#healthcare financial worry

[funsimplethings]

[yardsards]

living in america is literally just like. yeah i could probably benefit from inpatient mental health services but honestly the resulting medical bills would just make me want to kill myself even more

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

When you run out of anxiety medication after having enough for quite awhile and your heart rate just…

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

In light of Brian Thompson being shot dead on my birthday (🎉🥳🎂) I'd like to share a personal story about UnitedHealthcare.

During the peak of COVID, my family all got sick. I couldn't be on my parents' insurance because they were both older and on Medicare. So, I had insurance through my University: UnitedHealthcare.

For some reason, rather than roll-over each year, I got a new plan each year that ended after May and didn't start until August, so I was uninsured for the summer months, but it was a weird situation that the university denied, and told us we were supposed to be insured year-round, it was messy.

Both of my parents went to the hospital, and I got sick too. I had to take care of my pets, and myself, and try to stay alive and keep my pets alive when I was so weak I could hardly move. When my parents came home, my condition got dramatically worse (I think my body knew it couldn't give out, because there was nobody to take care of me, so once my parents were okay, it completely crashed and failed.)

I started experiencing emergency symptoms. It was a bit hard to breathe, my chest hurt, and I was extremely delirious. I wanted to call my insurance to see if I was covered (this was during the summer) and I was connected to some nice person, probably making minimum wage, who told me with caution in her voice that my plan was expired. I had no active insurance, but she urged me to go to an emergency room. I remember saying something to the effect of "You just told me I don't have insurance, I can't go to the hospital, I can't afford it."

She sounded so genuinely worried and scared. I remember she said "You really don't sound good, you sound really sick, please call 9-1-1" and I think I just said "I can't afford it without insurance, don't worry, I think I'll be okay."

And she paused and said "I don't want to hang up the phone with you like this." And it sounded like she was holding back tears. And I don't remember what I said, I think that I would be okay, and I hung up.

I still think about her. I wonder if that phone call haunted her, or if she had dozens of calls like that a day. I wonder if she thinks about it at all, if she wonders if I died after she told me I didn't have insurance and therefore couldn't go to the hospital without incurring a tremendous financial burden. I wonder if she feels guilt or blame-- of course she shouldn't, it wouldn't have been her fault if anything had happened to me. Maybe it's self-centered to wonder if she thinks about it. I'm not the main character and it was just her job. But, still.

I think about how evil it was that we were put in that situation. Because offering year-long continuous coverage through the university plan would maybe cut into profits, maybe not benefit shareholders enough, maybe cut into Thompson's $10 million salary. While his minimum wage administrators have to feel afraid to hang up the phone, because on the other line someone might be dying, and they wouldn't know. While his patients hang up and decide to take their chances rather than put their family through that trauma.

This is UnitedHealthcare. This is Brian Thompson's legacy. This is why, understandably, an entire nation is jubilant that he was gunned down like the vermin he was. I don't care about his widow. I feel pity for his children, despite the fact that they will inherit millions, but I feel more pity for the children of his victims patients who are gone because they didn't want THEIR children to inherit crippling debt. Brian Thompson got what he fucking deserved. I pray that he not be the only one. I pray for continued safety, peace , and anonymity for his killer.

American healthcare is a disease.

[furiousgoldfish]

How free are you? A Poll

Instructions: If the answer to the question is 'yes', give yourself 1 point. If the answer is 'no', take 1 point away. If the answer is 'maybe', or 'I don't know', or 'unsure', don't add any points.

Can you wear whatever you want, without having to explain yourself or worry about getting berated for it?

Can you choose what to do with your own time, without having anyone criticize or guilt you for it?

Can you choose what you eat every day, or at least reject the food you don't want to eat?

Do you have access to food that is nourishing, healthy and unlikely to cause any health issues in the long term?

Can you choose freely who you spend your time with, without reprecussions?

Can you choose what you do for a job? Can you change it without severe consequences for your financial stability?

Are you allowed to go wherever you please, if your finances allow for it?

Do you have a community of people you're connected to, who have the same or similar beliefs and circumstances as you do?

Do you have a network (or a family) of people who you consider to be 'your people', who accept you and care about you?

Will you be okay and taken care of in case of illness, injury, incident or a disaster?

Can you choose your own religion, or reject a religion, without severe social consequences?

Do you have knowledge of your basic human rights, and are you informed on what to do if some of these rights get violated?

Can you go about life without ever worrying about physical violence occuring from a person you know and are around?

Can you go about life without worrying about physical violence coming from a stranger?

Can you walk the planet without being self-conscious of your body and how you're perceived, and being objectified or devalued because of it?

Do you feel safe and comfortable in most of the places you exist in?

Can you get by without taking special measures, such as hiding, lying, escaping, locking yourself in, avoiding certain places and activities, avoiding certain people, changing your name, in order to be safe in the world?

Do you have safe access to communication with people you want to communicate with?

Can you access the money you need without having to ask or explain why you need it?

Do you feel safe that your basic physical needs, such as food, clothing, sanitary items, tools, shelter and utilities are and will stay accessible to you?

Do you have secure access to healthcare, without having to severely worry about the financial aspect of it, or about someone barring you from access?

Do you have reliable information about your own health, and about how the activities you do might affect it, both for better and for worse?

Are you allowed to change your mind about how you feel about the issues in the world, your own circumstances, people around you, your faith and your politics, without being outcasted from your group of peers?

Can you go trough life without worrying about a hate crime being committed against you, both by people you know and strangers?

Is your health and physical state of body stable enough to work a full time job?

Can you secure enough money to live comfortably, without your physical or psychological health suffering and deteriorating for it?

Can you comfortably communicate your needs, feelings, problems, struggles and affection to others, when you want to?

Can you speak your mind most of the time, without worrying about reprecussions?

Can you be open about your interests, hobbies, beliefs, sexuality, identity, politics and relationships with most of the people around you?

Can you comfortably speak about the circumstances and facts of your life, without being corrected or denied to name some of them?

Can you recognize when a choice has been taken away from you, and things have been decided for you? If yes, can you also walk away from this, and refuse to take on the consequences?

Can you comfortably place blame on the people who have caused you distress and pain in your life, without any pushback or criticism for doing so?

Do you have support, knowledge and resources you need in order to deal with grief and tragedy?

Can you feel comfortable and at ease around all people you are around with?

Can you freely confront a person in your life who has attempted to cause injustice to you, even if that person is in position of authority to you? Do you feel safe and able to do so?

Can you freely choose your sexual partner(s), or refuse any you don't want without having to worry about their feelings, assault, your financial situation or your safety?

Can you choose freely to undo any consequences sex had on your body, if you don't want it to be happening to you?  (abortion rights, skip if it doesn't apply to you)

Can you break up your relationships, parental bonds and marriages to other people without having to worry about survial, physical safety or keeping a roof over your head?

Do you have information and resources to immediately recognize red flags of being lured into a scam, exploitative work, grooming, abuse, sexual abuse, cults, human trafficking, or similar situations?

Can you live without being severely affected by human made-disasters, such as wars, chemical damage to the environment, mass destruction and shootings?

Ideally, in a functional society, a human being should have all of these freedoms. I understand for most, if not all of us, to have every single of these points is impossible. If you are in the negative points, your situation is dire and freedom has been stripped from you to the inhumane level. For reference, the score I got for this was 9! 39 or 40 would be the ideal, which I don't believe anyone will get.

If your answer is 'no', for questions about having access to information, having knowledge and resources, this isn't your fault. You are not solely responsible for figuring out every single aspect of it yourself, this should have been covered in your education and upbringing. Also, if you're underage, questions like being able to work a job, securing money and choosing sexual partners do not apply to you, you should instead be protected from having to worry about any of that until you reach the adulthood or age of consent. If you are having to worry about any of that, the answer is automatically no. If you have no worries about that, you can give yourself a point for each of these.

Disclaimer: This poll was made by one person, using personal ideas about freedom in this world, I am sure I forgot to include many things, please do add in the comments other perils to freedom that are not mentioned here. It is not a definitive statement on human freedom, only a reference point and a source of information.

[chelfaust]

Little bit of a vent :: Posting it here bc I don't want the discourse from the other sites if I'm being honest, and will probably delete it later idk.

I decided to wait to have a child. I decided to wait because I grew up initially extremely poor to an alcoholic single mother who chose her addiction over me every single chance she got. I lived in a trailer that I fell through the floor of - I sat awake every night in my bed til 4 am listening to god awful country music being blasted on the radio while she and her friends partied, but was still expected to get myself up in the morning and walk to school no matter the weather. I remember sneaking into the kitchen just to turn the music down slightly and every time less than 20 minutes later they would notice and turn it back up. To this day I can't stand country music and I have to sleep with some sort of background sound like an air purifier or fan. I missed nearly 30 days of school my 6th grade year and they wanted to fail me in the new state I moved to to be adopted by my aunt and uncle - thankfully my aunt fought for me to be put in 7th grade remedial classes so I was not held back a year. Needless to say, I had no real childhood. You see, I wanted very badly to have a stable life and be financially ok before I decided to have a child. And now, once I'm finally there - I'm faced with having a child in the most uncertain time of my millennial existence. Aside from all of the other rugs that have been pulled out from under me, and all the ladders that have been pulled up behind the boomers and gen x. I'm being bombarded with my healthcare being on the line via the recent events of women's health degradation. I'm having to seriously consider going to another country just to have my unborn child get the vaccinations they will need in order to live a fully healthy life unmarked by the fear of contracting an illness they would otherwise never have to worry about. Child tax deductions were cut in half the last time that orange nitwit was in office and now I'm facing him again as he surely looks for another way to financially cripple my family. I'm angry at myself for having waited to have a child now. If I had just tried earlier, I wouldn't be in this fearful mess. I would've already had her vaccinated and my rights would still be fully intact without the constant looming trepidation that some moron in my state's government will try to overthrow what the people have already codified. I'm tired and upset and I know I'm not at fault, but I feel so utterly fucking guilty.

[weenwrites]

Optimus, Arcee, and Ratchet

Those 3 with human adult reader who’s homeless? I’m talking no home, lack of money, and I’m assuming that they stay at base the majority of the time. Also, they weren’t born homeless, they said it themselves that they caused it on their own.

[ Please do not repost, plagiarize, or use my writing for AI! Translating my work with proper credit is acceptable, but please ask first! ]

Optimus

He explains that you are free to stay at the base if you have nowhere else to go, and if anything it would be much safer for you to remain here than out on the streets. Now that you're under the Autobot's care, he tries to be as accommodating as he can, but for the time being all he was able to find in the storage room was an old couch, a table, and a dusty tv, all of which were presumably from the previous inhabitants of the silo.

The base is very spacious, but the closest area to the restroom was upon the walking platform, and so that platform became your living area for the sake of convenience. However, if you wished for more privacy he offered the first room down the corridor (it is massive and a long way to walk though).

You don't need to worry about Agent Fowler, either. Optimus had already mulled things over with him, and he agreed to allow the bots to let you live there. Fowler even does what he can to provide you with food stamps and provide you healthcare for any disabilities or illnesses you have.

Every now and then he talks to Agent Fowler about you, and he brings up the same topic time and time again, and every time Optimus still receives the same uncertain answer that might as well be a fancy-worded "maybe". Sometimes he receives good news, sometimes there's nothing at all, but Optimus still hasn't lost hope that eventually you'll be given some form of financial aid.

Arcee

She doesn't mind having you around at base 24/7. If anything, it makes her job much more convenient because you're within range most of the time. When you were first allowed to stay at the base full-time, she showed you all the spare rooms, the exits to the base encase of an emergency, and any other rooms you asked to see. Since the base is rather large for someone your size, she recommended staying as close to the main area as possible, or otherwise it could be quite the jog to get around.

As she learned more about you, she has asked about your past from time to time, and however you mean "caused it on your own", she won't push you to explain if it's too sensitive a topic for you to elaborate on, or if you just generally don't wish to, she respects your privacy and she won't press for any more information. And even if you do tell her, she doesn't judge you for it.

She'll offer to be your ride any time you want to go to Jasper for whatever reason, and she tries to stick close to you encase things go south. The more she goes out with you in public, the quicker she is to realize that she sort of deters cops from trying to shoo you away. If you go to food pantries or food banks, she feels guilty that she ends up limiting what you can bring back with you since her alt-mode's not too convenient for transporting things.

Ratchet

He certainly isn't going to butt heads with Optimus about whether you should stay at the base. If you have no home of your own, you're at a bigger risk of being caught by the Decepticons. For the most part he won't have any problem with it, and he leaves you be so long as you don't obstruct his work.

You have your own designated corner in the base, it's the area that the kids currently hang out in, but you were most likely there first. You were also offered other empty areas within the base that would offer you more privacy, but whether you take them or not is up to you.

As much as he'd prefer to stay indoors so he can work productively, if you need to go outside for whatever reason he'll escort you to Jasper. He sticks out like a sore thumb amidst the other cars on the road though, so he still makes a point to swiftly take care of any business you have, as not to attract any unwanted attention to yourselves.

His understanding of human anatomy is very rudimentary and limited, but he's learned enough to be able to understand when something's wrong. And in the event that his own medical knowledge isn't enough to help, he's glossed over the route to the nearest hospital from the base, and he'll be sure to ask Fowler to take care of the expenses later on.

[renthony]

Just curious. How bad has Biden been at controlling COVID-19 in your view?

First: I already responded to a similar question you left on this post.

Second: Biden has been atrocious for COVID-19 safety and management. COVID-19 is still killing people, and our president has done a horribly insufficient job in mitigating that. "Better than the Republicans" is not the same thing as "good" or "effective." Biden's abysmal reaction to COVID-19 is part of why I'm so thrilled that the Uncommitted campaign for the Democratic primary has achieved some success. That particular campaign is focused on ceasefire in Palestine, but the People's CDC explained in a statement how Palestine is also very much a public health issue. We need to scare the bastard and actually do some of that "pushing him left" that people claimed they'd do after getting him elected. Though it seems to me like a lot of people just settled for, "okay, we got rid of Trump, we don't have to worry anymore."

Third: While I'm at it, people have to do more than vote. You have got to get involved. You have got to do more than participate in the presidential election once every four years. Join a union (may I recommend the IWW?), follow the guidance of The People's CDC, volunteer for your local Food Not Bombs, get involved in a tenants union like the Autonomous Tenants Union Network, read Riot Medicine, get trained in first aid and get involved in a street medic group, read up on your local politics and get involved on the small-scale, do something in addition to voting in the presidential election. Even if you're limited in how much you can personally participate, find the people who are talking about these issues and signal boost them, and share the information with others who may be more able to participate more. If you can tell people to go vote in the presidential election, you can also tell them to go do other things, too.

Now, with all of that out of the way, here are some links related to Biden's abysmal COVID-19 response:

During his 2020 campaign, Biden promised immediate $2K stimulus checks. Instead, he delivered $1,400. Sources: [x] [x] [x] [x] [x]

Velena Jones for NBC Bay Area: "‘Too expensive': Bay Area residents shocked over new COVID vaccine prices"

Reuters: "COVID vaccine manufacturers set list price between $120-$130 per dose"

Joseph Choi for The Hill: "Free COVID-19 test program to be suspended for now"

Disability activist Alice Wong writing for TeenVogue: "Covid Isn't Going Anywhere. Masking Up Could Save My Life," and the follow-up article, "COVID and the 2024 Election: What Biden and Democrats Owe High-Risk People."

Laura Weiss writing for The New Republic: "Democrats Can't Keep Ignoring Covid in 2024."

David Cohen and Adam Cancryn for Politico: "Biden on '60 Minutes': 'The Pandemic is Over.'"

Alex Skopic for Current Affairs: "COVID-19 is Still a Threat. So is Biden’s CDC."

Adam Cancryn for Politico: "Biden Appears to be Over Covid Protocols."

Paul Thornton for the Los Angeles Times: "Covid Still Rages, and the Biden Administration Isn't Helping."

Eric J. Topol for the Los Angeles Times: "The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe?"

We should have free, universal testing. We should have free, universal vaccination. We should have free, universal treatment. We should have financial assistance for those of us who can't work outside the home. We should have mandated work-from-home for any job that can be done remotely. We should be emptying prisons and paying attention to the way disease and abuse proliferate inside their walls. We should have COVID-19 safety PSAs and government support for universal masking. We should have free distribution of N95s. We should have mandated masking in medical settings and public spaces. We should have a higher minimum wage. We should have healthcare reforms. We should have strong worker protections. We should have improved infrastructure. We should have a president who gives a single flying fuck about how many of us are dying.

And we have none of it.

But we sure seem to have money to keep dropping bombs, arming cops, terrorizing the vulnerable, and imprisoning innocent people to use for slave labor.

[docholligay]

Your thoughts on the situation of the healthcare CEO that was gun down on Wednesday?

I think every predictable take I might have, I've seen a bunch of. So, I mean, what is there to add to that particular conversation? People familiar with me are pretty familiar with my thoughts, so, I mean if you were looking to hear me pop off about the predictability or this particular event, or revel in vigilante justice...everyone else has done it for me. I might have said those things! But i sat on this, and now everyone else has said them.

So I'll say the one thing I HAVEN'T seen anyone else say. I give this the "Most likely to be read in bad faith" post yearbook award. Something I've been thinking about.

I think it's easy to swim into the ocean and eventually not realize you are so far out you can't swim back. You're gonna drown out there. I wonder how many people that happens to.

This isn't me being sympathetic to the guy--I am not--but I wonder how many of us have been in what we would desperately tell ourselves is a much lower position that is not in any way actually contributing to the misery of the world, and how far could we climb while telling ourselves that? When do the excuses have to stop?

I don't have an answer for this, actually, fuck, i worked for the legal department of a stagecoach bank, but tell you what I didn't sleep very well at night. But, I've been turning it over in my head. When do you become the sort of person who people are okay with being dead? This is across the aisle. If there were a horrible car accident, and someone was killed who worked for the foreclosures department of a bank, would you say something like, "ooooh too bad, vulture." What about someone who wrote the program that streamlined healthcare denials, are they only a programmer? Or are they complicit in evil, too? When are we allowed to live a compromised moral life, and when are we not?

For example, I would light up whoever the informant was. I hope they get doxxed, I hope their life is miserable, I hope that they are badgered so thoroughly that they fuckin choke on it. But I'm sure there's someone out there saying, "Hm, actually, a McDonald's employee probably needs the money for her disabled ADHD child who is living in a cardboard box, intersectionally, and there is no ethical consumption under capitalism, so we can do whatever, actually." If an argument for that can be made, when are we, as human beings, allowed to be bought? When do the scales tip?

I don't have an answer for this. I have compromised my ethics for money. But it does have me wondering, how much line do we give someone before saying, "No. You are evil, now." And is it only when I imagine them to be more prosperous than I am? I don't know. I wish it was clearer to me. I worry I might make moral compromises that make another version of me fine with my death. I, I mean we do, all of us, make plenty of excuses for my behavior that is selfish or otherwise less than stellar.

I'm so happy this dude got gunned down in the middle of Manhattan and WHEN is that moment? WHEN have they gone so far from shore that I no longer see them as a person in the haze? The gears of the system grind to a halt without people willing to service it, so when does blame start and stop? I don't know! I don't know!

I mean, leave it to me to make a moral quandary out of something everyone loves! Leave it to me to be unable to enjoy my own delight in this! But. It's me, what are you gonna do? I do know that I had a short stint at a job I was fucking great at, paid well, and had to drop because I realized fundamentally I was a bad person. For me the line was extremely fucking clear. Crystal. I'm great at rhetoric and emotional appeal, and I'll leave the rest to your imagination because I'm still not proud of it. But what if the bright line had not appeared to me? What if all I would have seen is my financial comfort? I don't know.

On a completely different note, you know what, this is fucking praxis. I think people doing evil should be afraid. Do y'all remember that part of the reason ACA passed is PEOPLE WERE GETTING YELLED AT IN RESTAURANTS? They couldn't go anywhere! Bring up this energy. I am keeping a keen fucking eye out for my reps, and believe that I am more than happy to make a scene. What happens, I get arrested for being a public nuisance? oh no, oh woe. Most likely scenario is a get bounced from wherever I am. Whatever.

I think everyone involved will consider their lives a lot more carefully if they can't go out in public without worrying about getting shot or yelled at. I love the wanted posters. There are a fucking lot of us. We need to get up off our fucking duffs and remember that we are this fucking country. I don't care that they have the government, I am not going to comply in advance. We're gonna have to face the BIG SCARIES and start harassing people. Pick up the phone. Yell in a grocery store. Fuck, most of you live in such big places no one will ever know, I actually run the risk of pissing off my community and being on the outs.

So yeah, my thoughts are, "It's good for them to be scared, and good for us to rememebr that we can make them scared" as a small thought, but, "This dude grew up in Iowa as the son of a grain elevator worker. When was the moment he became evil, and did he recognize it? Would I ever recognize it in myself?" as my big personally terrifying thought.

[mouthwashingconfessionsblog]

I think the fact that Jimmy is very mentally ill and has very strong hallucinations is something very interesting in the game. Both him and Curly have hallucinations and seem mentally unstable. Jimmy externalises his mental instability, becoming a danger to himself and others, he had no problem with the idea of dying, he was suicidal.

I don't know if this was intentional, but this kind of fits well with the capitalist theme. Jimmy shouldn't have been in the Tulpar in the first place, he should be getting treatment, he was clearly not well, but instead Curly found him a job, the dialogue implying that Jimmy was struggling on Earth (probably struggling financially and mentally). In an ideal world, Jimmy would not be worrying about a job, he would be getting treatment for mental illness, however this isn't an ideal world, this is capitalism.

We have no idea if Jimmy would have access to free healthcare, maybe working was the only way he could have access to healthcare, but working in an isolated place without being able to eat good things and get sunlight isn't a good place for someone like Jimmy.

Again, I have no idea if this was intentional, but Capitalism being the reason a lot of people spiral further into mental illness is a real thing in the real world. So many people live their lives like Jimmy and Curly, having no time and/or money to take care of themselves, becoming gradually worse with time until something happens.

And who is to blame when it happens? We live in a sick society that encourages and enables downfall, creating systems that don't allow for change. As someone who is mentally ill and, well, not rich, it's scary to think about those things sometimes...

I would have posted this on my blog, but I don't want people coming after me for "defending" Jimmy or some bullshit like that, I wish we could have actually profound conversations about those topics that are actually quite relevant to our current world, because the game is full of such interesting topics.

.

[louisa-gc]

de-influencing you

from someone who gets overwhelmed any time she opens a social media application.

expensive cosmetics. keep it simple and stick to skincare, makeup and hair products you know and trust. i've tried it all from salon shampoos and high-end concealers to ridiculously priced face oils and praised nail polishes, only to realise my favourites are the affordable drugstore products i can easily repurchase. it's the ingredients that matter, not the prestige or popularity of a brand or the amount of products in your routine.

new clothes. of course you can and should replace your holey socks and the jeans you've grown out of, but i'm certain most of us have more clothes than we need. what if we tried to use up (and, when possible, mend) our existing pieces instead of getting new trousers and sneakers just because there's now a trendier option out there?

dietary supplements. unless you have a deficiency and have been told by a healthcare professional to take a supplement, you probably don't need one. with a healthy, varied diet, you can skip all those green powders, probiotics and multivitamins, that weirdly enough have become part of some internet aesthetics. if, however, you do need to supplement (as i need to with iron), make sure you know what is in the product you're buying and how it works best — iron, for example, should be taken on an empty stomach and with vitamin c.

internet aesthetics. your style, your whole lifestyle, doesn't need to fit an "aesthetic". it's tiresome to try and classify your tastes and attempt to stuff them into the narrow confines of these artificial ideals. do things you enjoy, decorate and dress according to what appeals to your eye and forget about the rest.

regular beauty treatments. if your skin is healthy, a normal at-home skincare routine should be enough to make sure your face is glowing. a (fake) tan, hair removal and manicured nails aren't and shouldn't be necessities either, but if your beauty routines are important to you, just do the things at home and save your resources for more valuable pursuits than the ever-expanding requirements of modern womanhood.

cosmetic injections or surgeries. i've always been of the opinion that we should all be allowed to do as we please with our bodies, without shame or judgement from others. however, the more i learn about the risks of cosmetics procedures and the rates of patients' dissatisfaction with their results, the more negatively i've started to view it all. with more and more people walking around with filler, botox and surgically enchanced or erased features, i worry about our ability to accept ourselves as we are. i worry about the class divide these procedures are creating (who can afford it at all? who can afford a good result?) and i worry about people spending massive amounts of money and time on what are essentially unnecessary health risks. so i say: don't do it.

anything designer. as we all know, price and quality don't always go hand in hand. while i'm all for choosing great quality lasting products, popular designer brands might not necessarily be the way to go. people haven't ditched designer goods just because the go-to style is now "old money"; they've just moved from gucci to céline. i personally don't think any designer brand is really worth it, but wherever you buy, at least pay attention to materials and construction, and stay away from counterfeit goods.

trying to look "expensive". while i have always had a more classic style and was raised never to show logos ("you're not a free advertisement, dear"), i find the "looking expensive" thing such a strange trend, one that returns whenever times are financially unstable. even though i wholeheartedly approve of buying timeless quality pieces (if that is a style you actually enjoy), i don't think anyone should do so in order to look wealthy. nobody will think you're the trust fund offspring of a centuries-old family if you aren't, and most of all, nobody really cares whether you are one or not. the thing is, you really cannot tell whether someone is wealthy based on their looks, so why spend time and money trying to look the part?

clothes that don't fit your lifestyle. it's difficult to resist cute athleisure, but as someone who only wears workout clothes to actually exercise three times a week, i know i only need two or three sets. buy pieces that fit your everyday life, not the life you wish you had. no amount of cocktail dresses will make your life a flurry of parties, if these events are already few and far between.

most stationery products. i love stationery as much as the next person: i love a good notebook, beautiful pens and all the related little knick-knacks, but frankly, i only use one mechanical pencil, a specific type of black gel pens, and three notebooks at a time. no matter how cute some highlighters, letter papers or pastel page markers may be, i have zero reason to buy them.

trending books. i know this might be a controversial one, but buying piles of books on the recommendation of social media influencers isn't a smart use of space and money. just last year i got myself half a dozen popular titles from a cute bookshop, but ended up regretting the purchases because i only liked one of them. borrow the trendy new books from your local public library, and if you really want to collect books, only buy ones that you really love.

[plaidos]

you were saying biden admin didnt do enough to protect states from anti trans laws on a federal level but im still not sure what could be done bc executive branch cant propose bills like federal protections? they can support bills and sign off on them but i didnt think they could propose legislation

that would all be on congress. the president could request legislation but that wont for sure go through and seems less likely when states are actively adopting the anti trans laws. i fear a lot more for my life and loved ones under trump than harris and imo it is a privilege or misconception to see it as all the same. i was very hopeful for harris and am p terrified about the future state of things but we well do our best ig but i think harris had a lot of hope with her campaign and im p devastated. i left a state with many antitrans laws already for my safety and it took me a year to recover from the burnout and depression and financial struggle of moving out of state and im still extremely worried for my friends still in florida.

i think it is important to be accurate when criticizing stuff and im very scared and hate current events. the election already happened but everything in me wants that to not go how it already did and that isn't possible. ig arguing here doesnt do much but your criticisms seemed to imply misinformation like that the biden admin hasnt been the most supportive of trans people that weve seen, even tho thats very bare minimum stuff and he wasnt Super vocal about it, he did speak up for trans people a few times and harris has a history of advocating for trans women in prison and getting them access to healthcare. idk i was so hopeful for harris and very crushed recently and scared. getting repetitive now; send ask

“he did speak up for trans people a few times” “harris has a history of advocating for trans women in prison” are you fucking joking me??? that last one is because she famously SENT TRANS WOMEN TO MALE PRISONS. i’m sorry but you are caught up in huffing copium. “biden tweeted trans rights once or twice” are you fucking kidding me??? grow a fucking spine

[wheelingwithgrace]

I'm as pro-life, conservative, and Catholic as they come, but in this election, I'm voting for Kamala Harris. There is no doubt in my mind. Economically, financially, socially, I have to.

Looking at Trump's time in office and his administration vs. Kamala

Trump, on multiple occasions, tried to get rid of the affordable care act

Trump cut down on medicaid

Trump administration had proposals to reduce social security and supplemental security income

Trump's budget proposals included SNAP (food stamps)

Gave tax cuts to corporations

Trump opposed raising the minimum wage

Trump has had multiple sexual assault/harrassment allegations against him during and after his time in office

During covid-19, Trump downplayed the virus and resisted public health efforts

Although I am pro-life and I believe life begings at conception and many values align with those traditionally seen in Catholicism, I truly believe that the extremist bans many conservative politicians are proposing can and will affect not only healthcare access but also the quality which is already not the greatest for women in particular. For example, I am being Catholic, I do not particularly agree with using contraceptives. However, I myself do take birth control pills for medical reasons. I worry that my right to take them could be affected by bans that are being proposed by politicians.

Furthermore, I do not agree with Trump's actions or his character. Being a disabled woman, he has done harmful things.

In 2015, he mocked a disabled journalist, Serge Kovaleski

He has, on many occasions, compared women to "fat pigs" and "dogs"

Many or most of us are aware of his comment stating to "grab her by the p**sy"

He has referred to African nations has "shithole countries"

During his time in office, he prevented transgender people from serving in the military

Let's look at some of the things Kamala has done and supported

Advocated for healthcare access and protecting disability rights

Supported economic policies aimed at the working class

Addresses racial inequality, police and criminal justice reforms

Advocates for women's rights, including but not limited to childcare, workplace equality, and gender equality

I'm not saying that Kamala is the greatest politician in existence. Her track record as a district attorney can most certainly attest for that. She's had her problematic moments, but we can find that in essentially every politician. Not a single one of them will be perfect. But if we look at the bigger picture and compare them, I'd rather take my chances on Kamala.

[lavenderbrigade]

hi guys. it’s a pretty mournful day for US politics today. (global politics atp. I hate that our shitty country has this much power.)

i’m a trans man. i’m white, relatively financially stable, and i live in a blue state. i’m part of an extremely marginalized group, yes, but it’s important that i check my privilege within it, and utilize it to help my community.

a lot of people in my community are going to die. a lot of us will probably lose access to healthcare, be forcibly outed, ostracized, hate crimed, killed. et fucking cetera. a lot of us are going to die. and the thought weighs heavily on me.

it’s going to be a rough four years. we will see the other side, but I worry about the damage that will be done in the meantime. I pray to whatever deity may or may not exist that it is not irreversible. in the meantime we must stay together. we must have each other’s backs. be mindful of propaganda, stay alert, and stay critical. do not let yourself get distracted- that is what they want.

it overwhelms me to think about the fact that we are watching a fascist oligarchy take over in real time. i’m tired. i’m sad, and i hurt for everyone, in my community and outside of it, who will be hurt or worse as a direct result of political violence.

i’m going to be less active for a while. i’m exhausted and feeling powerless, and doomscrolling is making me feel worse. I’ll still be active, because I want to stay in contact to some degree, but I will be doing my best to limit my screen time in the coming weeks as we adjust to this terrifying new reality.

stay safe, stay strong, stay alert, everyone. fuck elon musk. fuck donald trump. fuck this entire government and the system that let the world get this way.

we will make it out of this. we have to believe we will.

[angelsaxis]

"...[W]e must continue to challenge the societal arrangements that leads to preventable pain and suffering. Marriage can be quite beautiful and sacred, for example. Marriage can also privatize dependence: it encourages people to enter relationships for resources and benefits, like health care, savings, and tax deductions. I was nineteen years old when I got married, mostly informed by my faith tradition. I was also in love, but very poor, and marriage offered me a stability that I never had as a child. I was so lucky that the person I married was kind, thoughtful, and also very much trying to figure out his relationship to Christianity and his evolving manhood.

When we divorced nine years later and became friends and co-parents, I realized how the marital benefits I once aspire dot have did not make sense. I could remove him from my health insurance to account for the divorce, but I couldn't add any of my uninsured siblings, whom I would be related to forever. And our children had two options for insurance because they had parents who went to college and worked jobs that offered it, but independent contractors in my family did not have an option that wasn't a financial sacrifice.

If we focused on meeting the healthcare, employment, educational, and housing needs of people in society, then those who want to marry could more freely enter those relationships in their terms, and people who needed to escape because of violence could more easily leave without worrying what will happen if they get sick and need to see a doctor.

We should heed to calls for investment in the programs, opportunities, and laws that make everyone free and safe. Here too, universal basic income can help, allowing people to meet their basic needs and not rely on potentially sexually exploitative intimate relationships for income. Removing benefits from marriage accomplishes this, too. With universal health care, and other programs like free and quality childhood education, people vulnerable to violence have more free range to move, live, and practice healthy lifestyles."

-- Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom by Derecka Purnell

[justateenworkinglifeout]

There are no words that I could ever use to fully describe how much I hate the US healthcare system.

I'm a teenager. I should be worrying about the grade I'm gonna get on my math test, not if asking to go to the doctor for the excruciating pain in my legs will make it so my family can't afford food.

I shouldn't be feeling guilty for going to the hospital for mental health care four times two years ago. I should feel happy that I'm in a better place because I've made progress, not because it means I won't make my parents spend money on that anymore.

I should be able to be a teenager. I'd love a life without health issues, but I know that's not possible. What is possible is a world where I can focus on getting better without even thinking twice about asking for care. A world where people don't end up dying because they can't afford treatment. A world where I'm worried about my condition because it's not good for me, not because I don't want my family to struggle financially.