#not to mention poverty

[thewhizzyhead]

okay I love the belobog arc a lot like A LOT and I really like how they wrote cocolia to be some sort of misguided leader that eventually fell into delusion because of the stellaron and I like that her falling into delusion out of the desperation felt from belobog's dire and seemingly unending situation made SENSE.

however,,,she still ordered the underworld to be trapped for a decade,,,and with bronya deciding to lie about her mother's final actions to 'save belobog' and to hide the truth about the stellaron's control,,,shouldn't the people feel rather conflicted that a person branded as belobog's savior,,,still fucking TRAPPED people for a decade? like,,,shouldn't people be a little bit more angry that they've been deprived of resources and fresh air due to a decade-long order by a former belobog leader?

[intheholler]

what joke are you really tryin to tell when you make fun of appalachia and the greater south?

even when you "just" mock our accents (you and i both know what you're really implying when you take on the drawl), the punchline of your joke there is poverty.

those who prefer a more overt route over backhanded implication: when you laugh at our education, or lack thereof, the punchline of your joke is still poverty. systemically underfunded schools packed with underprivileged children who aren't getting the same standards of education as the rest of the country is a real knee slapper boy i tell you what

when you mock our dental health and start quipping about toothless hillbillies, you're still laughin at poverty. appalachia is disproportionately uninsured compared to the rest of the nation. fellas most of us can't afford the privilege of regular, preventative dental visits and checkups, let alone the cost of huge procedures when things finally get dire. beyond that, our poverty is generational. from the get go we inherit bad teeth from family who couldn't afford that shit neither.

in the same vein, when you make fatphobic comments about said disproportionately-uninsured region--one with few jobs available to begin with, let alone work that pays enough to afford wholesome, unprocessed foods that don't rot yer teeth for supper--the butt of your joke is,, u guessed it,, ✨ poverty ✨

but to me the real kicker is the cousin fucker jokes. how can you not see that when you snark about inbreeding, when you piss yourself over that infamous billboard and oh, how could anyone possibly need to be told that?!, your punchline is not only poverty and a lack of education enough to develop critical thinking skills and the ability to build safe support networks, but you're also usually guffawing at incestuous rape and vulnerable children on top of it. peak comedy.

really though, how is any of that funny?

what happens to everyone's class consciousness the moment we start talkin about the hollers n the deep south?

why does health insurance, quality education, and food security for all suddenly go from issues worth fighting for to punishments, and ones we deserve to be humiliated for on top of it?

i know im just a dumb ol hillbilly n all, but i reckon i just don't get what we're supposed to be laughin at here

[daftpatience]

one thing I have learned about being poor is that you cannot for a moment stop thinking about it

[drarrily-we-row-along]

October 1: "I've Got You"

Draco Malfoy had had more than his fair share of humiliating moments. There seemed to be no shortage of things in his memory that made him simply want to crawl out of his skin with embarrassment, but this had to be one of the most horrifically mortifying things to ever happen to him.

His bank card was being declined at the check out. Face and neck heating horribly, he looked at the items he had to try to decide what to put back; a loaf of bread, sliced cheese, a jar of apple sauce, a jar of peanut butter, a dozen eggs, and a container of yogurt. "Oh," he said, heart racing as he tried to get past his anxiety to make a decision.

"Here," the man in line behind him said, "I've got you."

He turned, ready to decline his help, but those words fell away in favor of a spluttered, "Potter?"

"Hey, Malfoy," the other man said, nudging him out of the way with his elbow to insert his own card into the machine.

"No-" he started, too late.

Potter looked over at him, then back at his card, "I've got it," he said softly. And somehow there was compassion and understanding in his voice without any pity.

"I-" he tried again, looking at the fresh fruits and vegetables, the rice and potatoes, meats, and other delicious foods that Potter had piled on the belt behind him.

"Don't worry about it," he said before Draco could get any other words out. "Seriously," he added, looking at Draco from under his fringe, looking like he was the one feeling embarrassed as he pulled his card out of the machine and a receipt was printed.

Draco took his bag from the cashier and all but fled the store.

He wasn't too far, though, when he heard a set of footsteps jogging to catch up with him. "Hey-"

"Thank you," he said politely, "I-"

"No," Potter said, shaking his head. "Don't thank me. I just-" he broke off and Draco stared, waiting for him to continue.

When no other words were forth coming, he said, "If you were wanting to make fun of me-"

"No," Potter said, shaking his head vigorously. "No. Shit," he ran his hand through his hair. "Look, come to my house for dinner."

He blinked, "Excuse me?"

"I'm just making up a stir fry," he rambled on, "Nothing fancy just some rice, peppers, snap peas, onions, broccoli, steak, and some teriyaki sauce-"

"I'm fine," Draco said, even as his stomach growled at the thought of eating some actual fresh vegetables.

"Please," Potter said, grabbing his wrist to prevent Draco from turning away.

"Why?" he asked and he wondered if Potter could hear all of the questions in his head why would you help me? What's in it for you? Why aren't you mocking me? Do you just want to mock me in your home? What will this cost me?

Potter swallowed and looked down at his feet, "I know what it's like to not have enough," he said softly. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Just," he huffed, "Come on. Let me feed you dinner. Please."

"You have an insufferable martyr complex." he snapped but before he could go anywhere, Potter spoke up again.

"My aunt and uncle," he said, "they didn't feed me enough. I fucking hate peanut butter sandwiches. No one should eat them day in and out. Just," he shook his head, "let me make you some dinner. You don't have to stay to eat it, you don't have to talk to me, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"And that's it? You just want me to come to your house and eat your food?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah," Potter said, scrubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "I'm not going to drag you to my house or anything because that would be creepy," he said when Draco didn't reply, still weighing his options, "but I'd really like to do this for you."

"Alright," he whispered, still feeling embarrassed and overwhelmed but also a deep longing for vegetables.

Potter grinned at him, bright and charming, like it was the easiest thing in the world. "Brilliant. Come on then."

And that was the first time that Draco found himself having dinner with Harry Potter, but it certainly wasn't the last.

By the time he left that evening, with a full belly and a container of leftovers, he'd let himself be convinced to come back the following week. A weekly dinner on Wednesday became a Wednesday dinner and a Saturday dinner, which became dinner every other night. And then before he quite knew how it had happened, he was at his house every night for dinner, staying later and later like he never wanted to leave.

Because the truth was that he didn't want to leave. Harry listened to him talk about his dreams, about how hard he was working in the muggle nursing program he was enrolled in, about his shitty job that didn't pay enough. He loved Harry's cat, Milo. He loved looking at Harry's art and listening to him talk about the creative process of making it. He loved hearing about Harry's childhood and getting to talk about his own. He loved having someone to do the mundane things in life with like cooking, chatting, watching telly, even just having someone to sit on the other end of the couch while he studied.

Still it took him by surprise one evening when they were making waffles and bacon for dinner, Harry was at the stove and Draco was cutting up strawberries, when the other man said, "Hey, Draco?"

"Mmhmm?" he hummed around the strawberry that he'd popped in his mouth.

"You know how your job is shit?"

He laughed, "I do. Thanks for reminding me."

"Right," he said, glancing over his shoulder at him, "But what if you didn't have to pay rent, would that make things easier?"

"It would," he said slowly, not allowing his heart to rise, not allowing himself to hope.

Harry nodded, "Do you think you might ever consider moving in with me?" he asked. "No pressure or anything, but I have an extra room," he continued, "well, five, actually. And Sirius gave me the house, so I own it, and-"

"Harry," he said softly, fingers lighting on the other man's bicep to get him to slow down. "I would love to, but I can't take advantage of your generosity."

"You wouldn't have to," he said earnestly. "If you're not paying for rent, you could maybe help with the cost of groceries, if you feel like you need to. But I don't have a ton of expenses, and I have a stupid amount of money, and a ridiculously large house for one person," he babbled. "And I just really like you," he blurted before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Draco blinked at him, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "You like me?"

Harry nodded, hand still firmly in place over his mouth.

"I like you too," he said softly. "But I don't want you to feel like I only like you because of what you can give me."

He dropped his hand, a tiny smile blossoming on his face, "I hoped you might." Harry reached over and took Draco's hand, "I don't think that you only like me for what I can give you. You see me and hear my words, you know me. I'd really like it if you stayed."

And really, who was Draco to deny Harry Potter anything that he wanted? So he stayed.

-----------------

[bioethicists]

irt poverty/homelessness + alcohol use (esp with @butchfeygela‘s tags on my post)- people really underestimate the function that substance use/alcohol use can have for someone who is unhoused. being unhoused is boring, cold, painful, + lonely. substances can allow the 8 hours panhandling to get the $45 you need for a motel to fly by. alcohol reduces your perception of the cold + can knock you out whben you can’t sleep. substances can help you cope with the physical deterioration from malnutrition, constant stress, + sleeping outside. substances can provide social connection with others who you would otherwise not enjoy or help you cope with being alone.

not only that but- many unhoused people are stuck in a seemingly inescapable position. the pathway to financial stability or even housing is difficult or even impossible. in the wake of that hopelessness, the downsides of substance use start to seem insignificant. arrest? you’re getting arrested anyway for sleeping outside, peeing outside, standing in the wrong place, etc. physical danger? you’re already beat the fuck up, anyway, right? loss of relationships? you’ve lost most people already. inability to keep a job? nobody will hire you + you can’t stay employed, anyway, because you have no car + no shower.

perhaps for you or me, the cons of heroin use or binge drinking nightly greatly outweigh the pros. that isn’t the case for everyone. if we are really serious about ending overdose/addiction, we need to start looking at giving people lives worth recovering into instead of shaming them for their own hopelessness.

[thecruellestmonth]

Do you guys really believe that killing is the singular bad thing that cops do?

Or even that killing is the most frequent bad thing that cops do?

Are you saying that if cops didn't kill, then they'd be the same as Batman? Because then you're suggesting that effectively Batman already is a cop, with the exception that he hasn't killed (just like the majority of U.S. cops, who have never once shot or killed anybody).

I'm a bit worried to see opinions suggesting that only killing is wrong—and that violence, stalking, and humiliation are okay. In real-life, police commit countless acts of those "little" abuses, terrorizing entire communities, before they murder anybody.

Invading people's privacy is wrong. Hurting people to the point of hospitalization is wrong. Forcibly drugging people is wrong. Putting people in cages is wrong. Torture and "enhanced interrogation" are wrong. Ambushing people in their homes and safe places is wrong. Keeping inexhaustible wealth is wrong.

Superhero comics are power fantasies. Not all fantasies need to reflect our ideology in reality. But once you apply your real-life values to fiction, once you decide that fiction showcases exemplary real-life ideology—then your praise for Batman's ideology does become a worrying reflection of your real-life understanding of social issues.

[thefreakandthehair]

(this is not at all based on my personal experience this week with a water main break and myself having grown up as a trailer park kid and my fiance as... not)

----

It's 2006 when Eddie and Steve buy a small little 2-bedroom house and all is going well until there's a water main break in their neighborhood. Thankfully, it's fixed quickly but there's something called a "boil water precaution" until the water company tests for bacteria, etc. The recording instructs them not to drink, consume, or really use the water much at all until they receive a follow-up with an all-clear. Steve has no idea what the fuck is happening or what that even means; meanwhile, Eddie just sighs, shoves himself off the couch, and trudges into the kitchen.

"What-- what are you doing, Ed?" Steve stares, confused, in the doorway of the kitchen. Eddie's got three big pots out, filling them with water from the tap, and sets them all to high heat on the stovetop.

"Boiling water? You heard the same automated call I did, right?" Eddie stares back at Steve, equally as confused but for different reasons.

"But, why don't I just, I dunno, go to the store and get a couple packs of water bottles? Or a big jug?"

Eddie freezes on the spot-- in all the many, many times he'd seen his folks and then Wayne boil water for him to drink, he'd never considered that as an option because it was never proposed as an option. Money was tight, boiling water was free, and that was simple math.

"I-- well, yeah. Huh. I guess, yeah, I guess we could do that." Eddie chuckles to himself, turning the burners off and feeling a slight sting of embarrassment. It's been years now, and he knows that Steve doesn't look down on him for his upbringing but reminders like this of how impoverished his childhood was compared to Steve's will always hit that tender spot in his chest.

Steve clocks the lack of eye contact, the soft voice, the hunched shoulders when he starts emptying pots over the dirty dishes they'd meant to wash but would now have to wait. He crosses the threshold of their little peach kitchen ("we are painting this room immediately, Steve") and takes the pot from Eddie's hands, pouring the rest out himself.

"Y'know, it's actually pretty cool that you know how to do shit like that. Make something from nothing, fix problems."

Eddie rolls his eyes, just a touch. "You do too, I was with you through the whole almost-apocalypse thing, remember?"

Steve huffs out of his nose. Of course he remembers that. That's how they'd ended up here in the first place, but that's not his point. Once the last of the three pots is emptied, Steve pulls Eddie into him, hugging him so tight and swaying him side to side until Eddie finally laughs.

"Y'know I love you, right?"

Eddie pushes back just enough to look at Steve with his warm eyes, salt and peppery hair starting to crop up just at his temple, and arms still wound tight around his waist.

And yeah, there are a few things Eddie Munson knows for sure: boil water if the pressure was cut off for too long, a can of beans and white rice make a damn good meal, and Steve Harrington? Well, Steve Harrington loves him.

[britomartis]

https://www.tumblr.com/ot3/754014008632279040?source=share

rambling here for hope of perspective and to sort my own thoughts not as a THATS NOT TRUE/rebuttal bc. It isn't. Disclaimer disclaimer. Anyways

I hope it's clear already that I have no love of the American military but it's hard to like place "it's a lie that ppl join the military out of financial desperation" against my lived reality as like a native American in the south bc like. I have Been To places here where the community is like. Majority nonwhite and it's 90% military base and it's like. Your options for employment are like. Fast food. Uber/UberEATS. Prison guard. Prisoner. Military. And that's it. And no one's rich enough to Just Leave

And that's not an excuse for like. Ok joining the military is fine in this case. Obviously this is a place that's intentionally kept poor and fucked up to farm more people for the military. It's a hotbed for abuse, starting with the military and trickling into the families, it's the sort of place the ex-husband of my dead friend who indirectly killed her came from. People are funnelled into the military for lack of options, but they also tend to run more center or right wing in these towns because of course they do, it's a military town. But again, this is like by design of the military so they have a constant crop of poor brown and black kids to beam propaganda into and then send off.. it may not be the majority of recruitment but clearly there are cases where that's the motivation for joining the military, even if not self reported because they're also like right wing and ofc not going to say or recognize that that's why.. and it happens w some native communities too in a lot of shitty ways I won't ramble on here but like idk

I think I'm circling the drain on like. How do we acknowledge that the military does in fact abuse the poor without like doing their propaganda for them bc I DO like see and agree that 'the military is bad but also it indirectly strong arms people into joining in lieu of drafts' can generate like more sympathy for the military or shitty right wing chuds than we want. While also like. Recognizing these cycles so we can help break them and restore poor and nonwhite communities affected. bc again even if it's not the majority of recruitment like. I have seen it with my own eyes irl there's no like waving people away as statistics when you've been on a military base and drank in the unsafe and toxic aura and you get real real sad seeing young brown boys being raised in there. Personally I feel like this should catalyze more anti-military sentiment but I know propaganda can work in weird ways so idk

[jollysunflora]

out of food stamps until the 4th.

I'd like to eat some decent food. Please boost if you can’t donate. paypal.me/jollysunflora venmo is avatarmary and cash app is jollysunflora.

[wuxian-vs-wangji]

How can I bribe you into helping me get a job in the industry, other than promising my undying love, which you already have <3

The industry is horrible and awful, low pay, long hours, no real chance of advancing.

Whenever people touring the station or new interns ask me for advice, I always tell them to change careers lol

[keepthetension]

still stuck on mhok's trauma, unsurprisingly. i keep thinking about the opening scenes of this show, showing us day losing his sight, and mhok losing rung. i really thought that the show would spend equal time and care on both

my first post about this show was pointing out that the first shot of day is a close up of his eyes, and the first time we see mhok, he's holding something in his mouth. and i thought it was so interesting that we see mhok gagged, because society generally doesn't care what people who've been incarcerated have to say. or poor people. and by and large, it doesn't care about the voices of traumatized people, either

and i was so curious to see what the show was going to do with that. i can't believe the show itself was never really interested in what mhok has to say

and i'm stuck on mhok's time in hawaii. the show highlighted over and over again how poor he is, and we know that he didn't like studying. what are his english skills like? we saw singha there, and i think one other thai person. was that the extent of his social circle? he seemed pretty happy to leave hawaii behind, so did he make no new friends? did he spend his days off just sitting in his room by himself, the way day did when he went to songkla with mhok?

i assume he and porjai were still in touch, but he moved abroad at a time when his ptsd was getting worse, and in the wake of a terrible breakup, and he just walked all of that off? alone???

feeling overly protective and over-responsible is absolutely an understandable trauma response for mhok, but you know what else is? losing a relationship, and feeling like you HAVE to go back and fix it, and that if you can just get a do-over, you'll be able to do everything perfectly this time, and you'll get everything right, and everything will be okay! this makes more sense to me in the final episode than the idea of mhok and day having a happily ever after does

[agentscamander-romanoff]

Almost all of Star Wars protagonist didn't have normal childhood and grew up earlier than they should have.

Anakin was a slave and later was brought up to the Jedi Order. He left his mother,even though he would prefer not to.

Ahsoka was fighting the whole WAR,when she was 14.

Ezra's parents were taken away from him and he had to live on the streets.

Din's parents were killed by droids'army.

Grogu had to witness Order 66.

Boba's father was killed in front of him and he started to work ,so that he would survive.

Rey was left on the desert planet,hoping that her parents would come back,working all day,so she wouldn't die from hunger.

Jyn witnessed her mother's death and then became a child soldier.

The only protagonist,who had quiet "normal' childhood were Kazuda,Luke and Leia,but Leia and Kaz were kids of senators and I think had a lot of pressure,because of it(Also Leia was kidnapped),so Luke was almost only one who had normal childhood(except Reeva incident)

All this protagonist were just kids with stolen childhood.

[joomju]

When I cleaned houses I had a coworker who always had multiple scented products in her bag/car/etc.

She had febreeze, she had a pine tree thingummy hanging from the rearview mirror, she had her favourite body spray. She always wore a tank top and put on her branded company shirt just before she went into the clients' home.

When she left the company I inherited her car. After driving around with it all day I wondered why the smell of cigarettes was following me. Where was that smell coming from? It wasn't the car, that was immaculate. It wasn't the products we were using or the client's home....

I finally found it. It was the steering wheel. My coworker was a chain smoker, and suddenly all these weird behaviours of hers made sense - she didn't want anyone to smell the cigarettes on her or in their home after she'd cleaned it. The car was spotless but she'd forgotten to rub down the steering wheel, and I had cigarette ash on my fingers. I could only tell when I went to eat, because I hadn't washed my hands thoroughly enough.

Look, smoking isn't a great decision and she actively discouraged me from doing it. But I have a lot of respect for her for noticing that scent was another thing that could tip off the Middle Class that she wasn't - another class signifier.

I didn't pick up on that until years later, when my pothead boyfriend meant all my clothes reeked when I left the house. I stopped getting help with my job applications, my school schedule, my medical appointments. The Baby Boomers were staring at me with judgement, and I didn't know why.

Learn from my mistakes. Some status symbols, like the latest laptop, aren't worth the money. Some status symbols, like smelling clean, are worth an entire livelihood.

[swagging-back-to]

finally went and got my GED diploma a year after i graduated :)))))

[5-7-9]

here’s an alternative idea: Jason Todd is a loner street kid. His mother is sick, so his father takes up a quicker way to get medication. His father is ashamed of his work, so Jason never talks about it. Jason doesn’t get along with the other kids, except he does get along with a few kids who are just like him, but Jason is too worried about his family to hang out. So he spends time picking out books from the library to read at home alone. Jason pickpockets money, breaks into houses to steal clothes, steals shit to sell, uses his stolen money to buy music thingys (idk) and likes to sing and read by his mother’s bedside. He buys groceries and cooks lunch and dinner since it’s difficult for Catherine, making sure to always remind his mom to eat, sometimes even feeding her himself. Never getting enough sleep because he stays up all night looking out the window, waiting for Willis to come back home alive.

[dollypopup]

thinking about how class is never addressed with Penelope, especially with Madam Delacroix. how Theo gave Eloise a well deserved dressing down about how her privileges as a well off white woman with a powerful family shield her from consequences that he would likely lose his livelihood or life over, in particular when she went to check on him after the Queen threatened her.

thinking about how Penelope came to Madam Delacroix with a proposal she literally couldn't turn down. how she'd already written of her favorably in one breath and besmirched the modiste across the street in another. how she showed Gen that she had the means and fortitude to ruin women like her with just one sentence. how “I have proved to you how I can help you in your business, now I’d like you to help me with mine.”

what was she meant to say, No? Gen told her she'd keep her secret. Gen told her she'd never tell. and Penelope came to her anyway afterward, about how she's been sloppy as LW, about how she'd been spotted once so she'd be spotted again. about how this was a business venture and they would both benefit. that they could be partners.

about how, then, Gen finds out that the Queen of England is involved and chasing after them. how Penelope came to Gen's HOUSE, uninvited, in the midst of the Queen's cat and mouse. how terrified she was. that Penelope dismissed her concerns as 'you were aware there were risks when you signed on to this' and how Gen replied 'yes, risks, but not The Queen of England' because she knows that Penelope would be given more grace than she would be. because she knows women like Penelope would *always* be given more grace than she would be. that they always have been.

i wish Genevieve Delacroix had given her a reality check. i wish she pointed out that Penelope masquerades as a working class woman, putting on a fake accent and maid's clothes, cosplays her way into Gen's world, this privileged white woman from a scandal ridden family she besmirches herself, who makes her own money and does not have to worry about overhead or paying for a storefront or a home for herself, who gets to keep all her wages, who gets to leave it, all the while assuming they are equals with equal struggles. that she wears Gen's working class life like a costume and peels it off as soon as she's home

when will we finally acknowledge that, yes, Penelope works, but she is not a working woman? that, yes, Penelope's family has fallen on hard times, but they are very much a 'distinguished family' who live in a huge house in the middle of a rich neighborhood, titled, that Penelope is a lady with a lady's protections and privileges. that Penelope is invited to all the fancy parties Gen would never be considered for. that Penelope wears the expensive, sparkling dresses Gen makes for her, mends for her, that she herself would never have a reason to wear

that Penelope pretends her way into a working world, is more than happy to do so for a day, a night, an excursion: and then disregards so many people who try to survive in it. and is never once asked to recognize that in herself