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Joined 10 months ago
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Cake day: September 4th, 2023

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  • There’s a whole bunch of comments explaining how low-income people aren’t able to do those things either, especially banking, and how that adds to the cycle of poverty. For anyone actually interested in an answer about what life is like for impoverished working people in the US, I would recommend reading Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich and Evicted by Matthew Desmond. The level of poverty that exists in America generally is, and should be, shocking to the average American. I really hope the Amish comment is a joke because it’s so so incredibly wrong.


  • It was almost $40 just to renew my DL in my county. I swear it wasn’t as much in the last county I lived in, but it was just insane.

    There’s usually discount programs for low-income folks, but the interesting part is needing proof of being low-income. Sometimes homeless shelters will transport people and help them fill out the paperwork and they have vouchers for the fee.

    It’s crazy that all of that is needed when every data broker and arm of the government knows what you had for breakfast yesterday, but you still have to jump through this many hoops yourself to get something with your name on it.






  • My man needs treatment, not tough love.

    This is true for so many things. Tough love rarely works for anyone, for any reason. I can’t wait for the day when it’s no longer so deeply ingrained in American culture as the answer to every single problem. It can really fuck people up far worse than they were to begin with, especially kids. I don’t know what the fuck people are thinking when they decide that treating someone like crap will make them a better person.



  • “Well it worked for me so if you can’t do it then you’re just not trying hard enough!” Don’t be intentionally obtuse. There are jobs in major cities.

    People also have other shit in their lives you know nothing about. You have no idea what every single person does for a living. Maybe they work for the government and need to be near a military base, or the state capital happens to be a major metro area. Maybe they live near their elderly parents they take care of. Maybe they have family nearby who can watch their kids while they go to work and if they moved they’d have to start paying a ton in childcare. Maybe there’s a cheap private school there and they don’t want to have to switch their kid to public school. Maybe they have a chronic health condition or disability and need to live near the best doctors. Maybe one person went back to college and the classes they need are on campus. Especially if it’s a higher degree where they can’t just go to any community college in buttfuck nowhere. Maybe they had to move there for a postdoc fellowship. But why am I telling you when you already have all the answers.

    Nothing new about living in New York being more expensive than Albany.

    I met someone who moved to Albany to get an advanced degree and they hated it. They alluded to the fact that they were broke and living with a group of people. Unless you’re suggesting living out in the woods, in which case, sure. You’re right. I’ve heard there’s some great career opportunities out in the catskills.

    We have no idea what other people’s lives are like and none of us should assume we do. Especially when you’re going to be a dick about it.





  • I would add: teaching that romantic relationships are not the end all and be all of life.

    I feel like this is part of the problem, because it creates misogyny, incels and depression when people have their entire self-worth wrapped up in another person liking them. Any person. All of our media pushes this message, especially to young people. I was a serial monogamist all my life until several years ago. I’ve been more productive and accomplished and more in touch with who I am than I’ve ever been. I don’t have the need fpr another person in my life, and that’s how it should be. A partner should be an addition to a person and a life that is already functional. I can’t help but notice now how every. single. song, movie, show, book, etc. is not just about romance, but about another person making someone’s life worth living. It’s fucked up and we need to teach kids that they are enough, by themselves, and that being in a relationship is a choice. It’s not mandatory.