Find Joy. Seek Truth. Be Kind.
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts

Sunday, October 4, 2020

Freeloaders

 



Freeloaders kinda bug me.



I suppose to have a discussion about freeloaders you'd first have to define your terms, and "freeloader" is a pretty loaded term.  A quick internet seach turns up this

free·load·er
/ˈfrēˌlōdər/
noun
INFORMAL•DEROGATORY
  1. a person who takes advantage of others' generosity without giving anything in return.

 That works for me.  

Let's talk about who is not a freeloader.
I think we can all agree that while babies might meet the technical definition of the term, babies are not freeloaders.  Babies are wee humans who need us, who will learn, and grow, and are cherished members of our family.  Elders in care facilities might seem to meet that definition, but again, these are cherished members of our families and whose lives have contributed to our collective wellbeing. 
What about people who use social services like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, etc?  Nope, not freeloaders either.  These people are making use of public services that were created to support people in need.  Nearly every person who use these services are either adults who have worked and paid into these services, or are minors.  These services have been created to better conditions for all of us individually as well as our nation collectively.
Children attending public school?  Nope, not free loaders, citizens using a system we have decided benefits not just them but all of us.  An educated citizenry is better than an ignorant one.
Veterans using VA benefits?  Quite the opposite, there will never be enough to pay back what they have given to all of us.
You get the picture.

Let's talk about who is a freeloader.
That friend who "lets" you by his drink every single time, and never remembers his wallet when it's time to pay for dinner.  That one uncle who borrowed your car, crashed it, barely told you about it, never compensated you, and never brought up the subject again.  The friend who borrowed your treasured copy of The Hobbit, never returned it, and claims to have forgotten all about it... ya those folks are free loaders.

Who are freeloaders? 
 People who cheat on their taxes. 
Corporations that use our roads to ship their goods, hire citizens educated in our public schools,  then pay those workers so little that even a full time worker needs welfare to get by, and then use every loophole to pay as little tax as possible.
Millionaires and billionaires who got rich using our resources and our labor then pay off politicians to write laws that favor them even more. 
Politicians who get government paid benefits for life after making laws that they and their handlers will profit from.
A millionaire president who has paid $750 annual tax while signing orders that harm his own people - those are the freeloaders.

And I'm sick of it.

The only way our system works is if we all participate, accept our own responsibility, and meet our obligations.  A good citizen pays their taxes.  A good citizen votes.  Every single time.  
It's literally a basic obligation of being an adult part of our society.

VOTE



Monday, October 26, 2015

Bullsh*t

"Tough times don't last, Tough people do"

I can see why folks love that saying. It gives them hope that their troubles will end, and it makes them believe that they are the strong, the chosen "tough people".

Sunshine comes with shadows
But I hate that saying.

Because, for some people tough times do last. For some people they never, ever, end.
And what about those people who don't make it? ,
Guess they weren't tough enough, eh?  
Fuck that shit.

This strikes me as another kind of blame the victim game. In our western culture of individuality we credit ourselves with the power to change reality - and sometimes we can -ish. But a lot of times we can't. 
We just can't.

"Chin up" doesn't cure depression.
Eating clean and thinking good thoughts doesn't cure cancer.
Faith alone can't heal everything (or anything).
And failure to keep a positive attitude and faithful spirit do not cause illness, injury, or death.

Sunshine comes with shadows, sorrows with joy, and it's not your fault if some days it's just too hard.

So, yes, I support working towards a positive attitude - that can make things more bearable, and help you find joy even in troubles. 
But I also give you permission to hurt, sorrow, grieve.  The troubles are real.
You are not wrong or broken to feel less than tough today.
You are loved and held as a child of the universe, regardless of how tough your times are, how tough (or not) you are.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Girls and STEM (or STEAM, depending ...)

STEM=Science Technology Engineering Math
STEAM= Science Technology Engineering Art Math

When Lego Kid was touring  local high school (more on that later!) we ran into an old acquaintance touring it with her daughter.  We've since been conversing about what middle school seems to do to smart girls, especially smart techy girls.  Her daughter, who had previously been good at math and excited about science and tech, has come to believe that it's not cool for a girl to be into those things.  This isn't the only mom I've heard this from, just the most recent.

So, putting the hive brain to use (best use of FB ever!) we've come up with some resources that might help encourage girls to embrace their power and brains, to stay engaged with math and science, and to kick those cultural expectations into the dust.  (and I could blather on about that too. GRRRR)

We found a list of girl empowering movies, a list of math fiction, and non-fiction books  by Danica McKellar, like Kiss My Math and Hot X.  PBS has a youtube series called Math Club, it works to be inclusive and break down stereotypes.   Vi Hart is always brilliant, combining math and performance art into amazing videos.
Then there are organizations that encourage girls in STEM and organizations that work to teach empowerment like Girls on Ice.  Locally CSU has Pretty Brainy which has a workshop coming up this Feb. (deadline soon, scholarships available).

I discovered Rejected Princesses a while back, and while it's not generally about math or tech, it is about women so powerful (and sometimes so grim) that Disney wouldn't touch them.
And really, isn't that what this is about?  Powerful women are threatening to the current power structure.  We're conditioned to suppress our own power so that no one else needs to bother.
Tell you what, if we're going to be suppressed, let's at least make the suppressors do the work, eh?

Damn.  I adore my boys, but sometimes I really want a daughter.  I've spent their lives teaching my sons to be thoughtful, gentle, and kind.
I want a girl to teach to kick some ass.