Arizona, Women, & Attitude

 

I got my first experience in the weird attitude they have down here about women shortly after moving into my new house.  I had an inkling of it when I started having my large concrete walls put up around the property, and the men who were in charge of this would speak directly to Bob, while not looking in my direction or even acknowledging my presence at all.  I thought, "Hmmm, this is weird."  To remedy this, the next time they came, I marched right up to them, stuck out my hand to shake theirs and said, "Hello, my name is Amythyst."  They seemed a little shocked and taken aback by it, but by golly, the next time they came to my house, they nodded their head in acknowlegement and said hello.

So, I was ready to have the wrought iron fencing and gates installed in the front of the property.  This was a whole new creative process, and the man I decided to hire did only this type of work, and did it beautifully I might add, from viewing his portfolio. 

When he arrived, I was the only one out in the front yard, and I approached him to introduce myself and get on with business.  After my first forced handshake and hello, in a hushed subdued voice, as though he were instructing a small child, he said:  "I prefer to talk business with the owner, I'll wait for him."

I raised my voice and indignantly declared, "I'm the owner. We're not married," referring to Bob.  I continued, "I bought this property, I paid for this property, and it's my name on the deed.  I'm the one who will be paying you for your work."

He got it.  Although I did notice that his attitude towards me, though now more respectful and acknowledging, was also laced with confusion and possibly a little leeriness, like he's trying to figure out how to approach this strange new creature. (Should I make direct eye contact? Will it bite?)

So, with my experiences as a woman in the state of Arizona, and with the culture that seems to prevail down here where women are concerned, I was not surprised when Arizona resurrected, out of its dusty moth-eaten book of laws, an archaic law from 1864 denying women abortions, and with it vital common sense medical care that did not even exist in 1864, the year the civil war came to an end, the year Abraham Lincoln was president.

I can't make this shit up.

Note:  thank god for the common sense of our female governor,
Katie Hobbs.