyer— not one.
The previous year, my high school counselor had me told me to forget my law school dream. He said, “Even if you could get in, you’d be taking the place of a man who needs to go to law school. You’re just going to fritter your career away when you get married and have kids.”
Do not ever tell me I can’t do something. Later, I would indeed pass the California bar and become a lawyer, albeit a nonpracticing one as I created another career in activism, arts and media.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch with the cowboy, I said something super-clever like, “I’ll show you,” and stomped off.
CARTOON
If only I had known about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was hidden in plain sight. I suppose if I’d subscribed to the New York Times then, I might have had an expanded view of women in the law. Maybe.
The accomplishments of women have been notoriously underreported over the decades. Meanwhile, I finally became aware of RBG after her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993.
I, along with many of my family members and dear friends, am grieving the terrible loss of Justice Ginsburg. We again watched the CNN documentary “RBG” on the night of her death. Her tenderness and her almost excruciating shyness are so profoundly moving to me. She broke every stereotype the mainstream media had a large hand in creating for feminists: man-hating, witchy, obviously couldn’t “get” a man, not very smart, brash, ugly, blah, blah, blah. Stereotypes we still live with to this day.
Undercutting so many of our dreams of equality were the constant, foul, sabotaging actions of men who hated us for leaving our small domestic spheres to participate in a “man’s world.” (I suspect these same men despised us in our domestic spheres, too). Speaking of hate, I just got an email from a “fan” in response to my recent Pasadena Weekly column on not voting for Trump: “Gaston LeDoux” writes: “You filthy swine. I could give you 100 Trump administration accomplishments, and your useless ass would still not vote for him.” It turns out the name and email address are dummies, just like the sender. Can you imagine the vitriol thrown at RBG her entire life?
Learning what RBG went through, the indignities, the invisibility, the rejection, is a validation of so many of our efforts to excel when clearly the cards have been stacked against us. Women—or anyone who identifies as such—and minorities have gambled on the hope of meritocracy to pursue the American Dream. At the same time, the dealers snickered, hid cards, and used loaded dice.
RBG, thank you for your sweet and generous heart; for all you’ve done for the people who have been cheated, time and time again. You are, and always will be, a beacon of quiet love and strength. Rest in power, persistence, and peace. And also, thanks on behalf of the young women lawyers for whom you are a saint. How I could have benefitted from your wisdom—even existence—when I was their age… n
This article is an updated excerpt from Snortland’s forthcoming book, “Biting the Hands That Squeeze Us.” Contact her at ellen@beautybitesbeast.com
THE WORLD IS WATCHING YOU WHY SHOULD WE IGNORE THE ‘STOP READING THE NEWS’ IDEA?
Rolf Dobelli, in his latest book, “Stop Reading the News,” advises us all and claims that: “News is to the mind what sugar is to the body. News is easy to digest. The media feeds us small bites of trivial matter, tidbits that don’t really concern our lives and don’t require thinking. That’s why we experience almost no saturation. Unlike reading books and long magazine articles (which do require thinking), we can swallow limitless quantities of news flashes, which are bright-colored candies for the mind.”
Typically, as a journalist, I should refrain from repeating his idea, and Pasadena Weekly also shouldn’t have published this idea because they targeted our profession and described my colleagues and me as people who have ruined your life.
But I must admit that parts of his book cannot be ignored, mainly, when he refers to the nostalgic family breakfasts of the 1970s, which was marked by excessive enthusiasm for catching up with the news by reading newspapers.
He speaks about the morning newspaper, mid-days radio news, and the nightly television news program. Interestingly, his story about Swiss 40 years ago is very similar to my experience in the heart of the Middle East. Growing up in an Iranian family in one of Tehran’s middle-class neighborhoods, where the newspaper was part of our daily shopping cart, and listening to the 2 o’clock radio news and watching the 9 o’clock news on TV was our most important habit, I feel we are much more similar than we are different. Probably you too.
It does not matter if you spent that time in the United States, China, Korea or South Africa. Our thirst for awareness and technological limitations made us drink every bit of info with craving, unlike today when it is inevitable.
Did you notice the difference in the word choice? My disagreement with Rolf begins when he makes no sharp distinction between “news” and “awareness.” He generalizes about the news, everything that he sees on TV, hears on the radio, reads in the newspapers, and receives moment by moment via his laptop and smartphone. According to his definition, there is no difference between the story of a stuck kitten on a tree and what happens in Minneapolis; or the fact that no one bats an eye at a dispute between a coach and a soccer player. Should one ignore the news of massive wildfires in California?
This is where the difference between news and awareness comes into play. People of that generation followed the news because they were eager for awareness, and the same goes for people before that generation, and comparably for people today. In other words, the goal is not to get the news. The goal is the awareness that results from being exposed to the news, and this is where the theory of “Stop Reading the News” fails. Do you think anyone can manufacture a product while ignoring the need for raw materials?
Let me share my personal experience, not as a journalist, but as a professional news follower. Usually, I follow the news as much as I can. Following the news does not happen in my free time, but I spend the best hours on it. I am sure that my interest in the news has not hindered my creativity, has not poisoned my mind and has not led me astray.
I follow the news because I am looking for awareness, and this awareness has wholly affected the quality of my life. I also have experienced moments of my life in which I believe that the importance of gaining this awareness is multiplied, and these days we are at one of those key moments. We are on the verge of a great event that affects our destiny, the fate of our family and friends, society and even the whole world; and the awareness regarding this is more important than ever.
Let’s not stop reading the news. Let’s not forget critical thinking after reading the news. Let’s do whatever it takes in pursuit of awareness, and let’s not forget the fact that your decision-making procedure won’t be limited to Pasadena and the United States; it can potentially make the whole world a better place to live in. n
Meisam Zamanabadi is an Iranian journalist and TV host. He graduated from the University of Tehran in media management and also is a Ph.D. student in media psychology in United States.
FINDING THE MEANING OF LIFE
BY ELSA HORTAREAS
When William Loving wrote his first novel, “City of Angles,” he wanted to focus on something meaningful to him: the importance of community and recovering from tragedy.
Due out September 15, “City of Angles” follows character Homer Virgil Innes after he loses his job as a journalist after the 2008 recession. The story parallels Loving’s life as the recession claimed his job at the LA Times.
“I based his situation kind of on mine, but everything after [the beginning] is made up,” said Loving, a Pasadena resident.
In the book, Innes faces multiple tragedies, including a fire and the disappearance of his son, Caleb. His trek to find him takes him around Southern California, most notably to Los Angeles.
Jobless and without hope, Innes finds himself homeless for a good portion of the book. His search stalls when a mysterious art collector takes him in.
“The original idea for the novel actually came from seeing homeless people on the streets of Pasadena,” Loving said.
Loving was not expecting his book to hit the public during a pandemic. He spent a year writing it and three years trying to get it published. Heliotrope Books bought the book last December.
Loving has wanted to be a novelist since he was 18, following “an unusual path to a first novel.” He entered Kenyon College to study English but found his “true calling” in journalism.
After the LA Times, Loving landed a corporate gig. However, his original dream of being an author haunted him.
Loving did not just write the book to fulfill his dream.
In the book, Innes does find a new focus after suffering loss, by helping others who are in a similar situation as him.
“He has to learn the lesson of other people helping him,” Loving said. “Community and friendship and mutual support with other people is the most important thing. There are plenty of examples in my life where, maybe, I was stubborn and egocentric and had to reach out to other people and consider the effect of my actions on other people.”
His love of novels and classic works shines through in the book. “City of Angles” is inspired by Roman poet Virgil’s famous piece “The Aeneid,” with the main character searching for new meaning in life after tragic loss.
On page 81, he wrote, “He thought again of Orwell, who had said poverty ‘annihilates the future,’ focusing the mind on the present moment, the next meal, eliminating the ability to plan rationally for the future. He understood that now.” n
