Comments on: Car Free Mondays: Browne Molyneux

By: Carla

Carla — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:01:27 +0000

“Another thing I =have found unexpectedly hard being a woman on the train and bus is that I get a lot of rude comments by men. I get harassed at times and if I am not friendly I get called a bitch or other unpleasant things.”

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.

By: browne

browne — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:23:17 +0000

Diane I’m certain this is all done purposely. I don’t believe in random when it comes to oppression of people. And it’s not so much “I’m going to be mean,” but more I’m going to put more resources over here, because these people complain more loudly and have lawyers and these people, well, we’re not going to worry, but there are not times where I do think it is very deliberate.

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.

By: Diane Bailey

Diane Bailey — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:22:30 +0000

Public transporation that only caters to the middle class is not just an LA phenomenon.

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.

By: browne

browne — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:49:43 +0000

And Melyssa I thought about something…in general the babies I see on the bus are babies of color, even the white mom’s I see on the bus, I would estimate about 50% of them have babies of color. I think the race issue in regards to all of this is important, because I think that is why the babies on the bus are not thought of or rather the children on the bus are not thought of because they are kids of color, working class kids, etc…if we don’t fix that in society at least in LA society there can be no real advocacy on that issue without including that component.

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

By: browne

browne — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:20:53 +0000

Heather I think there needs to be a real movement in regards to education of people in regards to how to treat your fellow people on the street. It’s not just on the bus, it’s even walking to the bus. When I walk up the street and people say vulgar things to me everyday in the same spots and I have to go a different way to escape this. That’s insane. I think what if people were screaming racial slurs at people in the same spot everyday, people would feel an urgent need to do something, but sexual comments, that’s completely ok, that’s life we must deal.

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