Political Bullying ~ American Style

After 30 plus years of conservatives bullying the poor, women, gays, immigrants, people of color, non-Christians, etc...a legacy of fear has effectively silenced the American people.

Every day screaming heads bombard the masses with hate and fear through mainstream media, talk radio and the Internet. Fox News, and talk radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have set a standard of political bullying that has made people afraid to speak out against racism, sexism, bigotry...hate.

If we speak out against racism...we are playing the dreaded "race card." If we speak out against sexism, we are femi-nazis. If we speak out against corporate greed, we are Socialist Commies. If we support the separation of church and State, we are Godless Atheists. If we support Universal health care we are Liberal Socialists. If we speak out against rape or support women's reproductive rights, we are sluts. If we speak out against conservative politics we are Lefty Liberal Socialist that want a free ride on the Conservatives tax dollars.

They have some nasty name to call anyone who tries to stand up for themselves or others against oppression. They have bullied the American people into being afraid to speak up out of fear of being bullied some more.

They have turned the United States into Bizarro World...where White Supremacist are Civil Rights Activists and Peaceful Protesters are terrorists. Where wearing a hoodie and being black makes you "suspicious" and being poor is a crime. Where being stupid is Patriotic and being educated and intelligent makes you a snob. Where toting guns and carrying signs that read "God hates Fags" are peaceful protesters while unarmed women and children are maced by swat teams in full riot gear for supporting women's rights.

We are even seeing this political bullying in the OWS Movement that has become over run by Ron Paul followers that preach Anarchy and bully anyone with an opinion that differs from theirs by calling them "brainwashed sheeple". The Occupy Movement that once prided itself on being all-inclusive and non-partisan has fallen victim to a patriarchy of young white heterosexual males that identify with Anarchy and the Ron Paul version of Libertarianism.

While they claim to still be all-inclusive and non-partisan, they apparently have no problem with anti-Obama & anti-Democrat sentiment. They refuse to speak out against the GOP war against women, the poor, immigration, civil rights, etc...because they claim that would be divisive and partisan...yet they have no such compunction against trashing Obama and the DFL. Whenever anyone questions that, they are attacked and accused of trying to co-opt OWS with a Liberal Democrat agenda.

The hypocrisy of these self-proclaimed Anarchist is not lost on those of us that once held hope that the Occupy Movement would be a catalyst for positive change in the United States. That OWS would truly represent the 99% of us who are being oppressed by the 1%. Unfortunately, as OWS becomes more anti-Obama & anti-Democrat everyday, it no longer represents the 99% since women, gays, Democrats, Liberals, people of color, etc... are all a part of the melting pot that truly is the 99%.

By disenfranchising anyone who isn't an Anarchist or Ron Paul follower, OWS is no longer non-partisan or all-inclusive. By bullying anyone who disagrees with their Anarchy political agenda, OWS has made itself no better than any other political group and is an excellent example of how political bullying continues to keep the American people silenced.

In a nutshell, the people being silenced in America are as they have always been...women, minorities, the LGBT Community, anyone with Liberal political viewpoints.

Homeless In America

Thanks to the housing crisis, the economy, the unemployment rate, etc...in the United States in the past few years, more and more people are ending up homeless.

I ended up homeless after leaving an abusive marriage almost 2 years ago and only recently started getting back on my feet again. I lived in an RV for almost a year and was surprised to find than nearly half of all the people I met on the road were also homeless due to job loss, foreclosure, etc... Many of the people I met who had been displaced and had ended up in campers had children.

My experience with being homeless these last 2 years has shown me that there is a whole invisible homeless population that most people aren't even aware of. We all think of the homeless as street people, runaway teens, bums, etc...but those people only comprise a portion of the total homeless population in America.

A large number of homeless families live in shelters, RVs, their cars, tents or squatting with family or friends until they wear out their welcome. We don't see this homeless population, they are invisible, but they do exist.

During the time I was homeless I lived out of my car, stayed with family members, lived in an RV and even exchanged childcare for a free room to sleep in. The hardest part about being homeless is the constant worry about security. Never knowing where your next meal is coming from, or how long before you wear out your welcome someplace and get asked to leave. Hoping you can find another place to stay before that happens.

I lived out of plastic bins that never got completely unpacked, hoarded food for emergencies and lived in a constant state of depression. As someone who is disabled and as chronic health issues as well as Autism, I have a very limited disability income that just isn't enough to afford to rent even a studio apartment in Minnesota where I live. Rent for even a tiny studio apartment would eat up my entire monthly income and the waiting lists in Minnesota for low income or public housing is years long.

Luckily, I recently moved into a 3 bedroom duplex with my youngest son, his spouse & my grand daughter. I still am paying more than I can really afford for rent, but it is worth it to have some stability in my life again.

Still, I struggle financially. Yesterday my beater car broke down, so now it's in the shop, but I have no idea how I will afford to get it fixed. After years of working good paying jobs with benefits and living in a house in a good neighborhood, my transition into poverty hasn't been easy. Thankfully my kids were adults by the time I lost my job and fell into hard times. I can't even imagine how hard it is for parents with small children who end up homeless.

There is a stigma to being poor and/or homeless in America. People tend to blame you for the events beyond your control that caused you to end up in financial crisis. The government safety nets that used to help people, no longer exist and the few that are left require you to jump through hoops, humiliate & degrade yourself just to get barely enough help to stay poor, but not even close to enough help to climb back out of poverty.

50% of the population of the United States is currently low income or living in poverty with no real hope to ever climb out of it. When will we as a Nation stop blaming the poor for being poor and start actually helping each other succeed?

Ann Romney Needs To Apologize To American Mothers

So, Ann Romney wants Americans to know that she understands our struggles since she is a stay at home Mom of 5, with multiple mansions, 2 Cadillacs, maids, nannies, and an unlimited supply of money.

I say boo fucking hoo! No Ann...you have no concept of the struggles of most American Moms. When was the last time Ann Romney tried to take her 5 children on public transportation to grocery shop or run errands? When was the last time Ann Romney skipped a meal to make sure her kids were fed? When was the last time Ann Romney worked a 12 hour shift for minimum wage, then went home, cooked dinner, cleaned the house, did the laundry & then fell into bed exhausted for 4 hours of sleep before heading back to work again?

Ann Romney has no concept of what struggles the average American Mom faces every day. 50% of all Americans are either low income or sub-existing in poverty. We don't have the option of being stay at home Moms, we have to work or become homeless. We have to leave our pride at the door and jump through the bureaucratic hoops to get food stamps, free lunch programs, visit food shelves. We pray our 20 year old car that leaks oil won't break down, or that no one in the house gets sick or hurt...because we are always just one financial disaster from being homeless.

I am outraged that Ann Romney has insulted American Mothers by claiming she understands our struggles when she obviously has no concept of what our struggles even are. I raised 3 sons as a single working mother and my reality wasn't even close to Ann Romney's reality. Ann Romney has health insurance, reliable vehicles, enough food and money to never have to worry about the plethora of worries that plague a typical American mother.

Why The Occupy Movement Failed

The name of it says it all...Occupy
Nothing good ever happens from an invasion style occupation...occupations start wars, oppress people...

I personally agree with the original reasoning behind the OWS Movement, that we the 99% of US citizens are being oppressed by the 1% of the population that controls the top corporations, banks & often our legislation through their ability to fund massive lobbying efforts with their billions of dollars.

I had great hopes for the OWS Movement when it first began, that it would evolve & grow into a loud united voice for the people. That it would get more people talking about and involved in their local and National political process. That finally, the people would start fighting back against the Religious Right Extremist Hate Group that the GOP/Teapublican Party has become in the United States.

Let's get real here...to me and to many, that is who the 1% is. The Millionaire and Billionaire GOP politicians that also just happen to be stock holders or even owners of these Mega-Corporations and are writing, proposing & passing laws, bills, legislation that favors corporations over people. But, the OWS Movement made the same fatal mistake as the Coffee Party before it. Occupy tried to be all-inclusive and non-partisan, which in theory sounds good, but in reality just doesn't work when you try to include your oppressor in your fight against the oppressor.

At first, it starts with inviting disenfranchised conservatives into the conversation, and seems like a good idea. The whole let's overlook our differences for the common cause is in many ways a great way to accomplish real change, if you can agree on a common cause to fight against. Unfortunately for the OWS Movement, the only common cause everyone could agree with was a very washed out and generic version of corporate influence of government is bad. In OWS's attempt to remain non-partisan, it has been ignoring the gigantic elephant in the room for months now...as OWS continues to lose more and more supporters everyday because it refuses to admit that being non-partisan is a complete failure.

Add to that failure, the Ron Paul wild card and the young white males that have been so easily duped into following Paul with his false promises of legalized Marijuana, an end to the FED and the words Liberty & Constitution drilled into their formative minds until they are willing to overlook the complete insanity of the Ron Paul. The OWS Movement has become over run by Paul's cult-like devotees commonly referred to as "Paulbots" or "Paultards".

And while the above examples are all pieces of the puzzle of why the OWS Movement has failed, in the end the major contributing factor of why OWS is a failure is still in the movement's name...Occupy. If OWS had just organized, hosted rallies, marches, protest events, etc...and then gone home at night, it could have grown into a movement with the ability to change the world...but instead OWS came and occupied public parks and plazas. They camped out in major cities, setting up hobo camps that often attracted the homeless population and criminals. Women were raped and assaulted in some of these camps, giving other women reason to be afraid to participate in OWS activities.

The Occupy Movement came to be thought of as an eyesore. People just trying to get to work had to find alternative routes to avoid smelly camps. At night many of these camps became dangerous places where people just hung out getting drunk or doing drugs.

It quickly became obvious that the OWS Movement for all it's promise of unity in it's beginning, really didn't represent the 99% at all. Thousands of Occupy groups sprang up across the US, but in the overall scheme of things most people do not believe that OWS represents them. Mostly, people think OWS is an eyesore, an embarrassment to their city.

OWS in it's effort to stay non-partisan & all inclusive has in reality excluded most people who actually do care about creating real change in the United States. OWS has alienated women in just about every way possible from not caring about providing porta-pottys at OWS camps to not speaking out against the GOP's war against women.

OWS served a purpose, it got people talking...opened up a discussion and showed us that we the people of the United States of America can be heard and can make a difference. Now it is time for us to take what we have learned from OWS and start using those lessons to organize and affect real change through political action.

We also must remember the mistakes that OWS made and learn from those as well. OWS hasn't been a complete failure, they have become excellent advocates for people facing foreclosure & have helped many struggling families save their homes. I have hopes that the OWS Movement will continue it's fight against corporate greed and it's fight against corruption in the banking Industry. So, while OWS has failed in becoming the great political movement so many of us were hoping for, it does still serve a purpose in helping struggling families keep their homes.