Women's Rights

Taking Part in The Women’s March

January 23, 2017 By kimwheeler No Comments

Yesterday I took part in The Women’s March in San Jose and it was one of those days I’ll remember my whole life. I had never marched in a demonstration and I wondered how it would be with the masses and wet weather. Honestly, I get a bit claustrophobic in crowds. Still, with everything going on in our country, I was not going to let that prevent me from being part of this historic movement, even if I passed out!

With my pal Bari and our signs before the march began.

Eight thirty in the morning, granola bars (are we moms or what?) pink scarves, jackets and bright lipstick at the ready, we boarded the light rail to San Jose City Hall. When we arrived the streets were already overwhelmed- think Disneyland at it’s most packed, but with everyone wearing a knit pink hat. It was visual festival of pinks and brights.

My dear friend Aimee and her daughter a high school senior, Caroline did the march together.

Why was I there? I was there to support a more inclusive country that includes Muslims and Mexicans, and all immigrants. I believe our country has become the greatest because of the melting pot we are. I came to stand up against hate, which has had a resurgence since the election and has let people bring their prejudice front and center with no shame. I was there for women’s rights- for the right to choose what happens with her own body- not be told by law, and against the misogyny that our president represents with his comments about women. I was there for the earth- I believe climate change is not a hoax and that science matters. I want a country that is greener and why on earth would we go back to coal and fossil fuels when we know it’s bad for the earth and for those living near it? Those are just a few of my reasons.

My friends had similar concerns. So on we marched.

San Jose smartly decided to close down more streets to hold everyone so we could walk and find a spot without being jammed in. All told, 25,000 showed up! Crowds aside, by time we walked to City Hall we could not help, but feel an undeniable kinship with so many others. It was contagious.

Our friend Lindsay in pink. She’s a women’s doctor at Valley Med and someone made all the doctors these cool pink caps. There were so many great knit caps too!

How funny is this? An accidental picture, but says a lot.

Most everyone had a sign. The signs were inspiring, smart and sometimes pretty funny.

We waited on the street for about 45 minutes- chatting with those around us and taking pictures of posters and people. The tone was was encouraging and positive. I really admired the older women. By that I mean ladies closer to seventies, eighties and beyond…

Awesome that they represented. Many had signs saying they had done this before like this lady. One grandmother was in her nineties and marching with four generations of women in her family!

Families were a huge part of this march and it was inspiring to see how parents are already teaching their young ones to care about the earth and the welfare of others! The small ones with signs…

Cutie pies!

This little gal was my favorite. Her idea…

There were many, many mothers and daughters and also daughters marching in honor of their moms, like me.

I love that a lot of boys were part of this too- supporting their mothers like this little guy..

How nice is this seeing a dad and daughter doing this together? What great shirts.

Young women represented hugely and it was awesome to see them in action!

Then there were groups of men with some super signs…

The march once moving, took about an hour and was peaceful. People occasionally chanted and our group got some singing going a few times with, ‘This Land is Your Land’ and ‘All You Need is Love.’

After, there were motivating speakers at the plaza. It was getting cold and rainy so we headed back for food and some warmth. We literally squeezed ourselves back into the light rail train, but we were running on adrenaline and everyone was in a jovial mood- though we all could barely move an arm! Getting together with so many people who feel the same as we did about the direction of the country was reassuring. It nurtured the soul. Seeing the crowds around the world later on television, made me even more elated.

Just looking back at these snaps of the day gives me real hope. There are so many good people in this world who were out there not for themselves, but for all of us-together.

Another friend Mani with her friends had a banner as well.

One of my very favorites. I believe the words are Hillary Rodham Clintons.

We loved this sign.. ‘Hello 1955..Please hold for the Republicans.’

With our awesome group of women from including our pal Los Gatos Mayor Marico Sayoc, third from left.

Thank you to everyone who marched, and thank you to everyone who was there in spirit. I’m so proud of all of us!

Let’s keep the momentum going..

Go here to see 10 Actions For The First 100 Days. Our work has only begun, but look how many are with us!

Kim

Photos property NorthernCalStyle.. Please link back and use with permission. Thanks to those who posed for these during the march and allowed me to use.

How We Deal With Now

November 10, 2016 By kimwheeler 46 Comments

I just couldn’t survive this week without coming together here on this blog with you all. It’s been a tough week and to chat about home remodeling right now seems pretty lame.

You probably suspected and rightly so, as the title of this blog alludes to, I am a Northern Californian through and through and yes I am liberal. I grew up among free-thinkers, hippies and a lot of what we call ‘granolas’ here. Old word now! I had moderate, but open-minded parents. One thing I got from them was acceptance of everyone, and always do onto others, be the best person you can be, read, be informed and be kind. I have voted both Republican and Democrat in my life. I try always to see both sides.

This week …I just can’t. I truly felt an excitement and elation about actually having the first woman president. This woman did her homework, spent her life doing right and was the most overqualified and experienced candidate ever- man or woman. The Facebook group Pantsuit Nation got me even more energized hearing the stories of -men, women, children, old folks, immigrants, all sharing their hope for this woman president. We were ready to make history and see the world change together.

Well it was not to be.

Tuesday night I was feeling sick to my stomach by 7 p.m. I had to turn of the PBS Newshour as I could see it on their faces. It wasn’t good. I went to bed fearful and woke up afraid to get out of bed. I wanted so badly to see this woman elected president. I wanted it for my mother who always admired Hilary and told me women can do anything. I wanted it for my 99 year old grandmother who said,’ It’s her time honey, she will do it.’ I wanted this for the little girls of the world and the big girls too. I wanted it for the young women in college who have dreams. I wanted it for women who have sweated and suffered through so much to give their families a decent life. I wanted it for my sons so they could live in a country where a woman was the leader of the free world. We were ready for that ceiling to shatter. I can’t write this without crying. It has broken my heart. I could barely get out of bed. My college freshman son texted me, ‘Mom I just can’t believe it.’ What to say to him?

I think what has made this loss even more painful is the winner is someone who has openly disrespected women, belittled us, and possibly even assaulted us. The class bully was chosen over the girl who did her homework. The bully cheated his way through class too.

How my fellow Americans, especially women, could choose this man to be our president is incomprehensible to so many of us. Yesterday my phone literally blew up with messages of despair from friends far and near. What will happen to us now?

I got up anyway, showered, put on my Hillary T-shirt and made my way to the grocery store. I thought dammit he may of won, but I’m wearing my Hillary T-shirt anyway. At least three women came up to me wanting to talk about the election. One older woman walked by and said, ‘I cried all day yesterday.’ It was comforting to know others felt the same.

A few friends called for an emergency glass of wine to commiserate. After expressing our shock, and real hope that Trump will not be the evil person he promises to be, we made a plan. We want to gather monthly to raise funds for women’s and other causes, to share articles and books, and to educate those who are uninformed about women’s rights and other rights that may be in jeopardy of going away.

One of the things we all need to understand is there is a very big section of this country that feels disenfranchised and left out. Those are the poorer, the people out of work, those less fortunate and who have no hope to gain traction in a society that is now very have/ have nots. We have lost the middle class in this country. People are wealthy or they are edging on destitution. Those are the people who voted in record numbers for Trump, if only to grasp at straws it seems. Why they couldn’t see his plans do nothing for the poor says how desperate they feel. We need to not leave these folks behind. We are together in this. They want to be heard and now hopefully will be.

There is also another group who has a different wish, to make America white again. Those people spewed their hate in record numbers the day after the election and think it’s open season on Americans of different ethnicities and color and sexual orientation. The Twitter feed called Day 1 in Trump’s America is just sickening. Apparently these people were just waiting to release the hate they’ve previously kept inside as open bigotry and racism is something we frown on in the America I grew up in. One of the saddest effects yet of this election and one we must not tolerate in the smallest form. This almost made me more ill than the election results.

Now friends, as Ghandi said, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’

We women will commiserate, be sad and then many of us will go back to what we always do- taking care of our families and putting their needs first. However, the best thing we can do for our kids and our communities is change the world for better.

Gather a group if you can. Plan to make a difference if only through talking, sharing ideas, educating ourselves, our daughters, sons and our friends. By donating to causes for change we can help mobilize opposition if Trump follows through on his promises to nominate supreme court justices to overturn Roe vs. Wade. As women we also care deeply about the planet and Trump’s other pledges to end clean air initiatives, to not follow through on our NATO promises, overturn gun reforms are equally as scary and worth action on.

Most of all, we have a responsibility to our kids to show what kind of people we want them to grow up to be. Whether they are in preschool or college, we want them to be the face of a kinder, more inclusive world. The more divisiveness we hear, the more we need to remind them we are not those kind of people. Together we are stronger. We have to love each other to love this country. We should not want to go backward, but accept change, progress, science and immigration, and diversity- things our country was founded on. I love this note from a thoughtful father to his son:

Kinda says it all doesn’t it? (via Dennis Mahoney Facebook)

Do not despair and do not hate our friends. We must change the world and this has only given us more fuel. This election has shown us we still exist in a very patriarchal society and the old boy’s club is going strong. Let’s work to smash that glass ceiling with all of us, men included and hopefully our conservative friends will join too. I know so many of them did in this election and I love them for it.

I leave you this which is ever present on my mind:

That’s us guys! Lets get to work.

Thanks for listening and being here friends. I love you guys.

Kim

Please feel free to share your thoughts. I don’t want to hate, but to inspire hope and more change.

A great site in helping bring about change- The Representation Project

Also this:

A petition to change the electoral college

Causes I am donating to this week:

The Southern Poverty Law Center-Battling racial and social injustice.

The Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence.

NRDC – Natural Resources Defense Council (Myron Ebell who is tapped to run the new Environmental Protection Agency is a climate change denier.)

Emily’s List– Helping pro-choice and Democratic women get elected to office.

NOW (National Organization for Women)

League of Women Voters

Planned Parenthood

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense

I Am Woman Still Rocks My World- Women’s Equality Day!

August 27, 2015 By kimwheeler No Comments

It’s National Women’s Equality Day which marks the day the 19th amendment was finally ratified in 1920, giving women the vote. So much suffering was endured by so many women to get us this right. Today, actually more women vote than men do, but we still have a long way to go for equal representation in congress, the senate and the supreme court. Women hold just 20-25% of elected offices in the United States.

This infographic from Time helps illustrate what were talking about here. They have good article today about this.

We can do better and I think it’s time for a women president. I feel so lucky to have grown up in the 1970s with a liberated mom who got me excited about ‘women’s lib’ and let me believe women can and could do anything in this world. Thank you mom. Helen Reddy was a favorite in our house and we played her record a zillion times. The I Am Woman lyrics are imprinted in my brain. My little friends on my street and I would belt out the lyrics with our hairbrushes to anyone who would listen. I think my brother remembers and got quite sick of it. Yes I think he’s a feminist too.

Still it gives me goosebumps to hear and makes me proud to be a women. I don’t think a better anthem has ever been written for us. It makes me want the same rights for women all over the world. We must fight for our sisters around the world who do not even have the most basic of rights and we can’t be complacent about the rights we have won at home.

Here’s the best version (live) of Ms Reddy, who wrote the iconic song I still sing at the top of my lungs at home, as my two (hopefully growing up liberated) teenage guys chuckle.