Written by Mimi   

Hello. This is my first article entry here on RSN. Just found out about this site and noticed that one doesn't need to be rich and famous to post here. What a concept!

Hmmm...

So, who am I? Well, I've been blogging about economic inequality, and I'm in favor of helping poor people, including homeless people.

Shocking, isn't it?
Yep, shocking, but true.
Pretty darned controversial, eh? (No, I'm not Canadian. I just write like one. And gosh, do I wish I were one right now...)

After writing a blog about homelessness, poverty and social injustice and posting comments all over the web for a few years I began considering deleting my blog altogether and just staying out of politics completely. (Yeah, right! An erstwhile dream at best!)

Fact is, I have a lot to say and it all needs to be said, but I can't carry this torch alone. Me, all by myself, writing a blog and leaving comments all over the 'net that wealthy, powerful white guys don't like... Well, I began to feel a bit vulnerable. I also felt a bit used in a way. Here I am spending sometimes hours posting a blog entry about something I think is important and, if I were lucky, maybe I'd get 20 views. That's nice. 20 views is better than no views, and I'm grateful to all my readers. Seriously.

But then there's a sense that I'm working for free, giving it all away. Ideas are bulletproof, yes. And none are really original. It's all been thought of before, been said before, been tried before. But somehow I felt that with my little blog I was just ranting and raving out into the wilderness. Few people were reading and those that were could just take my ideas and run with them, maybe regurgitate them on their own blogs. If they had a bigger platform than I had then maybe my ideas might help them to generate more readers for their blogs, books or whatever. Meanwhile, I'm here type, type, typing away, like some sort of homeless Edgar Allen Poe. (Yes, I think I'm the Poe of poverty! Homelessness is probably one of the scariest things that can happen to a person in a highly capitalist society like the USSA. Except, in full disclosure, I'm not homeless, thankfully, at the moment.)

But why in the heck was I giving it all away? Don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about greed here. I write about economic inequality so, believe me, I'm not making money off of it. I'm talking about getting some sort of credit, some sort of pat on the back, some sort of recognition for one's own ideas. I'm talking about not placing myself at risk by becoming some sort of "activist," expressing opinions that powerful people don't like and just doing that all on my own. With no support. No recognition. No one watching my back.

So I contemplated deleting my blog altogether. Yet,though I haven't been updating the blog in months, I couldn't bring myself to hit that indelible "delete" button. (Indelible--it would mark the disappearance of my discourse forever.) Just couldn't do it. Kill my blog? Probably should be done and possibly will be done in the near future.

But not today.

And so I'm here on RSN. So who am I?

I'm someone who's done all the "right things." I worked incredibly hard my whole life, put myself through college, made huge sacrifices in my life to "pick myself up by my bootstraps." And guess what? My bootstraps wore out due to the struggle. So now I don't have any left. I'm just waiting to die at the moment. And while I sit in death's waiting room, I write. And write.

If someone like me who has a college education could end up homeless then how is the rest of America doing?

Now, I suppose the right-wingers (I'm holding back temptation here...holding it back...must...hold...back... keep... it... contained, restrained, constrained...don't like to make personal attacks...won't...attack...Repugnant-ians...er...Republic-cons...er...Republicans...won't attack Republicans..can't attack Republicans...won't let myself type what I really want to say...wouldn't be lady-like...must be lady-like...must...hold...back...)

Ehem.
Let me rephrase the above. (Coughs then grabs a tissue. Composes self. Stands up straight, just like a lady. Returns, with proper posture, to computer.)

Now, I suppose that some people (specific names and descriptions omitted...er...redacted...yes, I like the word “redacted,” it's so very... Amerikan) will forage their personal attacks on me with comments like, "You became homeless because you weren't doing all the 'right things,' because you had a 'negative attitude,' because you didn't pray hard enough. The LORD rewards those who pray, you know..."

Or my personal favorite:
"You became homeless because you're lazy and don't want to work."

LOVE that one. (Insert audio of audience clapping followed by laugh track here.)

Yep, I LOVE it! 'Cause all my life I've worked incredibly hard--harder than most people to succeed. Made major sacrifices to obtain my goals. You see, I was born with huge obstacles in front of me and somehow managed to survive.

I worked so hard that I was advised by a career counselor to not work so much! She said I needed to "let go of the struggle."

My father was also a hard worker. Now he's dead. His company had to force him to retire. Sadly, he retired then later died just as poor as he'd always been. Personally, I think working so hard was what killed him.

Our society doesn't reward people for working hard. Our society rewards people for telling other people to work hard.

But I digress.

When someone like me who is well-educated, intelligent, energetic and hardworking ends up homeless then something is wrong. Very wrong.

I have a lot to say about poverty and how our society actively creates it. And there are a lot of people who don't want to hear what I have to say--including some limousine liberals who publicly claim to care about economic inequality because they want to make themselves look like good-doers. But in fact, they are part of the problem.

I have so much to say and I hope that people interested in poverty, its causes and possible cures, will enjoy reading my posts and possibly take a moment to let me know. Because I don't want to make statements that are, apparently, controversial and remain isolated.

Writing my blog, I felt that anyone could be reading. Could be a member of Occupy or the Green Party looking for ideas or inspiration to create social change. Could be an advocate for the homeless looking for ideas to help the poor. Could be a Republican who hates my guts. Could be a DHS operative trying to determine my identity so as to ruin my life or at least prevent me from continuing to post on the Internet. (Before you accuse me of being consumed with paranoia, consider this. Stranger things have happened.) Someone who knew my true identity out in the real world did attempt to ruin my life because he didn't like my politics.

Being an activist is a dangerous endeavor. Frankly, I'm not up to it. But I have a lot of opinions and ideas that I often feel compelled to share. I've tried getting involved with organizations but they're just as cliquey as corporate America. Seems the civil rights/social change movement is dominated by rich, white guys too.

So if I can continue to write here, then great! This is as much activism as I'd like to pursue, thank you very much. I don't have the courage to be another Michael Hastings, Amy Goodman, Michael Moore or Naomi Wolf. I admire those who do, but I'd prefer to stay in the background, thank-you-very much. I had in the past tried to get involved in politics or journalism more deeply, but as I said earlier, even the movement for social change is dominated by rich white guys. It's a clique. They all know each other. They're just as resistant to disturbing the status quo as the CEOs of Walmart.

They say you shouldn't meet your heroes. And they are so right. We admire them (our heroes) for whom we think they are. And often they aren't.

But I do like to write (I guess that would be obvious to anyone with the patience to read this lengthy tirade), and I do like to create triumph over tragedy. The only good that could come from my having been homeless and having had to struggle financially over a period of several years is that I can share what I've learned. It would be nice if people who claim to want to end poverty would start listening to those of us who've actually experienced it rather than continuing to promote “experts” who've written books, conducted research, etc., but who haven't actually experienced it themselves.

But again, another erstwhile dream. (As I stated above: even the movement for social change is dominated by rich white guys.)

I don't like politics, don't want to get involved, don't want another person(s) to enter my life and try to destroy me because of my political beliefs. But perhaps I can make a difference here, in my own small way. Or at least this might be a safer haven for my public catharsis.