Occupied Thoughts

I have been following the Occupy Wall Street movement and began to get involved a little bit with the local chapter, Occupy Lancaster. The outcry is necessary. The 99% are tired of the pipe dream that if they would only work harder, pull themselves up by those fucking bootstraps, then they too can have it all.
Here are some statistics for why I feel so strongly about this movement:

51.4% of Americans will live under the poverty line at least once before the age of 65.
15.4% of Americans are under the poverty line right now.

$10,800 is considered the poverty line for individuals.
$22.400 is the poverty line for a family of four.

14.5% of US households struggle to put food on the table.
9.8% of households with children struggle with food security.
1% of households with children (400,000 households) do not have enough to eat:  "the most severe food-insecure condition measured by USDA, very low food security, in which meals were irregular and food intake was below levels considered adequate by caregivers (Coleman-Jensen 2011, p. vi)."

A few years ago when the economy really started to tank I read an article talking about the increase in what the press coined the "economic homeless." This was meant to distinguish from the homeless that have severe mental illness and other "regular" homeless people. People that had owned homes, dental plans, 20 year careers that were laid off and left to rot, losing it all and having no where to go. Although I understand "economic homeless" distinction for the purposes of explaining the sudden increase in homelessness, I think it is more helpful to lose the distinctions of "us" and "them," and realize that these days all of us are just a few thin safety nets away from being a part of that statistic.

Did you know.....
25% of people that are homeless have severe mental illness. The first signs of mental illness are often exbited in early adulthood.
6% of the US population has severe mental illness.

My use of these statistics is not meant to draw any lines of separation but to demonstrate the range, breadth and proximity of the various human conditions.

Did you know that there are homeless kids in their late teens, 20's and 30's that live in Lancaster, our little city? The men and women that have told me their stories of how they became homeless have ordinary coming-of-age stories: high school graduation, college, jobs, apartments, car payments, trips to Europe. And then they got kicked in the teeth by the economy and did not have a net.

I have spent the past year feeling sorry for myself that things have been pretty difficult economically and that I have not been able to find a job that utilizes my college degree. I occasionally think about what I would do if one or two more things go wrong and I find myself with no means to pay my bills and no home as a result. But I do have a safety net: Mary and Dominic, my parents. They would never let me go hungry and I know that I am always welcome to move back home with them.

If the Occupy movements do not succeed in changing the ways the 1% get to do what they want, elect their own politicians, lobby their own causes, write their own tax breaks, etc I think that the movement will not have been in vain. It has shown us that times are hard for everyone. That we need to be there for one another. That we do not need to be embarrassed that we are having a hard time because our neighbors, friends and families are having a hard time too. I think that it is establishing a community of people that will act as one another's safety net.

You are hungry? I have bread.
You are cold? Please have my extra coat.
You are tired? Me too.

Regina Spektor "Laughing With"

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet

No one laughs at God
When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they’re mistaken

No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad news, sir
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine or fire or flood

*Chorus*
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’ve lost all they’ve got
And they don’t know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize
That the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughing at God in hospital
No one’s laughing at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very
poor

No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
We’re all laughing with God

Oh recession, you scamp

I quit my job. Too much stress. Too crappy of a schedule. Too little money.
Going to start working at Chili's again.
Not sure where to go from here.
Grad school?
Move to a bigger city?
Civil service tests?
Run away?
A lot of wheel spinning is going on....