Cigars and Stripes?

[Cathy]

I haven't been on here in a long time.  I had to see if there was a conversation.   

I have been on Berwyn Cool Kids and I just don't get it.   How does a bar/restaurant get away with this.  Okay, It was a decoration/prank for Halloween, take it down like everyone else does.

I just don't think it is appropriate in ANY public place, whether it's a bar, restaurant, hair salon, hospital, etc. etc.  Mens or Womens room.   To many opportunities for something to happen.

This whole incident made Berwyn, who can't afford any more bad press, look ridiculous and that includes our Police and Mayor, whom I have to mention we have not heard from.

Girls want attention, Women want respect!!!!

[markberwyn]

Unfortunate that the mayor hasn't spoken out about it.

[berwyn senator]

THEIR ARE TOWNS IN THE AREA WITH MUCH WORSE GOING ON,JUST LOOK AND YOU WILL BE SUPRISED! Berwyn is a good town.

[markberwyn]

THEIR ARE TOWNS IN THE AREA WITH MUCH WORSE GOING ON,JUST LOOK AND YOU WILL BE SUPRISED! Berwyn is a good town.

What does this have to do with anything? Why are you trying to direct attention elsewhere?

[berwyn senator]

I am not trying to direct attention else where,the mirror should be pulled years ago.Whats the difference between the mirror and cameras which when caught a person is arrested. I am well aware of what happens in other towns and is never publicized. Berwyn for whatever reason is always in the news,maybe because of the relationship with Cicero? Isn't the mirror a form of sexual harassment?

[markberwyn]

I am not trying to direct attention else where,the mirror should be pulled years ago.Whats the difference between the mirror and cameras which when caught a person is arrested. I am well aware of what happens in other towns and is never publicized. Berwyn for whatever reason is always in the news,maybe because of the relationship with Cicero? Isn't the mirror a form of sexual harassment?

You realize that this is a site about Berwyn, right? If you come here, you will find a disproportionate amount of news about Berwyn. Perhaps the information about other towns that you feel is "underpublicized" is in fact well-publicized on websites dedicated to them.

[Cathy]

I grew up in Cicero, and now live in Berwyn.   I live on the south side where I can stand in the street with one foot in Cicero and one in Berwyn.    Berwyn isn't so bad, however, it does have a reputation and most residents are not oblivious to much of the goings on.   I know many good people have been working on improving Berwyn.

My personal opinion on this.   Berwyn certainly didn't need a story like this to go world wide.  Indeed it did go world wide, UK, Australia etc. etc.  A good business man, a reputable business man who saw what was happening would not go on media spouting F":* You and rant like a drug addict or drunk about how he wasn't go to do anything about it and in fact burn the place down first.   (Fine, get arrested for arson)  Most reputable people would apologize and do something.

I'm also still very upset that not one of our elected officials have made a statement.

[markberwyn]

I think what's very telling here is that when Ronnie Lottz talks to a woman about this he gets patronizing and condescending:

http://jezebel.com/woman-uncovers-two-way-mirror-in-a-bar-bathroom-owner-1700336259

But when he talks to a guy about it he pleads persecution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTSZtI6BXEY

Take that alongside the misogynistic tweets and it's clear this is a man who looks at women from a position of contempt. Even if he wasn't personally peeping in that restroom, he's clearly a guy who thinks it's a great idea to prank women by putting a two-way mirror there without their knowledge. It's a "gag."

[markberwyn]

"Women are great, great creatures on this earth, but for some reason Jezebel and this media chimes into this feminine hatred, man. It's this mean feminine anger. It really rips a guy apart, man!" ---Ronnie Lottz, presumably from a cross

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTSZtI6BXEY

[berwyn senator]

How many women signed formal complaints?

[markberwyn]

How many women signed formal complaints?

Let's say it's zero. What of it? Does that make putting a two-way mirror in a women's restroom without their knowledge OK?

[berwyn senator]

NO11111   WHO IS THE ALDERMAN??

[markberwyn]

Interesting news report on this from WGN. Ronnie Lottz labors to diminish the complaints about this, calling it a "gimmick" by somebody trying to exploit feminist anger:

http://www.barstoolsports.com/chicago/the-bar-owner-from-the-berwyn-bar-with-the-2-way-mirror-went-on-wgn-today-and-hes-even-better-than-you-imagined/

[markberwyn]

And it looks like an all-female comedy troupe that had performed there has decided to stop performing there.

https://www.facebook.com/HooHAComedy/posts/884254398358488

"Regarding Cigars and Stripes; we did have to end our show there. Thanks to everyone who has come out to Berwyn with us for the last 2 years. If anyone wants a clip of them peeing, please let us know! We just need a little time to look through all the footage."

I don't think female performers really have a choice here, given the way that Ronnie Lottz has talked about women publicly, especially after the secret two-way mirror in the women's restroom was discovered.

[markberwyn]

More from Ronnie Lottz in this interview. At around the one-hour mark, he describes Berwyn as a community of people who ought not to be concerned about the mirror. At the 1:21 mark he likens the woman who posted the video of the mirror to a prostitute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iuw3J0SiDw

On Twitter, Lottz has taken to keening about how he wasn't given enough time on the show to speak his mind, even though he was on for 40 minutes.

https://twitter.com/RonnieLottz/status/594319011162234880

Funny, because he was accusing everybody else of fishing for attention here.

[Toria]

I'd be surprised if this is the end of this.  I think eventually he will be forced to take it down.

[markberwyn]

Wish I could share your optimism. I don't see much evidence of downward pressure on the man to acknowledge his misogynistic behavior.

[berwyn senator]

I wonder if his business has increased or decreased?

[markberwyn]

Can't imagine how that matters much.

Interesting piece from the Guardian about how Ronnie Lottz's misogynistic behavior is in keeping with a lot of the comedy world:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/28/chicago-bar-two-way-mirror-womens-toilet

"One of the go-to rebuttals any time anyone dares to suggest that comedy (like, let's be honest, all facets of culture) might have a misogyny problem is: "Calm down – they're just jokes." As though there's some sort of separation between humour and "real" life, a moat between comedy and the rest of human interaction. As though comedy is only capable of absorption, never influence.

(Oddly, the other refrain you hear over and over is that comedy is our single holy talisman against all suffering and injustice in the world, our only engine of catharsis, and if we critique it in any way, lo, the human race shall surely perish. If you could hurry up and decide which one it is – is comedy frivolous or sacred? Does it affect us deeply or not at all? – definitely let me know. I'll be over here comprehending nuance like some sort of wizard.)"

[berwyn senator]

 If business is slow the bar is getting free publicity,am I wrong?