What a sorry state of affairs and lack of leadership with respect to this government shut down..As you know millions of people all over the country are directly impacted by this but you wouldn’t know it by what’s being highlighted..What we’re seeing and hearing is a lot of well paid pundits, political wonks and politicians speaking on behalf of poor folks who are scrambling because their children have been booted out of Head Start, food stamps are cut or they simply cant make rent because they’ve been furloughed.
Try as they might its hard for someone who is making six figures with full benefits, has a nice savings cushion and plenty of options to convey the angst, frustration, anger and profound sadness many are feeling..The sting of poverty and the faces of those most impacted are being hidden, leaving many of us, even quite a few social justice folks to believe upending people’s livelihoods and lifelines are late night jokes or political and ideological footballs…
Also hidden in the narratives around the shutdowns are those who are going full steam ahead to not give folks any breaks.. They are rising prices, jacking up rents, demanding payment on time or face harsh penalties.. Those who are furloughed and have payment plans in effect to take care of mortgages, tax bills etc, may find themselves being disqualified and those payment arrangements rescinded because of this shut down.. That will really mess up folks in more ways than I think people realize…
On top of that, don’t think for a minute that corporate opportunists who now don’t have federal oversight in particular areas i.e food inspectors, power regulators etc, wont take advantage and slip a few wrong doings through the cracks..
This shutdown will last a lot longer then we think or the Democrats will cave in vs fighting and finding things of importance to their opposition that they can ‘hold hostage’ . If recent history is any indication the Dems are likely over compromise and giveaway some really important things many of us absolutely need (ie social security )in order to ‘strike a bi-partisan deal‘ and ‘save the country from economic collapse‘…
If the latter happens what folks will need to pay close attention to will be an all out effort to silence and marginalize voices of the poor, even more than they are now.. In short a deal might be cut with the promise that those who pipe up will be shut down quickly.. It’s all about saving face and scoring points for many in charge, not saving lives.
In closing those of us who are ‘social justice activists’ need to keep in mind that not everyone impacted by this shut down are as politically aware and connected as you and thus don’t have networks in place and other options to help them survive.. Many are elderly and to be honest quite isolated and not as agile. Others are young, (children) and subjected to the actions of parents who may not have kept themselves up to speed..We need to keep this in mind, meet people where they’re at and show compassion and understanding at the very least.
Davey D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjaLkB7hq5c
DaveyD,
I couldn’t have said any of this better than you have stated the issues. This battering of American citizens who have been struggling for years now is simply evil. Mind you, these are the same Elected Officials who cry and moan about gassed people in Syria and think nothing of spending $1 billion a week in an act of war to avenge them. But turn the spotlight on people who work at Walmart and need help buying food–those people get kicked the curb and then stomped on.
This is wrong. Our govt is supposed to do what Americans want it to do. If we want it to support the quality of life for all Americans in this country, then that is what it should do. Let Banks & Corprations and foreign sovereign countries take care of themselves. Why give trillions to Banks that will evict people after their criminal acts caused them to lose their jobs. That is mighty fucked up.
My red line: I’m not voting for anybody who puts corporate and military interests ahead of American citizens. I’m not voting for anybody who supports mass govt surveillance be it online or on the streets.