So, after thinking about this over night, I’ve decided to share something that happened at the WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL yesterday afternoon in NYC that changed me. Or rather made me step into who I am in a larger way.
As some on my feed have seen, I was live-feeding the beginning of the panel discussion on FB. That panel was made up of some of the greatest and most famous minds in the world in Inflationary Cosmology, String Theory, Cosmology and Physics based Philosophy. The panel was made up of 5 men and 1 woman. And the moderator was a science writer and journalist for The New Yorker.
In the first hour of the panel discussion you can see clearly, if watching the video, that Veronika Hubeny, the only woman on the panel is barely given any opportunity to speak. And the Moderator, Jim Holt even acknowledges this.
In the last 20-30 minutes of the 90 minute discussion Jim Holt finally pushes the conversation to Hubeny’s field of expertise, string theory, and this is what ensued:
He asked her to describe her two theories of string theory that seem to contradict one another.
And THEN, without letting her answer, proceeded to answer for her and describe HER theories in detail without letting her speak for herself.
We could clearly see that she was trying to speak up. But he continued to talk over her and dominate the space for several minutes.
I should say that this panel was taking place in a large auditorium as it is an extremely high-profile and always sold-out event. And the panel discussion was being live-streamed across the world and they say that millions of people watch these videos after they are made public. (Which they already are).
So at this point, after seeing very clearly that she was not going to be given space to speak and in fact having her own theories described to the audience by the moderator, I am in full outrage. My body is actually beginning to shake. The sexism is beyond blatant. It is happening on stage and NO ONE, not a single other physicist or panelist is stepping in to say anything about it. And I can hear other audience members around me, both men and women becoming more and more agitated with what is happening. Jim Holt, even at one point, asks Veronica a question and she laughs because he has been answering his own questions about her work…and he makes fun of her for ‘giggling’.
So at some point while he is Still talking about Her theories, I just can’t handle it any longer.
With my hands shaking,
I finally say from my seat in the 2nd row of the audience, as clearly, directly and loudly as possible;
“Let. Her. Speak. Please!”
The moderator stops.
They all stop.
The auditorium drops into silence.
You could hear a pin drop.
And then the audience explodes with applause and screams.
Jim Holt eventually sat back, only after saying I was heckling him And he let her speak. And of course, she was brilliant.
———————–
So, the panel discussion ends.
My hands are still shaking. I’m still upset by the incredible sexism that has been demonstrated this afternoon. But I also realize that I just spoke up in an auditorium full of people that are listening to people that are considered gods in the international science world. I was just overwhelmed by it all
We get up to leave.
And then it happens.
Person after person come up to me. Both men and women.
The first woman, right behind me, reaches over and embraces me and says, “Oh my god. what you said was the most important thing that was said all day. Thank you. Thank you.”
And then people start filing out of their aisles and wind their way over to me:
“Was that you? Thank you so much for speaking up. Thank you.”
“Was that you? Oh god, what he was doing was horrific. Thank you. I wanted to do something but didn’t know how”
“Was that you? I wish I had the courage to say something, thank you! Thank you so much”
“Was that you? You said what everyone here was thinking. Look I had even been writing in my notebook what you eventually said (shows me his notebook with ‘let her speak’ written over and over.) But you said it. You said it. Thank you.”
“Was that you? Thank you! I felt so powerless to do anything.”
And on.
So we were all thinking this.
—- So I walked out. And my friend who was sitting about 8 rows behind me, came up to me with a huge grin and said “That was you, wasn’t it? Of course it was. YES!!!!! I will be telling this story for years.”
And the whole time, my hands are still shaking. And I’m felling light-headed. And I just want to scream out into the lobby “WHY IS THIS SEXISM STILL HAPPENING? WHY, does someone like me, with No status in that room, have to be so extraordinarily bold and speak up? And why was it so frightening to do so?”
And I’m thinking. “God, please god let this be an opening for those that were here today and the tens of thousands that watched the live-streaming of the panel yesterday and the hundreds of thousands that will watch the video this year- to speak up when we see this happening. And please let me not be afraid to do this again …and again …and again” Because it was scary.
Having. Your. Identity. Erased. Is. Not. A. Privilege.
Asexual and/or aromantic people do not experience straight privilege. Being straight means that you are romantically and sexually attracted to the opposite gender. We are not sexually and/or romantically attracted to anyone, therefore we do not experience straight privilege.
surprising everyone, except for people who make at or near minimum wage and anyone who understands economics
Literally what every millennial has been asking for for years Of course your fucking business does better when everyone has more money in their pockets When we have don’t have the money to spend, we can’t fucking spend it, who’d have thunk?
More money flowing means more money flowing. Surprising.
Economically, the most useless people are the ones who have money and won’t spend it, not the ones who don’t have it and MUST spend it.
reblogging again for that last important fact
This is one of those articles where I want to be like “water is fucking wet” but I know there are so many people who will not acknowledge this shit until they hear it from the people they’ve been trained to trust by capitalism.
So it’s entirely a necessary article. It really is. There’s a huge audience for whom these kinds of articles are necessary. It’s good to have them, and to spread them. The writers were right to write it and the publishers right to publish it. Information is power, and having more easy and accessible stories like this from people that broad audiences find immediately trustworthy or authoritative.
I gotta naysay here. Seatbelts do a LOT of harm. Not everyone can wear one and not everyone wants to risk it. Just among my own friends and people I know in general; 4 females had a breast cut completely or partially off due to a seat belt. 6 people had their throats cut, to an obviously non-lethal degree. 2 had their stomach’s cut open to a horrifying degree that I won’t elaborate on.
Not even counting the uncomfortably awkward belt locations for particularly large, small, fat, skinny people. Females with large breasts get the joy of holding the belt in place or adjusting it every couple seconds.
They’re awkward, uncomfortable, painful, and can often cause the injuries in an accident. Sometimes it’s just better to forgo the belt.
I like not flying out the window, though ;w;
Seriously. You know what can cause a lot of harm?
Flying out the god damn window.
Slaming your face into the wheel or dashboard.
For fucks sake, wear your seatbelt.
Whoever hates themselves this much over not knowing how to adjust a seat belt lmao please get out the car
this is why you should wear a seatbelt
Immortalismortem’s friends obviously don’t know how to properly wear a seatbelt. Or drive.
Know someone who slipped off black ice and tumbled down the Adirondacks. She’s alive. Guess why people?
Seeeeatbeeeeellllt
One of my close friends definitely left a noggin shaped hole in his windshield because of his lack of seatbeltry
I can’t count the number of fatal accidents that could have been prevented easily by wearing a seatbelt that my parents and sister have run.
Also the seatbelt doesn’t just keep you in place. The belt itself is actually a shock absorber for your organs. Your car may have slammed to a halt but your and especially your organs are still travelling at whatever speed your car was at before the accident. The belt stops them from slamming around and rupturing that’s why it’s a sort of stretchy but firm material.
I got into a car accident a few years ago and I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt, wound up with a cerebral contusion (thankfully not a concussion) that left me unable to remember most of the month of March 2013, and a fucked up jaw. Worse would have happened but my friend grabbed me and held me before I could get hurt worse. I was the only one who got hurt because I was the only one not wearing my seatbelt, but I haven’t gone without a seatbelt ever since. Wear your goddamn seatbelt, it takes 5 seconds to buckle up and adjust it until it’s comfortable.
I had to place a story in the local paper about a local family who lost their children in a horrific wreck. The woman’s suv went off the road and rolled down the embankment.
Three children in the back died after flying out because they were not wearing seatbelts. A seven year old was listed as in critical condition. The survivors who wore their seatbelts were the one year old strapped in a car seat, the oldest teen girl, the woman, and the eight year old.
I had to place the obituaries for the three children the very next day.
So wear your fucking seatbelt.
Alright, basic fucking physics EVERY ACTION FORCE HAS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL REACTION FORCE YOU DON’T STOP MOVING WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY BREAKS, YOU KEEP GOING BECAUSE INERTIA’S A BITCH AND YOUR MOMENTUM HASN’T BEEN STOPPED BY A DIRECT ACTION FORCE. WEAR THE FUCKING SEAT BELT, ADJUST THE FUCKING SEAT BELT, GET A PROPER BOOSTER SEAT FOR YOUR SMOL CHILD JUST DO IT.
everyone’s saying to adjust your seatbelt but no one’s saying how, exactly, so here’s what I learned at this shockingly graphic safety seminar I went to before I got my license:
You seatbelt should rest on your collarbone, not on your shoulder and especially NOT on your neck, or it may cut into your neck as was said above. You could bleed a lot and maybe die. That’d suck.
If you have breasts, the seatbelt should go over them, not wedged between them. Otherwise it could cut into your breast, or even cut it clean off. Surprise mastectomy. Not fun. It takes some practice, getting it to sit in the right spot, but it’s a lot easier than I expected.
The cop at the seminar didn’t actually go over stomachs, sorry, but if immortalismortem’s friends got their stomachs cut open then clearly he should’ve. The only thing I can think of in this case is to keep your seatbelt loose, so it will have more give to absorb the shock of impact.
If you have small children, get them a booster seat. Seriously. Just do it. They’re even more fragile than you are.
Wear the damn belt.
Mostly reblogging because I had my car accident at 17 and I flipped my car after taking a turn badly and sliding over icy mud into a ditch. I got a concussion but I don’t remember how, since when I realized I couldn’t stop or slow down I covered my head with my arms lol.
Only issue I had immediately after was that I was hanging upside down by the seatbelt, and for some reason it would NOT unbuckle, it felt locked or jammed. I don’t know if there was a way to get it unlocked, but I was able to worm my way out of it thankfully.
Wear your seatbelts, kiddos @_@
Y’all pop in your local car parts store. We sell this nifty grey seatbelt adjusters that can bring your belt down where you need it. I use one! It’s awesome. :))
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