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For the past few weeks I have had a confrontation with America's more medieval cultural aspects. I went to work to make money to feed my family, and I cannot afford a car, so at first I decided to walk the three miles to work. No problem, right? Wrong.If I were male walking to work it would be no problem, but because I am female walking to work seems to be like a HUGE issue with some folks I work with. Many offered me rides which I thought kind enough, but after accepting the ride I found myself being ridiculed for walking. I also found many making value judgments about my husband as if I were some type of chattel that he possesses.
"A good man would not allow his wife to walk."
The harassment became so bad that I began taking a bicycle. That did not help much either. It did not help. I was told that biking was terribly dangerous.
My husband offered to ride to work with a friend and pay half of his gas money. The only problem is that the guy drives a truck. Paying half of his gas money is way more than what we pay to drive our tiny gas sipping vehicle. Besides by now, I have decided that I will drive my bike to work as a form of protest.
All of the harassment at work has taught me that 1) women haven't made much progress in their quest for equality, and 2) people feel that having an automobile is a requirement-- not a luxury.
I think that people would bend to buying a vehicle even if they had to stop buying food. So what is more important food or a luxury like a car? I choose food, but then again most 48 year old women don't bike to work. It's too dangerous.
