Thank you so much, Angela. There is so much hatred out there for the poor, the struggling, the unemployed, the underemployed and just regular working folks.
Hatred, I dunno-in some cases, certainly. But I also think some of it is just a lack of true understanding. If you've never had to struggle, if you're sitting pretty, it's hard to really understand what it's like to decide between rent and food, or medical bills and rent, or whatever. I'm not saying that excuses the crap that people in these classes constantly get as a result, but I think that's a big factor.
I'm going through a rough time right now. I can't even get a temp job, not to mention long-term employment. It's very frustrating and it chips away at my self-esteem every single day. I am college educated, have worked since I was a teen-ager and I am a published writer. I give back to my community. I've never been in trouble with the law other than a traffic ticket. But to some of the right-wing bloggers and pundits out there, I'm a slacker, a loser. I need to pick myself up by my boot straps. I'm probably stupid and lazy. It's horrible.
I understand this completely. Been there, know people who've been there, all that sort of thing. I can't think of many people out there who
want to live this way. It's embarrassing, it's nervewracking, it leads to sleepless nights and constant stress and worry. Who would want to experience that on a daily basis?
I am all for self-sufficiency and people just forging ahead on their own. If you can manage to do that, fantastic. We just rolled with our situation as well as we could and improvised and made do with what we had.
But it's easier said than done sometimes, this "pick yourself up" mentality, people. And besides that, I dunno, I just figure, if you can help some way, you should do so, simply because it's the decent human thing to do.
Yet, these same bloggers and pundits never call out people like Bernie Madoff, CEOs who sink a company and still get huge bonuses, the outsourcing of good jobs to India and any other corporate malfeasance. But fall on hard times and need food stamps, and you get totally shit on!
Heh, eh, well, to be fair, I think Madoff has overall gotten his pretty good kicking. Perhaps not from those people you mentioned, no, and that wouldn't be surprising, but most people agree he's right where he deserves to be.
But fully agreed otherwise, it's absolutely maddening to see incompetence and sheer greed getting rewarded. That's another thing, too, how are we supposed to believe hard work and pulling yourself up brings any good rewards when it seems the only people being rewarded are the ones who don't get their riches that way? My parents have worked their asses off their entire lives, but they're not rich, yet the CEOs of some of these big corporations that are flailing are getting bonuses. Something is severely fucked up with that picture and it needs to stop. NOW.
And it's not like I want to be a millionaire or anything, 'cause quite frankly, I don't. This past year, all I wanted was to just be able to live a life where we weren't sitting here deciding whether to pay for one basic necessity or another. I think everyone deserves at least that. I don't think that's too much to ask for, is it?
I hope things get better for you soon. I do. They've been slowly, ever so slowly starting to look up here in recent months, and I hope you get to see your fortunes change, too. They will, I believe they will
.
Anywho, ending rant now, just wanted to share these couple things I found online today in relation to this:
Some interesting questions in this first link, should provoke a bit of discussion, I'd think:
Wisconsin Budget Gap: Blame Politicians or Teachers' Unions? - TIME
And guess who else decides to weigh in on the issue?:
The Page by Mark Halperin | Palin to WI Workers: Don’t “Kowtow to the Union Bosses”
Angela