Change is upon us

📢 This sticks in my craw. After 190 years, the prestigious Garrick Club in London has finally decided to open its doors to female members. What a revelation. Have I visited the Garrick Club? Yes, once, when a founding member invited me and my teenage daughter to join him. The experience felt surreal, akin to being transported into a bygone era, enveloped in quintessentially British decor of the highest order. The club's atmosphere, dominated by men enjoying cigars and sipping on fine single malts, underscored the uniformity of its membership. 😩 My daughter and I found the experience so overwhelmingly odd that we retreated to the ladies' room, where we oscillated between laughter and tears. We felt utterly out of place, as if we were intruders in a sanctuary of white male privilege. I recall another woman at our table attempting to lighten the mood by asking, "Isn't this fun?" If that was their idea of fun, I would have preferred to be at a funeral. Perhaps there's a growing awareness that the era of "men will be men" tolerance is coming to an end. Change is upon us, and there's no hiding from it, yet long-standing traditions do not fade away without resistance. ⁉ It's hard to understand why any woman would want to join a club where 40 percent of the members, who voted to maintain the status quo, would likely view their admission unfavorably. Is it to challenge the system or to diversify the essence of privilege? Regardless, the Garrick, while rich in elite British tradition, finds itself misaligned with the times. One can almost hear the resigned sighs of those "endangered white males," nobly accepting their defeat, pondering with a sense of honor, "Why are we being persecuted?" There's no need to pity these individuals. Their brand of elitism will always find refuge behind closed doors, as this type of privilege is deeply embedded in the fabric of society's class system. Its resilience is comparable to that of a cockroach—always surviving. #diversityequityinclusion #garrickclub #pivilege