We're not sure what this is but it's pretty.
May 2 // April 24, 2017
Fear not!
Tomorrow's leaders are among us. The bronze one in NYC and the real ones everywhere.
Are we the only ones who seem confused about the messages we see - and don’t see - on social media? Maybe it’s just us, but we seem to love symbols over substance. We can’t explain it but let’s take a short stroll down memory lane – our favorite thing to do here at Two Weeks Ago News – and see where we land, shall we?
A few weeks ago – maybe more than two, in fact – the internet and social media were all charged up (in a good way) about a glorious new statue that appeared in New York City, titled “Fearless Girl.” To help celebrate International Woman’s Day, State Street Global Advisors, a Wall Street investment firm, commissioned and then placed this sculpture at Bowling Green in the Financial District of Manhattan, where she defiantly faced down the charging bull that has appeared there since 1989. She’s fierce. She’s in charge! She’s brave and smart and inspiring! She’s exactly what we want our daughters to be: Empowered. inspiring. Fearless.
Sure. Yes, why not? Every girl in this country – in fact, every girl around the world - should feel absolutely empowered to take charge of her life and follow her dreams. In the case of “Fearless Girl,” she appears to be taking on the raging bull that appears not 30 feet away, conveying her strength and determination as she does.
The fact that the company behind this statue has nothing more than a completely mediocre / poor track record on promoting women to positions of power on their boards or within their organizations made little difference to the crowds who gathered to admire the girl. That the statue was, in fact, a very effective ad for State Street Global’s index fund comprised of gender-diverse companies that have a “higher percentage” of women in senior leadership positions (NASDAQ symbol: SHE) was seemingly of little consequence to the women who squealed in delight about the statue. Fearless girl was intense! And bold! She was adorable with her ponytail, her little dress and her hands on her hips! We love "Fearless Girl!" We loved her even more when she wore her pussy hat and scarf! A dream come true for women and girls everywhere.
Our google search on "Fearless Girl" revealed no less than 3.9 million hits, and some 14 pages of links. That’s a lot of love for a statue. Then again, it represents girls everywhere, reminding them that they should respect and realize their potential, chase their dreams and embrace leadership roles, especially in businesses or professions that have been largely dominated by men.
If only someone somewhere were doing something a bit more substantive on this topic of encouraging and helping girls achieve success. Something more than commissioning a statue to promote an index fund for a Wall Street firm. If only.
Those who have visited this website more than once or twice won’t be surprised to read that our next few steps down memory lane take us along the well-worn “Press Briefing” path, courtesy of White House.gov. In the April 24, 2017 press briefing, we were surprised to read that the President signed the following into law:
And what is H.R. 321, the INSPIRE act, you may ask? According to the summary on GovTrack, it “requires NASA to develop a plan for facilitating and supporting retired astronauts, scientists, engineers, and innovators to engage with K-12 female STEM students in an attempt to inspire young women to consider participating in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to pursue careers in aerospace.”
Huh. That’s kind of…what’s the word we want? Empowering! That’s it!
We did a google search of H.R. 321, too. More than 80 million hits. Impressive, although none of the hits listed on the first five pages of our search indicated coverage in The New York Times or The Washington Post. Is that weird?
Then we looked up H.R. 255, the “Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act.” Again, according to GovTrack, this new law “authorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF) to encourage its existing entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world.”
What the….what’s going on here?
What did The Times or The Washington Post have to say about H.R. 255? Nope. Another five pages into our google search and nothing. No stories that we could find. Wait; wait a minute. Here’s a story from New York media. It’s perfect, right?
Let’s sum up. We find this all so baffling. Just a few weeks after we all fell at the feet of "Fearless Girl," worshipping her spirit and determination, we had a muted (to put it kindly) response to H.R. 321 and H.R. 255. Possibly because none of us read any headlines about them or watched the coverage of the signing on network or cable news. That might've had something to do with it.
Look, we don’t know why The Times or The WaPost chose not to cover the bills being signed. It’s not as if it’s the first 100 days of a new administration. It’s not as if every move the President and his staff make isn’t being observed and reported on by news agencies around the world.
We give up. We’re still bewildered and find the lack of enthusiasm surrounding these new laws mystifying. Because if reporters attend press briefings, hear about the activities taking place in the West Wing and then routinely ignore or under-report the stories that don’t fit their narrative about the administration, that would make them mouthpieces, not news organizations, right?
Fear not!
Tomorrow's leaders are among us. The bronze one in NYC and the real ones everywhere.
Are we the only ones who seem confused about the messages we see - and don’t see - on social media? Maybe it’s just us, but we seem to love symbols over substance. We can’t explain it but let’s take a short stroll down memory lane – our favorite thing to do here at Two Weeks Ago News – and see where we land, shall we?
A few weeks ago – maybe more than two, in fact – the internet and social media were all charged up (in a good way) about a glorious new statue that appeared in New York City, titled “Fearless Girl.” To help celebrate International Woman’s Day, State Street Global Advisors, a Wall Street investment firm, commissioned and then placed this sculpture at Bowling Green in the Financial District of Manhattan, where she defiantly faced down the charging bull that has appeared there since 1989. She’s fierce. She’s in charge! She’s brave and smart and inspiring! She’s exactly what we want our daughters to be: Empowered. inspiring. Fearless.
Sure. Yes, why not? Every girl in this country – in fact, every girl around the world - should feel absolutely empowered to take charge of her life and follow her dreams. In the case of “Fearless Girl,” she appears to be taking on the raging bull that appears not 30 feet away, conveying her strength and determination as she does.
The fact that the company behind this statue has nothing more than a completely mediocre / poor track record on promoting women to positions of power on their boards or within their organizations made little difference to the crowds who gathered to admire the girl. That the statue was, in fact, a very effective ad for State Street Global’s index fund comprised of gender-diverse companies that have a “higher percentage” of women in senior leadership positions (NASDAQ symbol: SHE) was seemingly of little consequence to the women who squealed in delight about the statue. Fearless girl was intense! And bold! She was adorable with her ponytail, her little dress and her hands on her hips! We love "Fearless Girl!" We loved her even more when she wore her pussy hat and scarf! A dream come true for women and girls everywhere.
Our google search on "Fearless Girl" revealed no less than 3.9 million hits, and some 14 pages of links. That’s a lot of love for a statue. Then again, it represents girls everywhere, reminding them that they should respect and realize their potential, chase their dreams and embrace leadership roles, especially in businesses or professions that have been largely dominated by men.
If only someone somewhere were doing something a bit more substantive on this topic of encouraging and helping girls achieve success. Something more than commissioning a statue to promote an index fund for a Wall Street firm. If only.
Those who have visited this website more than once or twice won’t be surprised to read that our next few steps down memory lane take us along the well-worn “Press Briefing” path, courtesy of White House.gov. In the April 24, 2017 press briefing, we were surprised to read that the President signed the following into law:
- H.R. 321: "Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act"
- H.R. 255: "Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act"
And what is H.R. 321, the INSPIRE act, you may ask? According to the summary on GovTrack, it “requires NASA to develop a plan for facilitating and supporting retired astronauts, scientists, engineers, and innovators to engage with K-12 female STEM students in an attempt to inspire young women to consider participating in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to pursue careers in aerospace.”
Huh. That’s kind of…what’s the word we want? Empowering! That’s it!
We did a google search of H.R. 321, too. More than 80 million hits. Impressive, although none of the hits listed on the first five pages of our search indicated coverage in The New York Times or The Washington Post. Is that weird?
Then we looked up H.R. 255, the “Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act.” Again, according to GovTrack, this new law “authorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF) to encourage its existing entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world.”
What the….what’s going on here?
What did The Times or The Washington Post have to say about H.R. 255? Nope. Another five pages into our google search and nothing. No stories that we could find. Wait; wait a minute. Here’s a story from New York media. It’s perfect, right?
Let’s sum up. We find this all so baffling. Just a few weeks after we all fell at the feet of "Fearless Girl," worshipping her spirit and determination, we had a muted (to put it kindly) response to H.R. 321 and H.R. 255. Possibly because none of us read any headlines about them or watched the coverage of the signing on network or cable news. That might've had something to do with it.
Look, we don’t know why The Times or The WaPost chose not to cover the bills being signed. It’s not as if it’s the first 100 days of a new administration. It’s not as if every move the President and his staff make isn’t being observed and reported on by news agencies around the world.
We give up. We’re still bewildered and find the lack of enthusiasm surrounding these new laws mystifying. Because if reporters attend press briefings, hear about the activities taking place in the West Wing and then routinely ignore or under-report the stories that don’t fit their narrative about the administration, that would make them mouthpieces, not news organizations, right?