Michael Bates: March 2017 Archives
Near Kew in London, this museum began as a private collection of player pianos and grew to include self-playing violins and other musical entertainments. Here is a video of the early days of this museum, its founder, and some of the collection in operation, including a violano built by the Mills Novelty Company.
A MAN IN THE WOMEN'S RESTROOM AT DISNEYLAND -- The Get Real Mom
A man hangs out in the ladies' room at Disneyland, and no one challenges him:
"If this had been 5 years ago, you bet your a-- every woman in there would've been like, 'Ummm what are you doing in here?', but in 2017? the mood has shifted. We had been culturally bullied into silenced. Women were mid-changing their baby's diapers on the changing tables and I could see them shifting to block his view. But they remained silent. I stayed silent. We all did. Every woman who exited a stall and immediately zeroed right in on him...said nothing. And why? B/c I...and I'm sure all the others were scared of that 'what if'. What if I say something and he says he 'identifies as a woman' and then I come off as the intolerant a------ at the happiest place on earth? So we all stood there, shifting in our uncomfortableness...trading looks. I saw two women leave the line with their children. Still nothing was said. An older lady said to me outloud, 'What is he doing in here?' I'm ashamed to admit I silently shrugged and mouthed, 'I don't know.' She immediately walked out...from a bathroom she had every right to use without fear....
"...But this notion that we're shamed into silence b/c we might offend someone, has gone too far. There was a man in the bathroom. Not transgender. There was a man who felt entitled to be in the woman restroom, because he knew no one would say anything. There were 20-25 people by the time I left, who were scared and uncomfortable by his ominous presence. And the only thing stopping us, was our fear of political correctness and that the media has told us we don't know what gender is anymore. I never want to be in the position again....
"Gender must be clearly defined to keep women safe. We can not tell women they don't know what a man is anymore. We can not coddle this small fraction of people (people who are men, 'identify as women', but have made no external attempt to show that) at the risk of women and children everywhere. The wrong men will take advantage of this loophole and put others in danger. "
