Aw, goddamnit.... where do I start?
There was so much fucking stupid floating about the news this week, my head hurts just trying to round it all up.
We've had the ultimate in toddler-style temper tantrums going on with the government shutdown, in which Republicans simply can't get over the fact that they didn't get their way, so they responded by taking their toys (and continued pay) and going HOME. Never mind the fact that they took lots of other people's toys and paychecks home with them while they act like fucking jerks.
Because of the efforts of (my heroes!) Anonymous, information has come out about the Maryville teen rape, terrifyingly similar to Steubenville in its cover-up and dehumanization of the victims. Thank you, Anonymous, perhaps the only justice for women now comes at the hands of "vigilantes". As an open cry to Anonymous, please tell me here if there's anything I can ever do to help. Thank you for caring about young lives that our tragically dysfunctional social climate would allow to be cast aside as easily as garbage.
Let me try to lay out some links to some of the better examples of idiocy for this past week.. in no particular order..
Fox News pulls out the sleaziest fucking criminal defense lawyer they can possibly find, and airs a textbook example of victim blaming with great enthusiasm.
Did I fail to mention that this guy's main areas of expertise are in defending mafioso AND "white collar criminals" who are charged with multi-million dollar fraud?
Clearly, Fox News was trying to put their best foot forward after the victim-blaming, slut-shaming, rape-culture inducing misogyny market was cornered earlier in the week by a WOMAN. Slate's Emily Yoffe, more commonly known as "Dear Prudence", heaped rape prevention back onto women with her one-and-a-half cents on the Maryville rape. Her choice of words was questionable, at best, starting with the pretty blatant title of "COLLEGE WOMEN:STOP GETTING DRUNK." Ms. Yoffe is actually defending her article, clearly convinced that we're all too stupid to understand that alcohol CAN be a factor in some rape situations, but obviously MISSING THE POINT ENTIRELY that the ghost of Jack Daniels doesn't come out of the bottle, angry erection in hand, and rape you himself at a certain point of female drunkenness. That, in fact, it's the man who thinks so little of you as a human being and so highly of you as a sexual opportunity who takes advantage of the fact that he CAN rape you, secure in the knowledge that some smug old bitch like Emily Yoffe will wag her know-it-all, admonishing finger at the victim afterward. Ms. Yoffe also has some weirdo idea in her head that what's actually causing all these rapes is that women think they are being all feminist by matching guys drink for drink. No, seriously. Like, as in, for real.. she SAID that.. here. From the post..
"Let’s be totally clear: Perpetrators are the ones responsible for committing their crimes, and they should be brought to justice. But we are failing to let women know that when they render themselves defenseless, terrible things can be done to them. Young women are getting a distorted message that their right to match men drink for drink is a feminist issue. The real feminist message should be that when you lose the ability to be responsible for yourself, you drastically increase the chances that you will attract the kinds of people who, shall we say, don’t have your best interest at heart. That’s not blaming the victim; that’s trying to prevent more victims."
What really sucks here is that the above paragraph is pretty much the only part of her piece that does, in fact, discuss how the perpetrators are responsible for their actions. At best, this is another disgusting, stomach-turning example of an educated, professional, adult woman who has been so indoctrinated with social sexism that she actually BELIEVES this is a progressive, proactive approach to the rape culture crisis we are all suffering from. I hate to break it to you, lady, but we all know that the world is dangerous. What all of us militant feminists are raging about is that we've TRIED ALL OF THIS SHIT AND IT DOESN'T WORK. You can get raped by any man, at any time, in any social setting, no matter what the theme or central activity is. The fact that women from all walks of life and of all personality types are getting raped is terrible enough, but the aftermath might actually be worse than the attack, and guess what? Emily Yoffe, you are now part of that aftermath. A woman suffering the trauma following a rape that was NOT HER FAULT, does not need to read this tripe about what SHE was doing, wearing, or where she was. The asshole who RAPED her needs to be questioned and scrutinized and shamed. There are dangerous people EVERYWHERE. When a crime or assault is committed against a man, we don't ask him what he was doing drinking at a party (you know, where people drink), or why he was wearing a certain kind of clothing, or why he was out late at night, or hanging out without some sort of chaperoning escort to ensure his safety... oh yeah, that's right. We treat men like people. How dare us silly bitches think we deserve the same courtesy.
From "How to write a rape prevention article without sounding like an asshole" by Erin Gloria Ryan, published in Jezebel, and using a direct quote from Ms. Yoffe's piece:
"DON'T write this paragraph:
'If I had a son, I would tell him that it’s in his self-interest not to be the drunken frat boy who finds himself accused of raping a drunken classmate. Surely this University of Richmond student, acquitted in one of the extremely rare cases in which a campus rape accusation led to a criminal trial, would confirm that.'
If Emily Yoffe had a son, she'd teach him how not to be accused of rape at a party. Not how to stay sober enough to remain vigilant and interfere with potentially alcohol-fueled rape situations, or how it's not okay to have sex with a woman who is too drunk to consent. Nope. Just how not to get accused of rape. Got it."
By the way, Ms. Ryan, if you read this somehow, please know that you make my everlovin' day, girl. I read your work all the damn time, and you're fucking awesome.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh SHIT, yeah
this shit totally fucking happened..
Danielle N. Lee, who has blogged for Scientific American for at least two years and refers to herself as the "Urban Scientist" was asked by a content editor for Biology-Online.com if she would write for them, when she asked about compensation, she was called a whore. What the fuck, right? Her blog post on this matter, including screenshots of emails, can be found here.
For the record, Ms. Lee.. I wish you had been my biology teacher.
-----------------------------------
Ted Cruz - SHUT THE FUCK UP. Oh my God, you're a moron.
In Ted Cruz news this week...
Ted Cruz calls birth control "abortifacients" - Huffpost
Ted Cruz fails to disclose financial ties to Jamaican Holdings company- TIME
Ted, Jamaican me crazy, here..
Chris VanHollen, representing the 8th district of the State of Maryland in the U.S. House of Representatives and also writing for TheGuardian.com, brought this lovely little gem to light in his article "Republican Rule-Rigging Cause This Shutdown and Subverted Democracy". Here is an excerpt from that piece:
"There are enough votes in the House to pass the Senate's "clean" bill to fund government – and this already represents Democrats being willing to compromise to accept the GOP's post-sequester funding levels for the short term. It would have easily passed the House with a bipartisan majority – had the House Republican leadership brought it to the floor for a simple up-or-down vote. But House Republicans – many of whom have long had the goal of shutting down the government – effectively wrote the shutdown into law with just hours left on the clock.
If that sounds unbelievable and outrageous, it's because it is.
The chairman of the House rules committee conceded that, under normal procedure with clause 4 of rule 22, if the House amends a Senate bill and the Senate rejects the House's amendment(s), any House member has the right to bring the original Senate bill up for an immediate up-or-down vote in the House. But just two hours before the government was poised to shut down, House Republicans quietly rigged the rules in their favor. They changed that rule to ensure that only Republican majority leader Eric Cantor could bring the Senate bill to reopen the government up for a vote – something they have refused to do."
In case this hasn't reached you on Facebook, here is the video demonstrating this rule-rigging in action.
and last, but certainly not least.. Linda Oliver, the Mayor of West Union, South Carolina, had THIS to say (and then promptly delete) on her Facebook:
"What's it gonna take to get these queers to realize they don't need a piece of paper. God will not bless their union because he plainly speaks against queers in the Bible. Want to cover your queer with insurance? Buy a policy. Want your queer to get your stuff when you die? Make a will."
From HuffPost:
"The post quickly drew an onslaught of criticism from Facebook users. Meanwhile, a Facebook group titled "Recall West Union S.C. Mayor Linda Oliver" was also created in the wake of the controversy.
But Oliver says she anticipated the heated response, telling Fox Carolina, "All I can say is if people want to crucify me, that's fine. I know that following Jesus, I'm going to be crucified."
On the topic of same-sex marriage, she added, "I don't want it rammed down my throat."
Though she insists she'll now use "homosexual," Oliver also defended her use of the word "queer," noting, "The way I feel toward homosexuals is how I've been brought up.""
You IGNORANT bitch, Ms. Oliver. I hope there is, in fact, a Rapture. I can't wait til it takes you, and people like you, the hell off the planet.
The Feminine Context
Showing posts with label equality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label equality. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Anita Perry Can't Stomach Uttering Total Bullshit Out Loud, Media Frenzy Ensues
I'm thinking that Rick Perry is shitting platinum bricks right about now..
OH MY GAWD.. A PROMINENT REPUBLICAN STATE FIRST LADY EXPRESSED A PERFECTLY VALID AND HUMAN VIEWPOINT ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS!
From the HuffingtonPost:
"When pressed on women's rights by Texas Tribune's Evan Smith at the 2013 Texas Tribune Festival, the First Lady of Texas said, "That's really difficult for me, Evan, because I see it as a women's right. If they want to do that, that is their decision; they have to live with that decision."
"Mrs. Perry, I want to be sure you didn't just inadvertently make news," Smith replied. "Are you saying that you believe abortion is a women's right, to make that choice?"
Smith pressed again, asking if she believed it's a person's decision within the law, to which Anita Perry replied, "Yeah, that could be a women's right. Just like it's a man's right if he wants to have some kind of procedure. But I don't agree with it, and that's not my view."
You can understand that women should have the right to choose what's best for them and, at once, not be all pro-abortion. To be pro-choice means that you realize that abortion is one of several choices a woman can make in the face of an unplanned pregnancy, and it IS in fact, OKAY to know that you yourself would not make that particular choice.
Kudos to Mrs. Perry for having the chutzpah to say this out loud in front of cameras. You can tell she's feeling backed down toward the end, but she didn't bail out entirely, either.
oh, and also VOTE WENDY DAVIS FOR SENATE!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Feminine Context
OH MY GAWD.. A PROMINENT REPUBLICAN STATE FIRST LADY EXPRESSED A PERFECTLY VALID AND HUMAN VIEWPOINT ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS!
From the HuffingtonPost:
"When pressed on women's rights by Texas Tribune's Evan Smith at the 2013 Texas Tribune Festival, the First Lady of Texas said, "That's really difficult for me, Evan, because I see it as a women's right. If they want to do that, that is their decision; they have to live with that decision."
"Mrs. Perry, I want to be sure you didn't just inadvertently make news," Smith replied. "Are you saying that you believe abortion is a women's right, to make that choice?"
Smith pressed again, asking if she believed it's a person's decision within the law, to which Anita Perry replied, "Yeah, that could be a women's right. Just like it's a man's right if he wants to have some kind of procedure. But I don't agree with it, and that's not my view."
You can understand that women should have the right to choose what's best for them and, at once, not be all pro-abortion. To be pro-choice means that you realize that abortion is one of several choices a woman can make in the face of an unplanned pregnancy, and it IS in fact, OKAY to know that you yourself would not make that particular choice.
Kudos to Mrs. Perry for having the chutzpah to say this out loud in front of cameras. You can tell she's feeling backed down toward the end, but she didn't bail out entirely, either.
oh, and also VOTE WENDY DAVIS FOR SENATE!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Feminine Context
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Put(t)in Out! Pro-LGBT, Anti-Putin Video Is Fucking Awesome
Enjoy the most colorful images you've ever seen of everyone's favorite Russian closet-case!
Yes! Without a doubt!
I think Putin would like to be puttin out!
hahaha
CLICK HERE for a direct link to "PUT(T)IN OUT"
Yes! Without a doubt!
I think Putin would like to be puttin out!
hahaha
CLICK HERE for a direct link to "PUT(T)IN OUT"
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Kentucky Church Works To Maintain State's Public Image As Butt Of Hick Jokes
From HuffingtonPost.com
"In a move to "promote greater unity" among its body and the Pike County community it serves, a small Kentucky church voted to ban interracial couples from membership and from participating in certain worship activities"
click HERE for the rest of this story..
Oh, good godDAMN, people.. What about interracial worship? Does the church allow anything other than white people? Is it that the pastor is having vision problems and mixing up the colors in the aisles confuses him? This is ridiculous.
Maybe this is a good time for all the Caucasian gay/lesbian pairings to break the news to the church. I mean, this might be their "IN"..
It must be hard to breathe in a place with that much stupid in the air...
The Feminine Context
"In a move to "promote greater unity" among its body and the Pike County community it serves, a small Kentucky church voted to ban interracial couples from membership and from participating in certain worship activities"
click HERE for the rest of this story..
Oh, good godDAMN, people.. What about interracial worship? Does the church allow anything other than white people? Is it that the pastor is having vision problems and mixing up the colors in the aisles confuses him? This is ridiculous.
Maybe this is a good time for all the Caucasian gay/lesbian pairings to break the news to the church. I mean, this might be their "IN"..
It must be hard to breathe in a place with that much stupid in the air...
The Feminine Context
Friday, November 11, 2011
"Not Really" Is Still "No". One Man's Introspective Article
Anyone who has read this blog can easily detect my feminism within a few posts. It's not something I hide, I don't consider "feminism" a bad word, and I don't use feminism as a way to assault men. As a feminist, I tend to worry less about what men are doing, and find myself most often taking offense at the behaviors of other women who want to reap the rewards of feminism while abandoning the personal responsibility of earning them.
That being said, I'm not a mysogynist. Sexual politics within any culture are complex by nature, built upon historical, religious, economical, and other factors. To unravel an issue, means that one must take the time to untie all of the good intentions and practical measures that somehow developed into a likely unintentional problem. With the efforts of many individuals on different ends of the discussion, there can be some understanding and resolution.
This is why I ADORE you, Hugo Schwyzer.
His bio, from his website:
"Hugo Schwyzer is an American author, speaker and professor of history and gender studies at Pasadena City College. He presents workshops on body image, sexual harassment, rape prevention, and the “myth of male weakness.” He is also a frequent guest on nationally syndicated radio programs and has appeared on CNN and CTV (Canada) as an expert on body image, sexuality and gender justice."
I came across one of Mr. Schwyzer's articles today, and simply HAD to share it..
From "Accidental rape. I knew I hadn't committed a crime but..."
"Most “good guys” take a woman’s firm “No!” for an answer. (Those who don’t are best left to the ministrations of our criminal justice system.) But lots of men are like the guy I was at 19—assuming that while “no means no” anything short of a firm “no” is either a “yes” or a “keep at it, boy, because you just might get a ‘yes’ soon.” Call it male sexual legalism, the first rule of which is “All that is not expressly prohibited is assumed to be permitted.” That legalism can turn many men into accidental rapists"
We need more of this guy, and less of this guy..
The Feminine Context
That being said, I'm not a mysogynist. Sexual politics within any culture are complex by nature, built upon historical, religious, economical, and other factors. To unravel an issue, means that one must take the time to untie all of the good intentions and practical measures that somehow developed into a likely unintentional problem. With the efforts of many individuals on different ends of the discussion, there can be some understanding and resolution.
This is why I ADORE you, Hugo Schwyzer.
His bio, from his website:
"Hugo Schwyzer is an American author, speaker and professor of history and gender studies at Pasadena City College. He presents workshops on body image, sexual harassment, rape prevention, and the “myth of male weakness.” He is also a frequent guest on nationally syndicated radio programs and has appeared on CNN and CTV (Canada) as an expert on body image, sexuality and gender justice."
I came across one of Mr. Schwyzer's articles today, and simply HAD to share it..
From "Accidental rape. I knew I hadn't committed a crime but..."
"Most “good guys” take a woman’s firm “No!” for an answer. (Those who don’t are best left to the ministrations of our criminal justice system.) But lots of men are like the guy I was at 19—assuming that while “no means no” anything short of a firm “no” is either a “yes” or a “keep at it, boy, because you just might get a ‘yes’ soon.” Call it male sexual legalism, the first rule of which is “All that is not expressly prohibited is assumed to be permitted.” That legalism can turn many men into accidental rapists"
We need more of this guy, and less of this guy..
The Feminine Context
Monday, November 7, 2011
Parents Generation v. Current Generation
Borrowed from the FABULOUS TequilaxMockingbird, the "Will" to my "Grace", who got it from God knows where.. hilarious in how tragically accurate it is..
The Feminine Context
The Feminine Context
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Occupy Humanity: Can Empathy Be Saved?
Like most Americans these days, I have worked a variety of jobs over the years. Somehow I have managed to maintain a common thread of occupational skills between jobs, because almost all of the positions I've held have been associated with caregiving. Each new employer could look back on my resume and see that I had been charged with the responsibility of caring for living beings that whose very survival depended on me in one way or another. Whether I cared for children, older adults, disabled persons, or animals, the rules are pretty much the same.
No matter who or what you are responsible for, you must treat them with respect and attempt to maintain the dignity and comfort of that individual. I don't care if you're caring for a sick, aggressive pitbull, or a sick, aggressive older man with dementia; you keep BOTH your prejudice AND "values" the hell out of the room and treat either scenario with the same amount of respect and concern. If you think you can treat either the dog or the man with less respect than the other, then you obviously have no business caring for the one who (due to your bias) receives less of your respect. When it comes to caring for that other living person, their rights are up there nearer to the ceiling, whereas yours are somewhere down below the sewer lines.
That's not an exaggeration or veiled complaint. It has to be that way. Placing the utmost emphasis on the needs of the being who is dependent on you is the only way to ensure that you meet those needs appropriately. Working within this structure of "them before us" prevents neglect, and oddly enough, high turnover of caregiver employees. If you can complete the tasks necessary for your job, do them correctly, and adhere to the standards expected from someone in your particular position, it's a lot easier to "leave it at work" and feel good about what you've done. Those who can achieve some level of "job satisfaction" are a lot more likely to remain in their line of work.
Certain things really came into focus for me when I became certified as a nurse aide. I decided that I eventually wanted to become a registered nurse. Having researched the field of nursing, I became aware that in a hospital or nursing home, nurse aides perform basic nursing tasks under the direction of registered nurses. RNs have more education and authority than nurse aides, and are paid better because of it. It makes no sense from a financial standpoint to pay for a floor's worth of RNs when you can pay a few of them to supervise a team of aides who are trained for basic nursing tasks. I got that part. What I didn't understand is how anyone thought they could be a good supervisor when they'd never done the actual job of the person below them. Thus, I decided to learn the "grunt work" and become a certified aide. I figured if I could get through physically challenging part of nursing, I could get through the academic parts a lot easier, PLUS I'd be a much more effective supervisory nurse than one who'd never had to work as an aide.
I realize now that I had identified a need to develop empathy.
At the time, I just figured it would be in my best interest to be prepared, and that the discipline of learning the job that "real nurses" didn't want to do could only help me in my studies later on. In retrospect, I think there was some part of me that wasn't quite "ripe" yet, and even then, young and stupid, I knew it. I was trying to develop a part of me that could extend the necessity of my career beyond simply meeting my own needs. An ever nagging, "pragmatic" part of me kept whispering in the background, "This is a waste of time. You're practically a straight-a student and you're dicking around with this diploma when you could be putting time into a degree". The "pragmatic" voices outside of my head, namely two friends who were (respectively) a dentist and a doctor, were both pretty busy calling me a fool for not pursuing a degree that would lead me to medical school. They treated my decision to become a nurse like a mental illness, or some sort of self-destructive habit. Upon finding out that I had chosen to first become a nurse aide and not even a full nurse, they began avoiding me whenever possible. My dad, who I'm sure wanted nothing but the best for me, wanted me to do something with my mad computer skills, but the idea of sitting on my ass working in an office (and the few times I had done so) made me sick. Sometimes I wonder if he didn't get some sort of 1980's power-suit idea in his head, and likened that and the presumably accompanying business/marketing/information technology degree to "success". In short, the thought of me changing bedpans seemed to make him feel like I was pursuing a diploma program as a scullery-maid, or worse, scullery-maid trainee. He thought it was "beneath" my capabilities, which didn't exactly make me feel great about my chosen career when things were tough. I took a little bittersweet solace in the fact that almost every one of my friends who had gotten degrees in those aforementioned fields had ended up working jobs in coffee houses or in offices that I, without a degree of that kind, could easily talk my way into. Even though I felt bad for my friends, whose own dads had clearly won the day, at least I knew I'd have a job eventually taking CARE of their dads.
I think it's kind of funny, in a dry sort of way, to recall that all the disapproving people in my life were politically conservative. I'll get back to that in a moment, though.
During the course of my later work in elder care, I realized that by putting my opinions and feelings on hold while I was on duty, I was actually able to not only do my job, but thrive in it. I've met a lot of "retired" CNAs who are working in other fields, usually due to their decision that caregiving work was "too depressing" for them. It's not like these women are making any more money than they were as aides, but the idea of being around people who were either actively dying or just irreversibly on their way to death, was more than they could bear. I had been taught a lot in my courses and a few rules still stick out, even after all the time that's passed between then and now. Notably..
1 - Certain things are never to be brought in to your working hours with someone you are taking care of, specifically your germs and bacteria, your negative emotions, your religion (or lack thereof), your political opinions, and details of your personal life.
2 - Certain things are never to be brought out from your working hours with someone you are taking care of, such as their germs and bacteria, their negative emotions, their religion (or lack thereof), their political opinions, and details of their personal life.
3 - Thou shalt never violate, and always remain alert and in timely practice of the laws of the land. It is your place to adhere to them, not bend, alter, or disrespect them. In remaining vigilant in adherence to legal and ethical standards, the client and caregiver shall both be protected.
4 - Lots of things are simply none of your business. No, really, most things are none of your business. That doesn't mean you get to be snippy and make a comment, gesture, or other flippant, passive-aggressive action that indicates your opinion while somewhat satisfying the job requirement that makes this issue none of your business. If you cannot work with someone without making things your business that shouldn't BE your business, you should call your agency, explain YOUR failing, and ask to be assigned elsewhere (if they still want someone like you to work for them).
5 - It IS your business to care enough about the things that are important to your client (religion, politics, family) to listen, learn, and be able to carry on a conversation that addresses THEIR need for camaraderie, NOT YOURS. If it has to be an act, be Oscar-worthy for it.
6 - If you are treated unkindly or with disrespect, you are never to respond in kind. It is your place to avoid those sorts of outbursts. If your client is too hostile and you cannot seem to resolve the issue OR work with it anymore, contact your supervisor for advice or another assignment. Additionally, consider another line of work. Clearly, something about you that you cannot help is too agitating to your client for you to remain caring for them, OR you're not adhering to rule #1, and/or #2.
These rules are probably read as simply "common sense", but when they have to be put into practice, one finds that most people don't have the discipline to follow them. Worse still, most people do not possess the empathy needed to obviate the need for discipline. If you can empathize with others as well as you need to in order to take full care of another living thing, then it shouldn't be so difficult that you NEED strong discipline to adhere to these fairly simple rules. If this empathy is what it takes to look after someone as their caregiver, then it is reasonable to assume that other positions of authority require the same. In fact, these rules could very easily apply to occupations like teacher, policeman, doctor..
.. politician.
It's really starting to concern me as I watch the ability to empathize, a necessary skill for those in a position of authority or as a representative of others, is not only difficult to discover in our "leaders", it is now something that some of us are beginning to treat with derision. The current crop of hopefuls for the GOP nomination are promoting the poorer sides of human nature to such an extent that public displays of it are not only being accepted, they are being celebrated. Public displays like booing our soldiers for asking questions that someone doesn't want to answer, laughing at the idea of someone dying due to lack of medical treatment, and making rape victims legally and permanently responsible for the ramifications of their attackers actions. Since when did our public opinion change from "Oh how awful, we can't let that happen if we can help it" to "serves them right"?
The "53%" rails against those who "don't pay taxes" because they're old and retired or they are literally so poor that they wouldn't survive if they did pay taxes on the mere pittance they make. The "53%" forget sales tax, payroll tax, and property taxes that everyone pays. Tax refunds are NOT "free money". Tax refunds are exactly that, a refund, of money that very poor people had ripped out of their paychecks over the year, causing strain and hardship to the family hanging on tooth and nail for that paycheck. Worse still, the "53%" have been so indoctrinated with hate, fear, and anger directed at their "opposition", they won't even stop and look at the fact that they are essentially fighting for the right to live a way that THEY don't even want to.
Empathy is defined as "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another", which is something that politicians typically make grand attempts to feign, if nothing else. Historically, this has been done because the ability to empathize is typically demonstrated in those people we feel to be the "best" of us. Empathy is the reason your mother knew why you were sad, even when you didn't. It's why she still hugged you and loved you, even when you knowingly broke her rules. Empathy is the reason your friends call, make efforts to comfort, and listen to you cry when they never liked the stupid boyfriend who ended up breaking your heart exactly the way they KNEW he would. Empathy is the reason the best of your friends don't start off with "I told you so".
A massive load of "us against them" is being heaved upon our society, and the core premise is that the dirty, unwashed "them" is stealing undeserved resources from the noble, moral pockets of "us". Through misdirection of fear and anxiety, some (like the" 53%") are blinded to the fact that there's an effort to divide the ACTUAL "us", and apparently it's working. The truth is that there's only about 1% of "them", and they're doing all they can to bleed "us" dry and cast us into a million tiny factions until we don't recognize anyone else as one of "us". Worse still, "they" are claiming to be devout followers of Christianity, which requires empathy and love for others. "They" profess faith in an effort to make themselves appear moral, ethical, and inarguable. Real "faith" dictates that charity, tolerance, love, and concern for others is what makes you a morally upright human in the eyes of your God. Clearly "they" have no faith whatsoever in God, or they would trust that He would do His works and that their micromanagerial efforts here on Earth were not only unnecessary, but possibly an affront to Him.
With a bit of empathy for those that share your humanity, it's not hard to see that most of "us" are all suffering under the same tyranny brought about by just a few of "them".
The Feminine Context
No matter who or what you are responsible for, you must treat them with respect and attempt to maintain the dignity and comfort of that individual. I don't care if you're caring for a sick, aggressive pitbull, or a sick, aggressive older man with dementia; you keep BOTH your prejudice AND "values" the hell out of the room and treat either scenario with the same amount of respect and concern. If you think you can treat either the dog or the man with less respect than the other, then you obviously have no business caring for the one who (due to your bias) receives less of your respect. When it comes to caring for that other living person, their rights are up there nearer to the ceiling, whereas yours are somewhere down below the sewer lines.
That's not an exaggeration or veiled complaint. It has to be that way. Placing the utmost emphasis on the needs of the being who is dependent on you is the only way to ensure that you meet those needs appropriately. Working within this structure of "them before us" prevents neglect, and oddly enough, high turnover of caregiver employees. If you can complete the tasks necessary for your job, do them correctly, and adhere to the standards expected from someone in your particular position, it's a lot easier to "leave it at work" and feel good about what you've done. Those who can achieve some level of "job satisfaction" are a lot more likely to remain in their line of work.
Certain things really came into focus for me when I became certified as a nurse aide. I decided that I eventually wanted to become a registered nurse. Having researched the field of nursing, I became aware that in a hospital or nursing home, nurse aides perform basic nursing tasks under the direction of registered nurses. RNs have more education and authority than nurse aides, and are paid better because of it. It makes no sense from a financial standpoint to pay for a floor's worth of RNs when you can pay a few of them to supervise a team of aides who are trained for basic nursing tasks. I got that part. What I didn't understand is how anyone thought they could be a good supervisor when they'd never done the actual job of the person below them. Thus, I decided to learn the "grunt work" and become a certified aide. I figured if I could get through physically challenging part of nursing, I could get through the academic parts a lot easier, PLUS I'd be a much more effective supervisory nurse than one who'd never had to work as an aide.
I realize now that I had identified a need to develop empathy.
At the time, I just figured it would be in my best interest to be prepared, and that the discipline of learning the job that "real nurses" didn't want to do could only help me in my studies later on. In retrospect, I think there was some part of me that wasn't quite "ripe" yet, and even then, young and stupid, I knew it. I was trying to develop a part of me that could extend the necessity of my career beyond simply meeting my own needs. An ever nagging, "pragmatic" part of me kept whispering in the background, "This is a waste of time. You're practically a straight-a student and you're dicking around with this diploma when you could be putting time into a degree". The "pragmatic" voices outside of my head, namely two friends who were (respectively) a dentist and a doctor, were both pretty busy calling me a fool for not pursuing a degree that would lead me to medical school. They treated my decision to become a nurse like a mental illness, or some sort of self-destructive habit. Upon finding out that I had chosen to first become a nurse aide and not even a full nurse, they began avoiding me whenever possible. My dad, who I'm sure wanted nothing but the best for me, wanted me to do something with my mad computer skills, but the idea of sitting on my ass working in an office (and the few times I had done so) made me sick. Sometimes I wonder if he didn't get some sort of 1980's power-suit idea in his head, and likened that and the presumably accompanying business/marketing/information technology degree to "success". In short, the thought of me changing bedpans seemed to make him feel like I was pursuing a diploma program as a scullery-maid, or worse, scullery-maid trainee. He thought it was "beneath" my capabilities, which didn't exactly make me feel great about my chosen career when things were tough. I took a little bittersweet solace in the fact that almost every one of my friends who had gotten degrees in those aforementioned fields had ended up working jobs in coffee houses or in offices that I, without a degree of that kind, could easily talk my way into. Even though I felt bad for my friends, whose own dads had clearly won the day, at least I knew I'd have a job eventually taking CARE of their dads.
I think it's kind of funny, in a dry sort of way, to recall that all the disapproving people in my life were politically conservative. I'll get back to that in a moment, though.
During the course of my later work in elder care, I realized that by putting my opinions and feelings on hold while I was on duty, I was actually able to not only do my job, but thrive in it. I've met a lot of "retired" CNAs who are working in other fields, usually due to their decision that caregiving work was "too depressing" for them. It's not like these women are making any more money than they were as aides, but the idea of being around people who were either actively dying or just irreversibly on their way to death, was more than they could bear. I had been taught a lot in my courses and a few rules still stick out, even after all the time that's passed between then and now. Notably..
1 - Certain things are never to be brought in to your working hours with someone you are taking care of, specifically your germs and bacteria, your negative emotions, your religion (or lack thereof), your political opinions, and details of your personal life.
2 - Certain things are never to be brought out from your working hours with someone you are taking care of, such as their germs and bacteria, their negative emotions, their religion (or lack thereof), their political opinions, and details of their personal life.
3 - Thou shalt never violate, and always remain alert and in timely practice of the laws of the land. It is your place to adhere to them, not bend, alter, or disrespect them. In remaining vigilant in adherence to legal and ethical standards, the client and caregiver shall both be protected.
4 - Lots of things are simply none of your business. No, really, most things are none of your business. That doesn't mean you get to be snippy and make a comment, gesture, or other flippant, passive-aggressive action that indicates your opinion while somewhat satisfying the job requirement that makes this issue none of your business. If you cannot work with someone without making things your business that shouldn't BE your business, you should call your agency, explain YOUR failing, and ask to be assigned elsewhere (if they still want someone like you to work for them).
5 - It IS your business to care enough about the things that are important to your client (religion, politics, family) to listen, learn, and be able to carry on a conversation that addresses THEIR need for camaraderie, NOT YOURS. If it has to be an act, be Oscar-worthy for it.
6 - If you are treated unkindly or with disrespect, you are never to respond in kind. It is your place to avoid those sorts of outbursts. If your client is too hostile and you cannot seem to resolve the issue OR work with it anymore, contact your supervisor for advice or another assignment. Additionally, consider another line of work. Clearly, something about you that you cannot help is too agitating to your client for you to remain caring for them, OR you're not adhering to rule #1, and/or #2.
These rules are probably read as simply "common sense", but when they have to be put into practice, one finds that most people don't have the discipline to follow them. Worse still, most people do not possess the empathy needed to obviate the need for discipline. If you can empathize with others as well as you need to in order to take full care of another living thing, then it shouldn't be so difficult that you NEED strong discipline to adhere to these fairly simple rules. If this empathy is what it takes to look after someone as their caregiver, then it is reasonable to assume that other positions of authority require the same. In fact, these rules could very easily apply to occupations like teacher, policeman, doctor..
.. politician.
It's really starting to concern me as I watch the ability to empathize, a necessary skill for those in a position of authority or as a representative of others, is not only difficult to discover in our "leaders", it is now something that some of us are beginning to treat with derision. The current crop of hopefuls for the GOP nomination are promoting the poorer sides of human nature to such an extent that public displays of it are not only being accepted, they are being celebrated. Public displays like booing our soldiers for asking questions that someone doesn't want to answer, laughing at the idea of someone dying due to lack of medical treatment, and making rape victims legally and permanently responsible for the ramifications of their attackers actions. Since when did our public opinion change from "Oh how awful, we can't let that happen if we can help it" to "serves them right"?
The "53%" rails against those who "don't pay taxes" because they're old and retired or they are literally so poor that they wouldn't survive if they did pay taxes on the mere pittance they make. The "53%" forget sales tax, payroll tax, and property taxes that everyone pays. Tax refunds are NOT "free money". Tax refunds are exactly that, a refund, of money that very poor people had ripped out of their paychecks over the year, causing strain and hardship to the family hanging on tooth and nail for that paycheck. Worse still, the "53%" have been so indoctrinated with hate, fear, and anger directed at their "opposition", they won't even stop and look at the fact that they are essentially fighting for the right to live a way that THEY don't even want to.
Empathy is defined as "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another", which is something that politicians typically make grand attempts to feign, if nothing else. Historically, this has been done because the ability to empathize is typically demonstrated in those people we feel to be the "best" of us. Empathy is the reason your mother knew why you were sad, even when you didn't. It's why she still hugged you and loved you, even when you knowingly broke her rules. Empathy is the reason your friends call, make efforts to comfort, and listen to you cry when they never liked the stupid boyfriend who ended up breaking your heart exactly the way they KNEW he would. Empathy is the reason the best of your friends don't start off with "I told you so".
A massive load of "us against them" is being heaved upon our society, and the core premise is that the dirty, unwashed "them" is stealing undeserved resources from the noble, moral pockets of "us". Through misdirection of fear and anxiety, some (like the" 53%") are blinded to the fact that there's an effort to divide the ACTUAL "us", and apparently it's working. The truth is that there's only about 1% of "them", and they're doing all they can to bleed "us" dry and cast us into a million tiny factions until we don't recognize anyone else as one of "us". Worse still, "they" are claiming to be devout followers of Christianity, which requires empathy and love for others. "They" profess faith in an effort to make themselves appear moral, ethical, and inarguable. Real "faith" dictates that charity, tolerance, love, and concern for others is what makes you a morally upright human in the eyes of your God. Clearly "they" have no faith whatsoever in God, or they would trust that He would do His works and that their micromanagerial efforts here on Earth were not only unnecessary, but possibly an affront to Him.
With a bit of empathy for those that share your humanity, it's not hard to see that most of "us" are all suffering under the same tyranny brought about by just a few of "them".
The Feminine Context
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
REM wakes up to support The Occupation
Awesomeness!
This is an older REM song, but the members of REM (which has been broken up) have endorsed the Occupy movement and offer their song, going so far as to release a "sing-along" video so people can learn the lyrics, as well as offering printable handouts of those lyrics on their site. Sounds like a great protest chant to me.
Lyrics are as follows:
Throw your collar up inside
Hang your dollar on me
Listen to the water still
Listen to the causeway
Mad and educated
Primitive and wild
Welcome to the occupation
Here we stand and here we fight
All your fallen heroes
Held and dyed and skinned alive
Listen to the Congress fire
Offering the educated
Primitive and loyal
Welcome to the occupation
Hang your collar up inside
Hang your freedom higher
Listen to the buyer still
Listen to the Congress
Where we propagate confusion
Primitive and wild
The fire on the hemisphere below
Sugarcane and coffee cup
Copper, steel, and cattle
An annotated history
The forest for the fire
Where we open up the floodgates
Freedom reigns supreme
Fire on the hemisphere below
Listen to me
This is an older REM song, but the members of REM (which has been broken up) have endorsed the Occupy movement and offer their song, going so far as to release a "sing-along" video so people can learn the lyrics, as well as offering printable handouts of those lyrics on their site. Sounds like a great protest chant to me.
Lyrics are as follows:
Throw your collar up inside
Hang your dollar on me
Listen to the water still
Listen to the causeway
Mad and educated
Primitive and wild
Welcome to the occupation
Here we stand and here we fight
All your fallen heroes
Held and dyed and skinned alive
Listen to the Congress fire
Offering the educated
Primitive and loyal
Welcome to the occupation
Hang your collar up inside
Hang your freedom higher
Listen to the buyer still
Listen to the Congress
Where we propagate confusion
Primitive and wild
The fire on the hemisphere below
Sugarcane and coffee cup
Copper, steel, and cattle
An annotated history
The forest for the fire
Where we open up the floodgates
Freedom reigns supreme
Fire on the hemisphere below
Listen to me
Monday, October 17, 2011
Veteran Marine PWNS NYPD for Police Brutality
From YouTube.com
"United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY went toe to toe with the New York Police Department. An activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Thomas voiced his opinions of the NYPD police brutality that had and has been plaguing the #OWS movement.
Thomas is a 24-year-old Marine Veteran (2 tours in Iraq), he currently plays amateur football and is in college.
Thomas comes from a long line of people who sacrifice for their country: Mother, Army Veteran (Iraq), Step father, Army, active duty (Afghanistan), Grand father, Air Force veteran (Vietnam), Great Grand Father Navy veteran (World War II)."
Sgt. Thomas is on the street, and he is pissed.
The point he makes is a valid one. These have been non-violent protests. Perhaps people find the protesters annoying, but they're not actually hurting anyone. The protesters aren't armed, nor are they looting or breaking windows or anything of the sort. Sgt. Thomas shows up and sees police physically pushing the protesters around and can't take it. He asks some pretty valid questions here on the street, such as..
Why are police in riot gear, armed, and pushing unarmed civilians around?
I find it interesting that not one of these policemen could really confront him for the whole five minutes he was speaking. Hell, they wouldn't really look him in the face, for the most part. From the perspective of a man coming home from war, the idea of bearing any sort of arms against unarmed civilians that he's been told he's suffered to fight for, has got to be pretty fucking rage-inducing.
Good on you, Sgt. Thomas.
Just in case you doubt the validity of his claim that he saw police pushing and beating on protesters.. well, check this out. Here's a video of a policeman cold-cocking a young woman who appears to be in her 20's and weigh less than 140lbs. Oh, did I mentioned she's unarmed and standing STILL when he does it?
Here's a video of three Asian-American protesters being moved, one of whom has a bloodied nose from being shoved on the ground by police. If you take note of their surroundings, its fairly clear that these three had instruments set up and were playing music. If you really WANTED to move someone and you had that many hands to help you do it, why not pick the man up and restrain him, rather than break his face open on the ground?
Here's another, where the police not only beat an already restrained protester with a baton, they shove another and pull yet another by her hair over the police line, and then follow up the hair pulling with mace.
You know.. I understand that the police have a shitty job, especially in the face of a situation like this where they are ORDERED to try and contain a very determined mob of people who have no compunction with insulting those policemen and, let's just be really fucking honest here, doing their damndest to INCITE bad behavior out of the police so that they can film it. Like I said, let's be honest.. this video footage of police brutality is a strengthening the resolve and anger of the protesters, and that's good for the Occupy movement. That said, no amount of taunting and irritation by the protesters can excuse bad behavior on the part of the police. Maybe if you're the police, it doesn't feel fair... but the sad fact of the matter, is that its not supposed to be fair. The NYPD are a collection of individuals who have sworn to uphold the law, and the civilians are not bound to that same oath.
Most people, and I do mean MOST, don't have the self-control and strength of composure to take people getting up in their faces and insulting them when they are trying to do a difficult job. I can guarantee you that in the reverse position, the protesters wouldn't be able to contain themselves that much better than the police seen here. However, I believe that when your sworn duty is to "protect and serve", you have to uphold that sworn duty, which MEANS that you have to be BETTER than your peers. Authority figures cannot be afforded the right to lose their tempers as easily as those they are supposed to be guardians of. A parent, who is the authority over their child, doesn't have the right to knock that child around because the child irritated or annoyed them. A parent doesn't have the right to impose punishment without cause, just as a police officer doesn't have the right to arrest a citizen they are supposed to protect and serve without informing that citizen of what they are being arrested for.
"United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY went toe to toe with the New York Police Department. An activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Thomas voiced his opinions of the NYPD police brutality that had and has been plaguing the #OWS movement.
Thomas is a 24-year-old Marine Veteran (2 tours in Iraq), he currently plays amateur football and is in college.
Thomas comes from a long line of people who sacrifice for their country: Mother, Army Veteran (Iraq), Step father, Army, active duty (Afghanistan), Grand father, Air Force veteran (Vietnam), Great Grand Father Navy veteran (World War II)."
Sgt. Thomas is on the street, and he is pissed.
The point he makes is a valid one. These have been non-violent protests. Perhaps people find the protesters annoying, but they're not actually hurting anyone. The protesters aren't armed, nor are they looting or breaking windows or anything of the sort. Sgt. Thomas shows up and sees police physically pushing the protesters around and can't take it. He asks some pretty valid questions here on the street, such as..
Why are police in riot gear, armed, and pushing unarmed civilians around?
I find it interesting that not one of these policemen could really confront him for the whole five minutes he was speaking. Hell, they wouldn't really look him in the face, for the most part. From the perspective of a man coming home from war, the idea of bearing any sort of arms against unarmed civilians that he's been told he's suffered to fight for, has got to be pretty fucking rage-inducing.
Good on you, Sgt. Thomas.
Just in case you doubt the validity of his claim that he saw police pushing and beating on protesters.. well, check this out. Here's a video of a policeman cold-cocking a young woman who appears to be in her 20's and weigh less than 140lbs. Oh, did I mentioned she's unarmed and standing STILL when he does it?
Here's a video of three Asian-American protesters being moved, one of whom has a bloodied nose from being shoved on the ground by police. If you take note of their surroundings, its fairly clear that these three had instruments set up and were playing music. If you really WANTED to move someone and you had that many hands to help you do it, why not pick the man up and restrain him, rather than break his face open on the ground?
Here's another, where the police not only beat an already restrained protester with a baton, they shove another and pull yet another by her hair over the police line, and then follow up the hair pulling with mace.
You know.. I understand that the police have a shitty job, especially in the face of a situation like this where they are ORDERED to try and contain a very determined mob of people who have no compunction with insulting those policemen and, let's just be really fucking honest here, doing their damndest to INCITE bad behavior out of the police so that they can film it. Like I said, let's be honest.. this video footage of police brutality is a strengthening the resolve and anger of the protesters, and that's good for the Occupy movement. That said, no amount of taunting and irritation by the protesters can excuse bad behavior on the part of the police. Maybe if you're the police, it doesn't feel fair... but the sad fact of the matter, is that its not supposed to be fair. The NYPD are a collection of individuals who have sworn to uphold the law, and the civilians are not bound to that same oath.
Most people, and I do mean MOST, don't have the self-control and strength of composure to take people getting up in their faces and insulting them when they are trying to do a difficult job. I can guarantee you that in the reverse position, the protesters wouldn't be able to contain themselves that much better than the police seen here. However, I believe that when your sworn duty is to "protect and serve", you have to uphold that sworn duty, which MEANS that you have to be BETTER than your peers. Authority figures cannot be afforded the right to lose their tempers as easily as those they are supposed to be guardians of. A parent, who is the authority over their child, doesn't have the right to knock that child around because the child irritated or annoyed them. A parent doesn't have the right to impose punishment without cause, just as a police officer doesn't have the right to arrest a citizen they are supposed to protect and serve without informing that citizen of what they are being arrested for.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Occupation Will Not Be Televised
The 99% are mad as hell, and aren't able to make it anymore.
They've started with "Occupy Wall Street", and there are now groups forming to "Occupy" in other places all over the country. As of 10/05/11 (today) there are over fifty active occupy protest locations and more are forming as you read this post. Due to a media blackout that has not escaped the notice of many people who have been attempting to get information and updates, it would not surprise me at all if you're reading this and only have a vague concept of the whole "Occupy" movement.
That's okay. You're not alone.
I've had to do some direct research in order to gather the information I'm presenting in this. I think the only reason I'm more aware of this movement than quite a few of my friends and associates are, is that by being an active blogger, I have to make a daily effort to observe the pulse of information posted up-to-the-minute in the general blogosphere. Unfortunately, early on in the Wall Street protest, most traditional media sources (newspapers, television) didn't make the story a priority. So, it shouldn't come as much of a shock after the last ten years or so of the internet breaking stories ahead of the professional journalism resources we're supposed to know and trust, the score stands at:
Internet: 1
News Networks: 0
No big surprise there.
So what are these people so fucking pissed off about? The same things that everyone is pissed off about. A Tumblr blog called "We Are The 99 Percent" gives a lot of insight. This is their introduction on the blog:
"Who are we? Well, who are you? If you’re reading this, there’s a 99 percent chance that you’re one of us.
You’re someone who doesn’t know whether there’s going to be enough money to make this month’s rent. You’re someone who gets sick and toughs it out because you’ll never afford the hospital bills. You’re someone who’s trying to move a mountain of debt that never seems to get any smaller no matter how hard you try. You do all the things you’re supposed to do. You buy store brands. You get a second job. You take classes to improve your skills. But it’s not enough. It’s never enough. The anxiety, the frustration, the powerlessness is still there, hovering like a storm crow. Every month you make it is a victory, but a Pyrrhic one — once you’re over the hump, all you can do is think about the next one and how much harder it’s all going to be.
They say it’s because you’re lazy. They say it’s because you make poor choices. They say it’s because you’re spoiled. If you’d only apply yourself a little more, worked a little harder, planned a little better, things would go well for you. Why do you need more help? Haven’t they helped you enough? They say you have no one to blame but yourself. They say it’s all your fault.
They are the 1 percent. They are the banks, the mortgage industry, the insurance industry. They are the important ones. They need help and get bailed out and are praised as job creators. We need help and get nothing and are called entitled. We live in a society made for them, not for us. It’s their world, not ours. If we’re lucky, they’ll let us work in it so long as we don’t question the extent of their charity."
The 99% vs. 1% phenomena they are referring to can be best described with a visual aid, like this one:
Here's the scary part. Look at the small print. This graph was created from information gathered and compiled in 2008. It's almost four years later and by most people's estimations, much worse than it was back then.
I'm going to share in text a few examples of the image-protest that's being added to every day, just to shed a little light on the occupy movement and its members. I highly suggest to any who read this post to GO to that blog and scan through a few pages for yourself. I'm sharing what I could copy and paste in text, but the images are of people holding handwritten notes in front of them, detailing where economic corruption, recession, outsourcing, poor health care, and poor wages have gotten them. THOSE images are far more telling than the bits of text that I could add in this blog.
One thing I couldn't help but notice was a surprisingly large amount of these stories wherein the people telling them have literally turned to things like prostitution, squatting (staying in condemned buildings until caught), living in extended stay hotel rooms with a number of other people, and learning new languages so they can try to find a job abroad. There are young people who are writing about their adult parents who've died at a young age due to conditions that are treatable, but insurance companies found ways to get out of paying for the treatments while the family was still paying for the insurance. Most have no health insurance, can't afford out of pocket care, and a great number of these people are working whatever part-time jobs they can find despite untreated illnesses, some of which are life-threatening.
"This is the last bill i, at 21, can afford. On the front is a water charge for $42.43, i have $47 to my name. I make $7.25 an hour. Minimum wage is $8.00. But lucky for me, i make 10 cents commission per sale which makes my wage legal.
----------------------
"I graduated high school 2 years early, at age 16, in the top 10 of my class, so i could go to college and start working as soon as possible.
I received a scholarship through Florida Bright Futures, for 75% of my tuition…but had $100 per credit hour taken away from me after my first semester, simply because they lacked funding.
Now at only 18 years old, i have a degree, and 2 years experience in my field. I work 40 hrs a week, yet i barely make enough money to cover my bills.
I was always taught that hard work pays off. I want to know when.
I am the 99%. "
----------------------
"My Grandpa was in the Korean War and Viet Nam. He now is a cancer survivor and is surviving by couch-hopping with his 5 children, none of which can let him stay for good because they all are in extreme debt and cant afford it. He is going blind in his left eye, and is too proud of the life foundation he has WORKED SO HARD TO BUILD to get on foodstamps.
WE ARE THE 99%"
---------------------------
"I am 30 years old.
I have been working since I was 16. I have finished at the top of every school I have attended.
I am in over $200K in medical debt from the wreck that killed my wife.
I am homeless after my apartment building burned.
I am trained to spy, hunt, and kill. I am 60% disabled from wars in 3 OTHER COUNTRIES.
I have not found a job in 3 years.
I fear for my daughter’s future.
Everyone I know is homeless, jobless, barely living surviving, and in insurmountable debt.
THIS IS NOT WHAT I FOUGHT AND SACRIFICED FOR!!!
I swore an oath to defend with my life, my Constitution and my Country from ALL ENEMIES foreign & DOMESTIC.
I am 99%, I am pissed off, and I AM COMING FOR THE REST! "
----------------------
I have $65,000.00 in student loan debt because i was told it’s the only way to get a job. I graduated with a 3.87 GPA. And this is what i make, $180 a week.
Next month, I’ll be homeless despite my best efforts, even while my boss drives a 2010 BMW.
Luckily, I AM THE 99%"
-----------------------
"I am 22. My husband and I have lived apart for 3 years. When we were 19, he joined the Navy so we wouldn’t end up on the street. He was stationed out west, and I am stuck in the east. The military does not pay for your family to move if it is your first duty station after joining, and we cannot afford to move me, our animals, or our belongings.
We never wanted this. We are the 99%"
-----------------------
"I am the mother of five children. I lost my job 2 years ago as the manager of a hair salon when the bad economy forced it to close. My husband left me and after a year long battle with the bank trying to get a loan modification, Citimortgage is foreclosing on my home. I live in fear everyday. No one will rent to an unemployed, single parent who survives solely on child support. I am the 99 percent. For pity’s sake, someone help us. "
-----------------------
"I:
* have more than six years of post-high school education
* live in one of the 10 most expensive U.S. cities
* teach your children for less than $20K/year"
------------------------
"I am a college professor, teaching our future generations. But like more than 50% of all college professors, I’m an Adjunct ‘contractor’. This means I can be fired for any reason; this means I receive no paid vacation; this means I receive no health insurance; this means I receive no sick days; this means I receive no retirement; this means I receive no unemployment; this means I pay double Social Security taxes!
And I am paid little better than minimum wage. "
-----------------------
"How can I repay my debts and save for the future when all of my wages from my $9-an-hour food service job go towards disgustingly high rent, outrageously inflated taxes, and out-of-pocket medical expenses? No insurance. No help from anyone. No future unless I sacrifice my dignity in the present. Should I go back to school and take out more debt on the off-chance that things will get better? I can’t even move back home because I don’t have one anymore. I am the 99% and I’m enraged. "
--------------------------
"I lost my job in the downturn. I got sick a month or so later Just as I was about to find a job. I still had a month of insurance left, but my doctor misdiagnosed an infection of stomach worms. He got his degree from the antilles, but felt confident enough to tell my family I was having a mental break down and “nothing could possibly be wrong with me.”
I was denied medicaid, disability, all the “hand outs”. I stayed sick for two years without medical treatment. I could have been cured in a third world country for about $30. We only found out what was causing it when I started bleeding out my anus, and i threw up a pile of worms. Then they believed me. "
------------------------
"
I’m 43 years old. I did everything right. I went to college, got my degree, and paid off my student loans. I always pay my bills on time. I have a pretty nice apartment, I have a professional job & I have health insurance. In that, I’m much more fortunate than a lot of people here. For that, I’m grateful. But even that doesn’t mean much for my future, because:
I am the 99%. And I’m PISSED OFF!"
-----------------------------------
"My aunt has resigned herself to die at the hands of lung cancer because she knows that her family would not be able to pay her medical bills. I won’t be able to see her again before she dies because my job will fire me if I ask for days off. I live on a couch at my friend’s because she is a SAINT. I made $100 last week. 24% of people in my town are unemployed, so I am lucky. I’m lucky I didn’t go to college, because I have no student debt. I think I may be dying, but I’m not going to the doctor either. I can’t afford treatment for what I believe I have. I am dying for the 1%. We all are, in one way or another. I am the 99%."
----------------------------------
This inequality and suffering is why Occupy Wall Street is protesting. More people are barely surviving from month to month than ever before, most of them somehow making too much to qualify for any of the "safety net" programs that conservative politicians are trying to cut. Here's a newsflash for you. THERE IS NO WELFARE. I don't know why people are still tossing around that term, but in most states (if not all, by now) there are very VERY few programs that are available to help needy families or individuals with anything. The only programs that are usually available to help your average, unemployed, poverty-stricken families or individuals are Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Programs (SNAP/Food Stamps), WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), and Medicaid for pregnant women, children, and the disabled (IF the disabled can prove need, which is dicey at best).
SNAP gives you a set amount of money (based on income and number of household members) on a debit-card that you can spend on food-only items every month, and it is notorious for losing application paperwork, being cancelled without any notice, and generally being hard to get approved for. To get them, you need to fill out an application, go through a telephone interview, and if you make it that far and someone bothers to call you for that interview, you have to bring proof of income and expenses. Any expense other than rent/mortgage, child/dependent care, and utility bills will not count. If your benefits get cancelled due to a clerical error (which are suspiciously frequent), you'll have to go through more bullshit to get an audience with a caseworker than you would to get an audience with the Wizard of Oz.
WIC gives you vouchers for (while pregnant) three gallons of milk, one dozen eggs, 16oz of cheese, 18 oz of peanut butter, 36oz dry cereal, 1lb dry beans, and 1 loaf of whole wheat bread each month. After the baby is born, WIC gives you some formula vouchers at that point unless you claim you're going to breastfeed, in which case they give you what you had before, plus one more gallon of milk, an extra dozen eggs, and six cans of tuna. From what I understand, eventually you can get some baby food vouchers, but not a lot.
Medicaid covers a pregnant mother up til three months after the baby is born, and then, provided the baby is healthy, the baby should be covered (if the parents income still qualifies) up to eighteen years, renewable every year. The baby/child's coverage can also be terminated at any time, without warning, usually because the child developed some sort of condition that Medicaid refuses to cover. Medicaid is for primarily well babies. If you need Medicaid because you're disabled, sometimes the red tape can hang you up for years, by which point you may already be dead.
Where I live, the only kind of "welfare" is Family Assistance, which requires the applicant to attend seminars on job hunting and basic skills that most working adults already possess. To continue to get FA, you have to attend these seminars for approximately 40 hours per week, which means that you need to obtain child care if you have children. Payoff? For a family of two parents and one child, the approximate payout for FA is $83.00 per week. That's two adults and one child (for whom child care must be provided while the adults are completing the weekly FA requirements), and that $83.00 is for the WHOLE FAMILY.
If you wonder why I know this about state aid in so much detail, it's because I am a mother of one who was trying to feed myself and my spouse on what WIC and Community Food Banks would give us while I was pregnant. I worked until my seventh month, my spouse worked two jobs and that's only because he couldn't find a third. We applied for SNAP benefits for almost six months with exactly what they asked for in the application and kept getting denied for "lack of documentation with application". We didn't get help with food assistance until two months after our daughter was born. We had to get off WIC because the local office demanded that I get my child's pediatrician to give my baby her "six-month" immunizations at three months old, so they could do all of the office's paperwork at once. When I refused (because it's illegal and unsafe to give advanced immunizations early), they discontinued my benefits. Thank God I was so hell-bent on breastfeeding my baby, or I would have had no way to feed her in those early months.
We rented an apartment unit in a building that was TECHNICALLY supposed to be condemned. It had no insulation, and we had to take showers at our families' houses because ours didn't work. I was going to go back to work, but we couldn't afford childcare. It was cheaper for me to stay home with the baby, cook our food, and juggle the bills and payment arrangements. We worked side jobs (housecleaning, babysitting, etc), and did nothing but send out applications and resumes for my spouse while he was working a full and part-time job.
WE are some of the lucky ones. We're doing better now, but my spouse has to commute across the state border to go to his job. In order to make enough to hold down the bills, he has to work a lot of sixteen hour days. It's still cheaper for me to stay home and care for our child. She's still got Medicaid because she's healthy, but her father and I have no healthcare and both of us have health problems. We're holding on for our tax refund so that we can afford a deposit on a better place to live that will cost us less to heat and cool. I am over $14k in student debt so my credit is shot, whereas my spouse just doesn't have "sufficient" credit. I made good grades in school, we live frugally, and do nothing but care for our daughter. We are one broken down car, health emergency, or lost job away from complete disaster.
We are also, part of the 99%.
Class warfare is ON, motherfuckers.
They've started with "Occupy Wall Street", and there are now groups forming to "Occupy" in other places all over the country. As of 10/05/11 (today) there are over fifty active occupy protest locations and more are forming as you read this post. Due to a media blackout that has not escaped the notice of many people who have been attempting to get information and updates, it would not surprise me at all if you're reading this and only have a vague concept of the whole "Occupy" movement.
That's okay. You're not alone.
I've had to do some direct research in order to gather the information I'm presenting in this. I think the only reason I'm more aware of this movement than quite a few of my friends and associates are, is that by being an active blogger, I have to make a daily effort to observe the pulse of information posted up-to-the-minute in the general blogosphere. Unfortunately, early on in the Wall Street protest, most traditional media sources (newspapers, television) didn't make the story a priority. So, it shouldn't come as much of a shock after the last ten years or so of the internet breaking stories ahead of the professional journalism resources we're supposed to know and trust, the score stands at:
Internet: 1
News Networks: 0
No big surprise there.
So what are these people so fucking pissed off about? The same things that everyone is pissed off about. A Tumblr blog called "We Are The 99 Percent" gives a lot of insight. This is their introduction on the blog:
"Who are we? Well, who are you? If you’re reading this, there’s a 99 percent chance that you’re one of us.
You’re someone who doesn’t know whether there’s going to be enough money to make this month’s rent. You’re someone who gets sick and toughs it out because you’ll never afford the hospital bills. You’re someone who’s trying to move a mountain of debt that never seems to get any smaller no matter how hard you try. You do all the things you’re supposed to do. You buy store brands. You get a second job. You take classes to improve your skills. But it’s not enough. It’s never enough. The anxiety, the frustration, the powerlessness is still there, hovering like a storm crow. Every month you make it is a victory, but a Pyrrhic one — once you’re over the hump, all you can do is think about the next one and how much harder it’s all going to be.
They say it’s because you’re lazy. They say it’s because you make poor choices. They say it’s because you’re spoiled. If you’d only apply yourself a little more, worked a little harder, planned a little better, things would go well for you. Why do you need more help? Haven’t they helped you enough? They say you have no one to blame but yourself. They say it’s all your fault.
They are the 1 percent. They are the banks, the mortgage industry, the insurance industry. They are the important ones. They need help and get bailed out and are praised as job creators. We need help and get nothing and are called entitled. We live in a society made for them, not for us. It’s their world, not ours. If we’re lucky, they’ll let us work in it so long as we don’t question the extent of their charity."
The 99% vs. 1% phenomena they are referring to can be best described with a visual aid, like this one:
Here's the scary part. Look at the small print. This graph was created from information gathered and compiled in 2008. It's almost four years later and by most people's estimations, much worse than it was back then.
I'm going to share in text a few examples of the image-protest that's being added to every day, just to shed a little light on the occupy movement and its members. I highly suggest to any who read this post to GO to that blog and scan through a few pages for yourself. I'm sharing what I could copy and paste in text, but the images are of people holding handwritten notes in front of them, detailing where economic corruption, recession, outsourcing, poor health care, and poor wages have gotten them. THOSE images are far more telling than the bits of text that I could add in this blog.
One thing I couldn't help but notice was a surprisingly large amount of these stories wherein the people telling them have literally turned to things like prostitution, squatting (staying in condemned buildings until caught), living in extended stay hotel rooms with a number of other people, and learning new languages so they can try to find a job abroad. There are young people who are writing about their adult parents who've died at a young age due to conditions that are treatable, but insurance companies found ways to get out of paying for the treatments while the family was still paying for the insurance. Most have no health insurance, can't afford out of pocket care, and a great number of these people are working whatever part-time jobs they can find despite untreated illnesses, some of which are life-threatening.
"This is the last bill i, at 21, can afford. On the front is a water charge for $42.43, i have $47 to my name. I make $7.25 an hour. Minimum wage is $8.00. But lucky for me, i make 10 cents commission per sale which makes my wage legal.
----------------------
"I graduated high school 2 years early, at age 16, in the top 10 of my class, so i could go to college and start working as soon as possible.
I received a scholarship through Florida Bright Futures, for 75% of my tuition…but had $100 per credit hour taken away from me after my first semester, simply because they lacked funding.
Now at only 18 years old, i have a degree, and 2 years experience in my field. I work 40 hrs a week, yet i barely make enough money to cover my bills.
I was always taught that hard work pays off. I want to know when.
I am the 99%. "
----------------------
"My Grandpa was in the Korean War and Viet Nam. He now is a cancer survivor and is surviving by couch-hopping with his 5 children, none of which can let him stay for good because they all are in extreme debt and cant afford it. He is going blind in his left eye, and is too proud of the life foundation he has WORKED SO HARD TO BUILD to get on foodstamps.
WE ARE THE 99%"
---------------------------
"I am 30 years old.
I have been working since I was 16. I have finished at the top of every school I have attended.
I am in over $200K in medical debt from the wreck that killed my wife.
I am homeless after my apartment building burned.
I am trained to spy, hunt, and kill. I am 60% disabled from wars in 3 OTHER COUNTRIES.
I have not found a job in 3 years.
I fear for my daughter’s future.
Everyone I know is homeless, jobless, barely living surviving, and in insurmountable debt.
THIS IS NOT WHAT I FOUGHT AND SACRIFICED FOR!!!
I swore an oath to defend with my life, my Constitution and my Country from ALL ENEMIES foreign & DOMESTIC.
I am 99%, I am pissed off, and I AM COMING FOR THE REST! "
----------------------
I have $65,000.00 in student loan debt because i was told it’s the only way to get a job. I graduated with a 3.87 GPA. And this is what i make, $180 a week.
Next month, I’ll be homeless despite my best efforts, even while my boss drives a 2010 BMW.
Luckily, I AM THE 99%"
-----------------------
"I am 22. My husband and I have lived apart for 3 years. When we were 19, he joined the Navy so we wouldn’t end up on the street. He was stationed out west, and I am stuck in the east. The military does not pay for your family to move if it is your first duty station after joining, and we cannot afford to move me, our animals, or our belongings.
We never wanted this. We are the 99%"
-----------------------
"I am the mother of five children. I lost my job 2 years ago as the manager of a hair salon when the bad economy forced it to close. My husband left me and after a year long battle with the bank trying to get a loan modification, Citimortgage is foreclosing on my home. I live in fear everyday. No one will rent to an unemployed, single parent who survives solely on child support. I am the 99 percent. For pity’s sake, someone help us. "
-----------------------
"I:
* have more than six years of post-high school education
* live in one of the 10 most expensive U.S. cities
* teach your children for less than $20K/year"
------------------------
"I am a college professor, teaching our future generations. But like more than 50% of all college professors, I’m an Adjunct ‘contractor’. This means I can be fired for any reason; this means I receive no paid vacation; this means I receive no health insurance; this means I receive no sick days; this means I receive no retirement; this means I receive no unemployment; this means I pay double Social Security taxes!
And I am paid little better than minimum wage. "
-----------------------
"How can I repay my debts and save for the future when all of my wages from my $9-an-hour food service job go towards disgustingly high rent, outrageously inflated taxes, and out-of-pocket medical expenses? No insurance. No help from anyone. No future unless I sacrifice my dignity in the present. Should I go back to school and take out more debt on the off-chance that things will get better? I can’t even move back home because I don’t have one anymore. I am the 99% and I’m enraged. "
--------------------------
"I lost my job in the downturn. I got sick a month or so later Just as I was about to find a job. I still had a month of insurance left, but my doctor misdiagnosed an infection of stomach worms. He got his degree from the antilles, but felt confident enough to tell my family I was having a mental break down and “nothing could possibly be wrong with me.”
I was denied medicaid, disability, all the “hand outs”. I stayed sick for two years without medical treatment. I could have been cured in a third world country for about $30. We only found out what was causing it when I started bleeding out my anus, and i threw up a pile of worms. Then they believed me. "
------------------------
"
I’m 43 years old. I did everything right. I went to college, got my degree, and paid off my student loans. I always pay my bills on time. I have a pretty nice apartment, I have a professional job & I have health insurance. In that, I’m much more fortunate than a lot of people here. For that, I’m grateful. But even that doesn’t mean much for my future, because:
- I earn less than I did 10 years ago. In the meantime, rents, gas prices & food costs have DOUBLED.
- I’m not a spendthrift, but I now owe about $16K in credit card debt. Why? I had to use the cards to pay for car repairs, building supplies for a home I no longer live in, and even to PAY MY INCOME TAXES!
- I recently had a diagnostic test. It cost $2K+. ALL OF THAT was applied to my $2,500 health insurance deductible.
- I borrowed money from my retirement fund so my brother and sister-in-law (and their 3 kids) wouldn’t lose their home over a property tax lien.
- I have NO SAVINGS…
- … and every time I start paying down my credit card debt, some emergency comes up, and because I have no savings, the credit card takes the hit.
I am the 99%. And I’m PISSED OFF!"
-----------------------------------
"My aunt has resigned herself to die at the hands of lung cancer because she knows that her family would not be able to pay her medical bills. I won’t be able to see her again before she dies because my job will fire me if I ask for days off. I live on a couch at my friend’s because she is a SAINT. I made $100 last week. 24% of people in my town are unemployed, so I am lucky. I’m lucky I didn’t go to college, because I have no student debt. I think I may be dying, but I’m not going to the doctor either. I can’t afford treatment for what I believe I have. I am dying for the 1%. We all are, in one way or another. I am the 99%."
----------------------------------
This inequality and suffering is why Occupy Wall Street is protesting. More people are barely surviving from month to month than ever before, most of them somehow making too much to qualify for any of the "safety net" programs that conservative politicians are trying to cut. Here's a newsflash for you. THERE IS NO WELFARE. I don't know why people are still tossing around that term, but in most states (if not all, by now) there are very VERY few programs that are available to help needy families or individuals with anything. The only programs that are usually available to help your average, unemployed, poverty-stricken families or individuals are Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Programs (SNAP/Food Stamps), WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), and Medicaid for pregnant women, children, and the disabled (IF the disabled can prove need, which is dicey at best).
SNAP gives you a set amount of money (based on income and number of household members) on a debit-card that you can spend on food-only items every month, and it is notorious for losing application paperwork, being cancelled without any notice, and generally being hard to get approved for. To get them, you need to fill out an application, go through a telephone interview, and if you make it that far and someone bothers to call you for that interview, you have to bring proof of income and expenses. Any expense other than rent/mortgage, child/dependent care, and utility bills will not count. If your benefits get cancelled due to a clerical error (which are suspiciously frequent), you'll have to go through more bullshit to get an audience with a caseworker than you would to get an audience with the Wizard of Oz.
WIC gives you vouchers for (while pregnant) three gallons of milk, one dozen eggs, 16oz of cheese, 18 oz of peanut butter, 36oz dry cereal, 1lb dry beans, and 1 loaf of whole wheat bread each month. After the baby is born, WIC gives you some formula vouchers at that point unless you claim you're going to breastfeed, in which case they give you what you had before, plus one more gallon of milk, an extra dozen eggs, and six cans of tuna. From what I understand, eventually you can get some baby food vouchers, but not a lot.
Medicaid covers a pregnant mother up til three months after the baby is born, and then, provided the baby is healthy, the baby should be covered (if the parents income still qualifies) up to eighteen years, renewable every year. The baby/child's coverage can also be terminated at any time, without warning, usually because the child developed some sort of condition that Medicaid refuses to cover. Medicaid is for primarily well babies. If you need Medicaid because you're disabled, sometimes the red tape can hang you up for years, by which point you may already be dead.
Where I live, the only kind of "welfare" is Family Assistance, which requires the applicant to attend seminars on job hunting and basic skills that most working adults already possess. To continue to get FA, you have to attend these seminars for approximately 40 hours per week, which means that you need to obtain child care if you have children. Payoff? For a family of two parents and one child, the approximate payout for FA is $83.00 per week. That's two adults and one child (for whom child care must be provided while the adults are completing the weekly FA requirements), and that $83.00 is for the WHOLE FAMILY.
If you wonder why I know this about state aid in so much detail, it's because I am a mother of one who was trying to feed myself and my spouse on what WIC and Community Food Banks would give us while I was pregnant. I worked until my seventh month, my spouse worked two jobs and that's only because he couldn't find a third. We applied for SNAP benefits for almost six months with exactly what they asked for in the application and kept getting denied for "lack of documentation with application". We didn't get help with food assistance until two months after our daughter was born. We had to get off WIC because the local office demanded that I get my child's pediatrician to give my baby her "six-month" immunizations at three months old, so they could do all of the office's paperwork at once. When I refused (because it's illegal and unsafe to give advanced immunizations early), they discontinued my benefits. Thank God I was so hell-bent on breastfeeding my baby, or I would have had no way to feed her in those early months.
We rented an apartment unit in a building that was TECHNICALLY supposed to be condemned. It had no insulation, and we had to take showers at our families' houses because ours didn't work. I was going to go back to work, but we couldn't afford childcare. It was cheaper for me to stay home with the baby, cook our food, and juggle the bills and payment arrangements. We worked side jobs (housecleaning, babysitting, etc), and did nothing but send out applications and resumes for my spouse while he was working a full and part-time job.
WE are some of the lucky ones. We're doing better now, but my spouse has to commute across the state border to go to his job. In order to make enough to hold down the bills, he has to work a lot of sixteen hour days. It's still cheaper for me to stay home and care for our child. She's still got Medicaid because she's healthy, but her father and I have no healthcare and both of us have health problems. We're holding on for our tax refund so that we can afford a deposit on a better place to live that will cost us less to heat and cool. I am over $14k in student debt so my credit is shot, whereas my spouse just doesn't have "sufficient" credit. I made good grades in school, we live frugally, and do nothing but care for our daughter. We are one broken down car, health emergency, or lost job away from complete disaster.
We are also, part of the 99%.
Class warfare is ON, motherfuckers.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
State Tax Systems Burden The Poor, While Rich Get Off Easy - HuffingtonPost Article
"Contrary to the rhetoric from Republicans that half of Americans are not paying income taxes, at the state level the poor are paying more than twice as much of their income toward taxes than the super rich. At the same time poverty levels haven risen to highs not seen since 1993, with 15.1 percent of Americans officially classified as poor.
But those in the bottom 20 percent pay closer to 12 or 13 percent of their income in state and local taxes on average. The top 1 percent of income earners only pay 7 to 8 percent, according to the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy." - Tyler Kingkade, Huffington Post
Go HERE to see this story on HuffingtonPost.com
But those in the bottom 20 percent pay closer to 12 or 13 percent of their income in state and local taxes on average. The top 1 percent of income earners only pay 7 to 8 percent, according to the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy." - Tyler Kingkade, Huffington Post
Go HERE to see this story on HuffingtonPost.com
In case you haven't heard of her.. Jenna Marbles, everyone!
Jenna Marbles, sharing some thoughts that I happen to agree with, put in a way that only Jenna Marbles can..
Jenna details her view of what I often call the Barbie/Ken Complex.
'Don't sit around and fucking complain to the rest of us (girls) how no one wants to buy you fucking shoes and clothes, and give you a free ride for life because you have tits and a vagina, unless you want to be TREATED like a PAIR OF TITS AND A VAGINA" - Jenna Marbles.
Please see her YouTube Channel, and Her Blog.
you can also follow her on Twitter. I know I do, cause the bitch is crazy and I love her.
Jenna details her view of what I often call the Barbie/Ken Complex.
'Don't sit around and fucking complain to the rest of us (girls) how no one wants to buy you fucking shoes and clothes, and give you a free ride for life because you have tits and a vagina, unless you want to be TREATED like a PAIR OF TITS AND A VAGINA" - Jenna Marbles.
Please see her YouTube Channel, and Her Blog.
you can also follow her on Twitter. I know I do, cause the bitch is crazy and I love her.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
I have to make my statement on Chaz Bono, right now.
"Dancing With The Stars" is still very much a "family show".
The kids who would be young enough to be "warped" or "confused" by Bono, don't have to be told a damn thing. I doubt they would think that he was anything other than an ordinary man unless they saw their parents flying into complete hysterics over him.
Get the fuck over yourselves. Chaz Bono is, for all intents and purposes, a man.
and a snazzy dancing man at that!
I don't understand why, when people encounter something new and different, anger and fear come in so far the fuck ahead of empathy. I really can't understand it when all the hate pours out of people who are supposedly living an ethical "cut above" the rest of us by proclaiming their religion to anyone who will listen.
Thank GOD that our society is evolving to a point of higher-level thinking that Chaz Bono doesn't have to hide or live his life miserable in a body that doesn't fit his brain. Even better, his being openly visible on DWTS as he has a great time competing, might just tell other people who are surrounded by narrow-minded fucks that there is, indeed, life out there that's not limited to people so fucking ashamed of THEMSELVES that they have to make life unbearable for the people that aren't.
The kids who would be young enough to be "warped" or "confused" by Bono, don't have to be told a damn thing. I doubt they would think that he was anything other than an ordinary man unless they saw their parents flying into complete hysterics over him.
Get the fuck over yourselves. Chaz Bono is, for all intents and purposes, a man.
and a snazzy dancing man at that!
I don't understand why, when people encounter something new and different, anger and fear come in so far the fuck ahead of empathy. I really can't understand it when all the hate pours out of people who are supposedly living an ethical "cut above" the rest of us by proclaiming their religion to anyone who will listen.
Thank GOD that our society is evolving to a point of higher-level thinking that Chaz Bono doesn't have to hide or live his life miserable in a body that doesn't fit his brain. Even better, his being openly visible on DWTS as he has a great time competing, might just tell other people who are surrounded by narrow-minded fucks that there is, indeed, life out there that's not limited to people so fucking ashamed of THEMSELVES that they have to make life unbearable for the people that aren't.
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