In 1998, I was fired from my corporate job while 9 months pregnant because and I quote, “my priorities would be elsewhere after the baby is born.”
The lawyer I hired told me I didn’t have a case because discrimination like “that” was almost impossible to prove.
So I got pissed.
Took the LSAT. Went to law school. Passed the bar. Had 3 more kids.
Twelve years later, another woman from that same company was fired for the same reason. She sued them for a million dollars, and won, partly because I had kept every piece of evidence from what happened to me years prior demonstrating a systemic pattern of discrimination against women.
That company no longer exists. My law practice is thriving. And that baby they said would derail my priorities? She’s a brilliant attorney now working at my firm.
Turns out my priorities were indeed, elsewhere.
@motormoder Wow! You even made the crash driver sympathetic in a way. Extremely well written, thank you for sharing. If this develops further please post about it!
Anonymous
My son is autistic. Nonverbal. He’s eight. We went to a restaurant. Family place. He got overwhelmed. Started stimming. Rocking. Making sounds. People stared. A woman at the next table said loudly “Can’t you control your child? This is ridiculous.” I was gathering our things to leave. We always leave. Then our waiter came over. Young guy. Maybe twenty. He knelt down next to my son. Started rocking with him. Gently. Matching his rhythm. My son stopped. Looked at him...
The waiter smiled and said “I got you, buddy. You’re okay.” Stayed there for five minutes. Just rocking. Being present. My son calmed completely. The waiter stood up and said “My brother’s autistic. I know the rocking helps.” Brought my son french fries. On the house. Sat with us while we ate. That woman who complained got up and left. The waiter said “Good riddance.” My son smiled. He never smiles at strangers. We finished our meal. Peacefully. I tried to tip extra. The waiter refused.
Said “Your son deserves to eat out like everyone else.” We’ve been back six times. Same waiter. Same kindness. My son looks for him now. Gets excited. Because someone saw him. Not his autism. Him.
@suchnerve The last two things got a lot better with therapy, to the point where people are surprised at how much I'm doing now. So there is hope.
The physical stuff has never gotten better tho.
“When my father passed away, his best friend of over 50 years sent me a picture of them both on a bridge in Zurich. It was from when they were young university graduates, travelling to Europe for the first time together. A year after my father’s passing, his friend’s daughter (who is like a sister to me) and I met in Venice. We decided to take a train to Zurich, buy clothes similar to what they wore in 1974, and try to recreate the same photo on Quaibrucke.”
It is so hard for me to know what to do with Twitter b/c I have been very politically active on it for years and I want to continue to do that, but I also want to make art and writings that have nothing to do with pol.
So do I just mix, do I get a second acct, do I stop?
Sitting U.S. senators don't make letters such as this one public unless they feel a paper trail is needed to inform the public. Not great. Really not great.
@ZachWLambert Christians?
No, the republican faux Christians are fake , liars, haters and grifters. Even Pope Leo is calling them out constantly. Performative hypocrites.