I can definitely relate to that issue. When my last car broke down (20+ year old Volvo) I didn’t expect or at least forgot what it felt like to be constantly harassed by men.

I did get another car, but once we move to Portland, we’re getting rid of one of them. I don’t know what its like to live in Portland as a woman of color, but I know what its like in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco.

Like for instance the destruction of the rails in LA people like to say some car industry conspiracy, but oddly the rail lines and red cars demise coincided with the arrival of lots and lots of African-Americans after WW2 and I can’t help but think that rail in LA being dismantled had way more to do with that than the car dealer fairy tale.

I live in Stanislaus county in Northern CA. Our transit is very fractured in terms of service and need. Those that live in the very poor sections of the city and county have almost no bus service. A few towns have only two buses a day that go to Modesto (the county seat). In the mostly middle class northeast, there is a reasonable amount of bus service, bike lanes and nearby shopping centers.

Those in the more affluent areas rarely use the services that they are provided them. While, those in the poor areas depend upon almost excluively on public transit. Transportation inequality prevents any social mobility. Those without access to buses or pedestrian/cycling infrastructure (there are quite a bit of highways and roads with no shoulders or sidewalks) do not have access to public services, better employment, etc.

I can’t help to think that this was done on purpose. That the wealthier in this area want to keep others down.

I would not have noticed this disparity either if I had not been sans car almost all my life.

I’ve included an interesting thread I read at the end of this comment, not so much about babies on the bus, but mami’s of color and how they are marginalized, but this could also apply to all moms white, black, latina, asian, biracial…who are part of the working class world and how they are marginalized and have to wait in a line in regards to civil rights, behind men of color, behind feminist of academia, behind women of color who are middle class…the first woman who didn’t get off the bus in a major way during the civil right’s movement was a single mom, but the NAACP didn’t want to use her, because she wasn’t the right “type” of woman.

And that is the story of the working class mom. A member of the group at the very back of the line who has to wait patiently, because she’s not the right kind of rep for any kind of movement. She dared to have children and sometimes more than one and to not have the proper credential to do it.

Check this out:

http://xrl.us/oyivk

I want to do a march in downtown LA for the right to women to walk on the street, to the bus, ride on the subway without being sexually assaulted by people’s words!!

Ok, moving away from the ME topic…lol..I found one resource for mom’s on the bus, none in LA… unfortunately.

But this person called bus chick in Seattle.

http://www.buschick.com/
I know she has a baby because I saw the baby on LA Streetsblog
http://la.streetsblog.org/2008/11/06/having-a-kid-doesnt-mean-having-a-car/

Browne

I usually have my headphones on and if a guy starts being rude, I pretend to not hear him.

The thing is that in general most alt trans people are childless, so you have to insert that into the conversation all of the time, even if people think you are annoying.

The first thing I would like to see is to get rid of adult oriented ads on the METRO TV, because to me why should only middle class people get to decide what their kids watch on TV. It’s little, but it is something.

Browne

thanks!

*because we could talk about that foreverandeverandever, but i just want to have some control over what i can do right now, and for me, that’s advocacy.

And even though I’ve said that I am an individual. I was all freaked out by the “you have no responsibility” slant of the paper. I mean yeah of course I don’t, but wow is that ok?

Is it ok for me to feel no obligation. At different times in my life I have felt different on the topic. It’s weird because capitalism and anarchy are both on two different sides of the spectrum but they both have this strong individualistic streak. And I’ve always felt and been put in a place where that desire to be an individual was viewed as this negative thing and not just among people of color, but even among white people. I’ve felt this odd pressure from both groups to represent. And you know lots of stuff I really don’t know.

I remember when I was writing more poetry oriented things and someone featured me and my writing had nothing to do with ethnicity (on the ground level) and all about the greed of capitalism in this satirical, dorothy parker in dramatic monologue type style and the person who booked me was quite angry. I didn’t realize that I had been booked as the “black” girl rep. They were expecting spoken word and a little Maya Angelou and I’m just so far from that.

I am definitely a black girl rep, but I’m the rep for Browne Molyneux.

I think a good book on the topic is the Autobiography of an Excoloured Man. A man who left his race to pass as white. It puts that question out when is it ok to be an individual and when is it ok to not and is it ever ok to try to martyr yourself or to just sort of disappear into the fray. Not being the problem, but just sort of just not making yourself the target of the problem if you can get out of that.

I think it is up to the individual. I don’t feel that people should feel obligated in anyway if they just don’t have the strength or the fancy to do certain things. I think everyone does what they can in their own way.

This idea that if you are a woman or a person of color or a gay person that you have to be the company rep is very unfair. Number one maybe the people don’t particular like you or agree with you. Number two being a member of a minority group doesn’t make you part of the borg, how can you possibly be a good rep for everyone or even any kind of representative of everyone, but of course if you are the “other” you just sort of by default become that.

Should you take the questions your college professor asks you or others ask you when you are the only person like you in grad school or as an undergrad and use that as a teachable moment or should you stand up and say you are an individual, even though no one ever is going to see you as such?

It’s possible that the teachable moment thing was completely stupid anyway. I’m pretty sure teachable moment are completely ineffective when it has to do with adults.

But is trying to prove that you are an individual every waking moment is that a healthful way to go through life? Is it healthful for you as an individual? And is the individual a real concept in the real sense, is the individual concept a way to divide us all up and to make us fight with one another for our own selfish interests? I don’t know?

And for a person of color, what does individual mean? That is the question that keeps me up at night, but I think way to freakin much.

But it doesn’t matter. You choose your path. As long as its not trying to be a big jerk, then it’s ok. At least I’m not going to judge you…lol..of course I’m one person.

Now if you are using your knowledge as an “excoloured” person to hurt people owing to some weird sick problem (and not wanting to have to deal with racism or sexism or any kind of ism is not a sick problem, that is a normal survival mechanism in your brain) well that’s bad, but if you are just living your life, well what do you do?

The House Behind the Cedars is also a good book on this subject.

Browne