#irish homelessness epidemic

[pennydreddfull]

Oh, yes. Ohhhh, yes.

Bloganuary writing promptWhat would you do if you won the lottery?View all responses This. THIS. This this this. This is my all-time favourite question. I love to day dream, and all the more I love to day dream about what could be. Because that is what I think playing the lotto represents to an awful lot of people: Possability. Hope. Change. Which I find bitterly ironic in some ways, because…

[historyandarthijinks]

West Virginia Coal Wars: 1912-1921

Also referred to as the Mine Wars was a war started between American Coal Miners and the Coal Companies over demands to unionize and gain higher pay in the United States.

Our story here starts with the Pain-Creek Cabin-Creek Strike

Here we see an important character to these events, Mother Jones, rallying miners

Mother Jones, or Mary G. Harris Jones was an Irish-American labor organizer. She herself was a wild person with a rough and unforgiving life, her family immigrating to Canada and later the United States. She experienced discrimination based on her Irish background and Catholic faith.

After not getting payed enough as a teacher (some things never change in the US), she would move, fall in love with a union organizer, and become one herself. She worked as labor organizer for the International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, but figured her husband made enough for the both of them, and decided to do some housekeeping.

The 1860s Yellow Fever Epidemic of the United States would arrive at her doorstep, killing her husband and four children. She moved to Chicago and tried dress making, only for the Great Chicago Fire to consume her house, shop, and everything else she owned.

Jones decided to help rebuild the city, joining the Knights of Labor, where the life of organizing strikes and protests became her thing. She became a living symbol of activism in the United States for laborer's rights (and yes, she was also a socialist).

People like her, mixed with the chaos of WW1, strained US workforces, making unions more and more powerful.

Unionized Coal Mines in West Virginia demanded safer working conditions alongside significantly better pay, having originally mostly being payed in vouchers, which they could only use in company stores. Their housing was also controlling by the mining companies, and rising up against them was a threat to every livelihood.

The strike began May 1912, with the United Mine Workers Union pledging support. The first month went without violence, but things started to go to shit when Paint Creek and Cabin Creek companies hired Baldwin-Felt Agents to break up the strike, sending 300 guards to the mines.

Picture of Hired Agents, walking around and smoking, with guns in hand

Striking miners were evicted swiftly in the thousand, having been renting their homes from the coal companies, and Mother Jones arrived in June, where she begun to help organize miners in the strike.

Over the course of the strike hostilities exponentially increased. There was sabotage, arms, and even snipers. Mother Jones and socialist parties got the striking miners armed, and in exchange the companies doubled the numbers of guards. Jones went around, pushing herself through crowds to convince more mines to join the strike. Vice-President of the United Mine Workers visited the encampments appearing.

Tent colonies for evicted miners and families begun to pop up. Eye witness accounts describe terrible living conditions, homeless pregnant women and newborn babies. Threats between the Baldwin-Felt Agents and Miners were exchanged, the governor attempting martial law hoping to die things down.

But things were just getting started...

By 1919 around half of the mines in West Virginia unionized. Another strike was attempted, and quelled, with non-unionized mines continuing the West Virginia coal output, but a singular town proposed hope.

Bring in, the town of Matewan. The local police chief, Sid Hatfield and the mayor, Cabel Testerman, were with the miners. 3000 of Matewan's were unionized. Under the yellow dog contracts (the crummy housing ones) the Baldwin-Felts Agents arrived.

A shoutout occurred by Baldwin-Felts Agents shooting miners out of their homes, prompting the county to proclaim it was an illegal act. When Baldwin-Felts Agents returned to Matewan to finish what they started Hatfield and the mayor confronted them.

It was then that at some point in the heat of the moment the mayor was shot dead, and a shooting started. Albert Felts himself was also killed in the shootout, along eight others. The strikes only grew from here.

Forces were starting to build against the unions and the strikers, including more agents, volunteers, and mercenary groups. The government itself began to aid the coal companies, by taking Sid Hatfield to court over conspiracy. Violence continued to grow.

Hatfield would be ambushed on the steps of the court house by Baldwin-Felts agents, and shot dead in front of his own wife. It didn't matter what would happen next, because all out war was imminent.

5000 armed miners arrived to a rally over the matter, miners beginning to be veterans of the world war, eye witnesses accounting that the miners were more professionally organized and military prepared than expected.

Planes with home made bombs, Baldwin-Felts agents, mercenaries prepared one on side of the Blair Mountains. Trenches were dug, and the strikers prepared to armed conflict. A conflict resolution negotiation sparked, and it seemed like thousands of miners were ready to return home.

Only then did agents show up to arrest miners, and a firefight began, rumors bringing in thousands of more miners to the area to fight amongst their brethren to protect their families. An ultimatum was given out to the miners, leave within 48 hours, or face the US army.

The battle of Blair Mountain began, including machine guns, rifle fire, plane bombings, makeshift cluster bombs, and chemical gas. All though the miners were looking unorganized and unable to win, the defenders were losing ammunition. Federal troops would be sent in to pursuit the miners, and the battle would recede.

Although the miners lost the fight, they won the rights to miners and paved the way to powerful unions.

when he starts talking about how much he hates unions but you’re from Appalachia

[hb-reynolds]

I have described this article a lot of different ways to a lot of different people down the years, but it in essence boils down to a pitch that was just a headline, that became an article critiquing how hot take culture interacted with long term structural issues, that then had several rewrites because it wasn't viewed as relevant enough to Irish university students. It's about the Flint water crisis and about the Irish homelessness epidemic - both of which were longstanding issues at time of printing in November 2017, and only one of which has since been resolved, with Flint having large scale work done on the affected pipework in the early 2020's.

The article can be read in full at the link above or in the read below.

Heather Reynolds examines the weaknesses in the modern liberal ethos through the lens of the Flint water crisis. 

Liberalism as a doctrine is about putting the rights of the individual at the core of politics. Referring to government as a “necessary evil,” it espouses that all people should have the freedom to do as they please, so long as it does not hurt anyone else in the process. However, in recent years, the doctrine has become separated from the practice, with many who profess having liberal views not wholly following this practice. Most recently, liberalism has become conflated with maintaining the status quo with a left-leaning tilt. Rather than pushing for radical change, as has been the course with liberalism in the past, modern liberals concern themselves more with reasoned debate. Hearing both sides has become par for the course in all arguments, even those as simple as whether people should have clean water. Individual human rights, which liberalism professes should be at the core of all legislation, are being debated based on how they affect others, even when they are proven to have no negative effect. This is a phenomenon that has been allowed to occur because liberal ideas are being viewed as an exercise in thought, rather than as actual legislation that affects the lives of others.

This “thought exercise” culture that has arisen in liberal politics has led to two main faults; a lack of acknowledgement of the lives that government policy affects, and a preoccupation with hot topic issues. Due to the focus on reasoned debate and rational thinking, people are encouraged to disconnect, leaving those who are in need of aid without assistance because it would take away benefits from those who do not need them.

Flint, a town in Michigan, declared a state of emergency on the December 15th, 2015 after their water source was changed to save money resulting in slightly higher levels of chlorine. This increase in chlorine levels aggravated the lead piping, causing lead to seep into the water systems and enter the water supply. This state of emergency was one of the leading stories at the time, and people were aghast that an entire town was poisoned over an avoidable change made purely to create a monetary gain for those in government. It was a major talking point among liberal circles, with many organising clean water drives and holding fundraisers to provide aid to those who need it.

This story held the public consciousness for around a month to varying degrees, before fading away entirely

This story held the public consciousness for around a month to varying degrees, before fading away entirely. Flint was without clean water from April 24th in 2014, a year and a half before the state of emergency was declared, with little to no media coverage. The government has agreed to replace the pipes, but at this point, in 2017, locals are still encouraged to avoid drinking the water. People who refer to themselves as liberal, and profess the tenants of liberalism, were preoccupied with this crisis until the next scandal came up, when they quickly moved along. Flint stands as just one example of this aspect of modern liberalism, a preoccupation with having the ‘hottest take’ on any given issue while maintaining an intellectual distance from the matter at hand.

At this point, in 2017, locals are still encouraged to avoid drinking the water

Another example of this is the public response to the homelessness crisis in Ireland. Any new figure released or headline printed about yet another death of a homeless person leads to a few days of indignation on Twitter, maybe a new petition to be emailed to the Dáil, but where is the consistent pressure being placed on the government? Who in Varadkar’s constituency is tweeting their outrage instead of calling his office to complain about the lack of feasible legislation to aid the homeless in Ireland?Comments made by Eileen Gleeson, Director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive sparked the most recent backlash about homelessness in Ireland. Gleeson said long-term homelessness tends to be caused by years of “bad behaviour,” comments that sparked anger and outrage online, homeless charities spoke out against the comments and possibly received increased donations as a result of the media attention and Twitter storms. Well-intended as such responses may be, they alone are not enough to solve the problem of the Irish homeless, and are clearly not resulting in enough pressure being placed on our government to do more to alleviate the problem. No matter how much the issue is discussed, no action is going to be taken without individuals taking that action themselves.

Who in Varadkar’s constituency is tweeting their outrage instead of calling his office to complain about the lack of feasible legislation to aid the homeless in Ireland?

Liberalism has regressed to a debate rather than an actively engaged political stance, and this has led to people physically not engaging themselves with horrors, instead using them as thought exercises for as long as they stay relevant and then assuming them to have been dealt with when the opposite is true. This is the key fault in modern liberalism: it leaves the issues explored, dissected, but not engaged with to a point where those in power feel the need to effect direly-needed change.

[findinghopepdx]

Blog Deliverable #5

In this post we'll be talking about radio. First I'll share with you a podcast about the issues of mental health and addiction we've been discussing alongside a song that you might know of that calls for social change.

Mental Health and Homelessness Panel Discussion

A podcast relevant to the issue of the mental health crisis in Portland is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Portland titled, “Mental Health and Homelessness Panel Discussion.” Four community speakers of the city of Portland discuss the issue with their respective expertise on the topic. The podcast begins with speaker Jill Kahnert, a certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, who has decades of experience working with homeless adults and youth. She speaks to the incapacity to feel human when experiencing addiction and mental health issues, sharing that she was someone who experienced homelessness and addiction herself, and is now in recovery. She summarizes the pure survival mindset that occurs when one is facing addiction, mental health issues, and homelessness. Her passion for this work comes from her experience and her desire to help others in similar situations. The next speaker is Jason Renaud, founder of the Mental Health Association of Portland, who I previously had the privilege of interviewing for this blog. Jason talks about the importance of providing adequate healthcare to people in need, and the destructive consequences when state and city governments fail to do so. He believes there are four large factors contributing to why Oregon and Portland specifically are having such a devastating experience with mental health and mental healthcare: 1) Even with cooperative patients and provider, the longevity and complexity of mental health disorders and addiction are incredibly difficult to treat. 2) Lack of federal, state, county, and city investments in public mental health and addiction services when the problem began to increase in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. 3) The lack of funding at the beginning of the problem failed to build the infrastructure necessary to support people now. 4) We are still hurting ourselves through policy. He expands on these topics more in the full episode. Next speaker is Scott Kerman, executive director of Blanchet House who has also been cited in my blog. He works with people experiencing homelessness, addiction, mental health struggles, and poverty. He speaks on the fentanyl epidemic and the exponential rise in overdoses on the streets in recent months. He talks about Blanchet House and their mission towards increasing hope for vulnerable people. Lastly, Rachael Duke, Executive Director of Community Partners for Affordable Housing speaks about her work in connecting people with long term affordable housing. Building affordable housing, providing services to residents, asset-managing the housing, and advocating for housing justice are just some of the things that Rachael and her colleagues do in their work.

This podcast is an excellent way to learn about the mental health, addiction, and homelessness crises in Portland from a very qualified group of people with different experiences around the issue. You can access the entire episode for free here: https://lwvpdxpodcasts.buzzsprout.com/1923318/12609334-mental-health-and-homelessness-panel-discussion

Take Me to Church

With LGBTQ+ adults twice as likely to experience a mental health condition (NAMI, 2013) and incredibly high suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth (Paley, 2022), conversations about the dangers of anti-LGBTQ+ policy and disapproval of LGBTQ+ identities in social communities are imperative. One person initiating this conversation through his music is Hozier, an Irish singer-songwriter raised in a coastal town in Ireland called County Wicklow.

Since the beginning of his career, Hozier's music has preached the importance of equality, humanism, and social justice. Several of his songs address themes of homophobia, religious trauma, civil and reproductive rights, and violence against women, to name only a few. Hozier is an Irish singer-songwriter raised in a coastal town in Ireland called County Wicklow. As a struggling musician, he wrote and recorded his debut single, "Take Me to Church," in 2013 in his parent's attic. Take Me to church is a mid-tempo soul song that utilizes religious terminology in its lyrics to describe a gay relationship amidst discrimination from the church. In the song, he rejects organized religion, appropriating the church's rhetoric to praise his lover. He describes his "church" as a fluid relationship without rules as opposed to the Christian concept of submission to absolute truths. He suggests that "heaven" is accessed only through relational intimacy, stripping the word of its religious connotations. The song is an argument against the Catholic/Christian beliefs of homosexuality being immoral, impure, and sinful, contrasting these judgments with the idea of love as gentle and pure.

Shot in black and white, the music video depicts a gay relationship between two lovers and the subsequent discrimination and eventual brutal violence they face. The video shows the dangers and reality of the effects of anti-LGBT policies. The song and music video were intended to celebrate sexuality. In an interview, Hozier described this music as "asserting yourself and reclaiming your humanity through an act of love. Turning your back on the theoretical thing, something that's not tangible, and choosing to worship or love something that is tangible and real - something that can be experienced.”

References

Hozier. (2014). Hozier - Take Me To Church (Official Video). In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVjiKRfKpPI

League of Women Voters of Portland. (2023, April 27). Mental Health and Homelessness Panel Discussion [Podcast]. Buzzsprout. https://lwvpdxpodcasts.buzzsprout.com/1923318/12609334-mental-health-and-homelessness-panel-discussion

NAMI. (2013). LGBTQI | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. Nami.org. https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/LGBTQ#:~:text=LGB%20adults%20are%20more%20than

Paley, A. (2022). 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. The Trevor Project; The Trevor Project. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/

[odishadetails]

MOTHER TERESA

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Uskup, Ottoman Empire (now Skopje, North Macedonia), on August 26, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. At the age of twelve, she felt strongly the call of God. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. After a few months’ training in Dublin she was sent to India, where on May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. From 1931 to 1948 Mother Teresa taught at St. Mary’s High School in

MOTHER TERESA BOOK VAILABLE Calcutta, but the suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the convent walls made such a deep impression on her that in 1948 she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Although she had no funds, she depended on Divine Providence, and started an open-air school for slum children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and financial support was also forthcoming. This made it possible for her to extend the scope of her work.

On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy See to start her own order, “The Missionaries of Charity”, whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. In 1965 the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI.

Today the order comprises Active and Contemplative branches of Sisters and Brothers in many countries. In 1963 both the Contemplative branch of the Sisters and the Active branch of the Brothers was founded. In 1979 the Contemplative branch of the Brothers was added, and in 1984 the Priest branch was established.

The Society of Missionaries has spread all over the world, including the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. They provide effective help to the poorest of the poor in a number of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and they undertake relief work in the wake of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and famine, and for refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe and Australia, where they take care of the shut-ins, alcoholics, homeless, and AIDS sufferers.

The Missionaries of Charity throughout the world are aided and assisted by Co-Workers who became an official International Association on March 29, 1969. By the 1990s there were over one million Co-Workers in more than 40 countries. Along with the Co-Workers, the lay Missionaries of Charity try to follow Mother Teresa’s spirit and charism in their families.

Mother Teresa’s work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards.

[icanhover-blog1]

We set up the Lightbody Foundation primarily to support charities and organisations in Northern Ireland and almost all donations so far have been to Northern Irish charities and we will of course continue, as long as I’m breathing, to donate to charities in my home country.

However I’ve been in Los Angeles for the last few months and have spent a lot of time here over the last 10 years. I have a place here, made a bunch of great friends and I have a lot affection for the place. So it’s well past time to make the first donations from our foundation outside of Norn Iron or ROI. 

Over the last while I’ve put a lot of thought into where this money would do the most good. Some charities and organisations that support the black community and fight for justice and equality, one within the lgbtq community, some responding to covid, hunger and homelessness and one providing medical care and support to asylum seekers from Central America now forced to live in dangerous camps that rival the worst refugee camps in the world.

To each of these charities a note: i donated on your websites so it’ll be under my name and not the lightbody foundation’s name. I figured donating that way was the quickest way to get the money to you. 

Each of these charities has received 10,000 dollars. I found learning more about these organization’s efforts a balm to these times.  I offer a snippet of their work in hopes it is for you too:

The ACLU and the NAACP surely need no introduction as they each have been fighting for equality and against racial and social injustice for a hundred years or more.

THE BAIL PROJECT - trying to combat mass incarceration by paying bail for low-income americans. This organization charts how even three nights in jail dramatically increases the chance of losing a job, losing child custody and of course being assaulted or harmed.  Of those they pay for bail, only 2% receive an actual jail sentence. 

BLACK EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH COLLECTIVE (BEAM) - is dedicated to the healing, wellness and liberation of black and marginalized communities. 

EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE - challenging racial and economic injustice, fighting to end mass incarceration, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. Led by Bryan Stevenson, their projects are absolutely inspiring and heroic.

GLOBAL RESPONSE NETWORK - Recently featured in a Pulitzer Prize winning podcast of This American Life, Global Response Network provides life saving emergency medical care to over 4,000 asylum seekers/refugees now forced by recent policies to remain on the Mexican side of the US border during the asylum process in highly unsafe camps of some 50,000 tents without bathrooms or services. (full disclosure GRN have only received $9500 so far but will receive the rest tomorrow).

HOUSING WORKS LA -  One of the staggering statistics on their website is that there are enough homeless people in LA to fill Dodger’s Stadium - 59,000 (for those of you from Norn Iron, that’s about the same number of people that live in my home town of Bangor and it isn’t exactly a small town). Also the homeless population in LA has increased 55% in the last 3 years. I’ve been coming to Santa Monica off and on for 10 years, homelessness was bad 10 years ago but now it’s an epidemic. Housing Works is trying to get people safely off the streets and into their own homes.

LA FOOD BANK - Covid has disproportionately impacted lower income communities and the LA Food Bank is trying to provide food in those hard hit areas.

THE TREVOR PROJECT - supporting black LGBTQ youth mental health. Eighty percent of black LGBTQ youth are depressed or panicked from routine bullying, discrimination and social isolation. (See https://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-and-uconn-survey-reveals-black-lgbtq-youth-are-at-heightened-risk-for-d ) The Trevor Project offers life saving and life affirming services to black LGBTQ youth. 

Thanks to everyone at the Lightbody Foundation: Candice Cathers, my sister Sarah, Davy matchett and John D’Arcy. 

Peace and love.

gL.x

[crystaluki]

Fine Gael- Ireland’s biggest political failure

Fine Gael are the biggest mistake Ireland has ever made, their list of failures:

 *Abortion

*Smear test Scandal

*Hundreds of women misdiagnosed, many dying while the government takes them to court with teams of up to 17 defence lawyers instead of helping them.

*2nd Smear Test scandal

*Children’s Hospital 1 billion over budget

*Water shortage in a country with up to 225 days of rain a year

*Housing crisis

*Homeless Crisis

*Maurice McCabe

*Irish Water

*HSE ruined

*Property Tax

*Decimation of rural Ireland

*Beef crisis

*Closing down rural post offices

*Closing down rural Gardai stations

*Closing down army barracks

*120 Irish soldiers stranded in Beirut last year

*Public water unfit for drinking

*Defence forces 1500 under strength

*Defence Forces pay crisis

*Hospital waiting lists hit 1 million

*Abolished town councils and centralised more power to government

*Shortage of doctors, nurses, consultants and hospital beds

*Shortage of schools

*Shortage of teachers

*Shortage of SNAs

*Crumbling roads and infrastructure

*Constant attacks on church

*Constant attacks on parental rights

*Mandatory RSE

*Dropping history in the Junior Cycle

*Direct Provision with no consultation

*Unlimited Genders

*PESCO

*Political gender quotas

*Teaching gender quotas

*Children under 16 abortion without parents consent

*No medical care for babies that survive abortion

*No pain relief for babies in late term abortion

*Scoliosis scandal

*Broadband scandal

*Pain Patch scandal

*Enda Kenny's pay 'cap' broken by Enda Kenny*

*Mother and Father considered offensive to be replaced with parent 1 and parent 2

*Mishandling Brexit

*76,000 Euro spent per day by HSE on Taxis

*Garda chief being escorted by armed PSNI in the republic

*Autistic children left waiting years without services

*Vulture funds

Late term abortion 

*Suicide epidemic ignored

*Pension age increased

*Tusla... where do I even start with #Tusla

 Still coming:

Hate Speech laws

EU army

Please Share help wake more people up to whats happening.

[donnerpartyofone]

A lot of girls and women on the autism spectrum present very differently from boys and men, which leads to missed diagnoses. The emotional and "contradictory" things you describe are very consistent with ASD presentation in girls. And like you said, it's a wide spectrum. Definitely worth talking to your psychiatrist about it! I think it 100% explains the daily task struggles - it sounds so much like what Reese Piper describes.

This is very encouraging in some ways. I've been thinking a lot about categories lately and what they do for people. (bear with me) I understand that when you're part of a particularly threatened demographic, it's really important to know that you have community, and when other kinds of people "validate" you then that gives you an idea of your situational safety level. That big topic aside, I get very confused about the "you are valid" culture of Tumblr, where people just make all kinds of statements about the validity of imagined audience members in microscopic categories of characterization. I start to wonder if anyone ever worries about how emotionally reliant they are on random declarations of "validity" like these. Doesn't anyone ever think to themselves, "If I need a faceless stranger to tell me I'm valid, then maybe I should focus on whether I feel able to validate MYSELF, and if not, why not?" We live in a very community-centric time, for various reasons, in which people seem to crave definition via predetermined concepts and public consensus. "Back in the day", outside of mainstream life, you'd typically see this in arguments about whether someone was legitimately "punk" (for example), and you'd kinda laugh if it wasn't you. Now that same system of judgment seems to apply to everything, and nobody is laughing at all. Full disclosure, I come from a place where I never had a category I could glom onto for support or guidance, and I pretty much grew up that way and stayed that way. We had no religion, but some Jewish heritage which seemed important to me because it had to do with epidemic violence. We were poor, but my parents were highly educated. I could never figure out what was cool or normal for other kids, or if I could, it just didn't feel achievable. There were no "scenes" in my school to help me make a specific identity out of my outsiderness. We didn't even have a real ethnic identity; the biggest concentration in our family was Swedish, but what did that mean? There were no Swedish community centers or parades or whatever, no sense of comaraderie or celebrated (stereotypical) characteristics like our Italian, Irish, and Polish neighbors seemed to enjoy. We didn't have any other family around to reinforce whatever the four of us were supposed to be. College seemed like it should have been the place for me to shine, where you formulate and pursue what you want your individual future to be, but my grim public school education didn't prepare me in any way for the classy art school I got into (because they overadmited that year and had to build a trailer park to hours all the extra students), and I barely graduated. Actually, when I told my new classmates stories about my high school full of dumb jocks and mean popular kids and pathetic losers and nothing else, I was told "that only happens on tv!" This feeling of rootlessness even persists to my very sexuality; I never managed to figure out any "girl stuff", and I have queer-identifying friends who consider me pretty queer just based on my personal presence, even though I'm really boringly straight and monogamous. I guess sometimes I feel jealous of people who seem to belong somewhere in particular. I look at like metal kids at shows and think, man, they seem so comfortable in their uniforms and so happy to be with people who are pretty assuredly like-them. But I also think, how the hell do they get up and just BE the same person with the same mood every day? I guess I mostly feel pretty at home with this homeless feeling, like it gives me some special kind of backbone, something to fall back on that isn't affected by other people or by abandonment. But the point of me saying this is that lately I have thought that if I had some kind of like, psychiatric diagnosis or something, then it would "validate" my inability to succeed at the most basic shit. Also, I might be able to get advice from people who are in my same situation. Doctors could help me understand my obstacles in specific terms and I could find out about how people have dealt with them historically. I might even feel like I have a heroic struggle on my hands, a quest against a formidable foe, instead of just...you know, feeling like I'm trying to live life from inside a robot costume made out of a TV box and pipecleaners crafted by an angry four year old, like I'm a lemon, like I am frankly just kind of a piece of shit. My shrink would probably say that I should try to view my life as that kind of quest, with specific and completely legitimate challenges, with or without a diagnosis. But I gotta admit, even with my generally isolationist worldview, it would probably make me feel better if an actual professional told me I was a certain kind of thing. At the very least, a lot of people would probably stop telling me I'm making it all up.

[revolutionaryeye]

SEPT 16th at 14:00–17:00

2nd Meeting to Discuss and Organise for National demo Sep /2017 at the Teacher's Club,36 Parnell Square West, Dublin, Ireland 1

Details:update on meeting Saturday  2nd September 2017

Thanks everyone who made the meeting yesterday we understand it's not practical to make the meetings all the time It was agreed that if we are to be campaigning and calling national demonstrations that if we are to achieve anything it has to be constant there's not much  point calling a demo every six months and going home  It was the consensus that if we could plan an organise for a national demonstration every 2 months with the thinking being over time more people and groups if they agree with what we are trying to achieve can hopefully come on board and support the campaign It was also agreed to hold a public meeting every two weeks next one being Saturday 16/9/2017  2.p.m teachers club Dublin Community activists involved in a variety of campaigns impacting Ireland agreed the pursuit of people-initiated referenda can unite the Irish public with one purpose. People-initiated referenda would ensure the people take back power from the Government so that the people can have the final say on national issues. They also agreed the One Year Initiative is a process that can deliver that purpose. #PeopleInitiatedReferenda #PowerToVeto #PowerToLegislate We protest because our country is ruled by businessmen and the servants of businessmen, whose objectives are self promotion for profit and the advancement of those interests held by their peers and associates. We protest because they have between them ensured that we are burdened with the results of their poor choices to an extent that it will impoverish generations of our nations children. We protest because it is unacceptable that a government of our country be allowed to subject us to any oppressive measure at the request (or worse, the instruction) of an external party. We protest because this government uses 13% of all taxes gathered to service a debt we neither required nor requested, a debt we did not accrue but a debt we will be repaying until at least 2053, while all the time The Banks we bailed out are forcing homelessness on families. We protest because Water Metering and the Water Charge are instruments of austerity. We protest because The Water Charge and the business entity that is Irish Water are the tools by which the government will tax the poorest in society. We protest because this government has already misappropriated 3.7 Billion Euros of public money to prop up Irish Water. We protest because RTE are using over 180 million Euros per year of taxpayers’ money to misrepresent us and misinform the nation. We protest because this succession of cronyism and hereditary politics that calls itself Government does not act in our names. We protest because this coalition of fools and their policies have blighted us once again with the rot of emigration and an unprecedented epidemic of suicide. We protest because this list will only ever get longer. We protest because we absolutely have to and we protest because every step we take in protest is progress and because every protest encourages fellow citizens off the fence and on to the side of righteousness. I refuse to comply. I refuse to be bullied or intimidated. I will not be fooled by their propaganda, nor bought by the scraps of concession thrown from the table of rule. I will not pay, and I will continue to protest. Join the Protests. All the Protests. Organise yourselves. Think politically. The community is the most effective political unit. Community is family, friends and neighbour. Community is where we live and where we love. It is how we defend ourselves, and where we feel secure. It is where we come from and how we identify ourselves. We are a small country, but we are a mighty community. We will never realise our full potential as a people, as a nation, if we continue to allow ourselves to be governed as we are. I denounce this government as an enemy of the people. The sacrifices forced on us by a government in crisis by its association with European economic policy is crippling the country to the extent that we are actively returning to the Ireland that existed before the false promise of the ‘Celtic Tiger’- an Ireland of inequality, hopelessness and brown envelope fuelled cronyism; an Ireland that valued, through ignorance or political apathy, the name over the personality, the party over the policy and the spin offered over the reality experienced. This regression contradicts our sense of identity as an intelligent and conscientious nation We should not, in this time of enforced austerity be hastened without struggle to dancing at crossroads – we should be harnessing the power of an organised working class to affect a coherent alternative to the government of Ireland as it exists in its current form. The basis for government is that the will of the people be enforced, something that is a long time missing from all aspects of Irish politics and is clearly an ideal that our elected representatives do not subscribe to. This is your land. Do something... From collective ireland

Source:- https://www.facebook.com/events/778590515652229/?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A%22[%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22page%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22page_upcoming_events_card%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A[]%7D]%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D

[sallytations]

Alone Together

I have heard recently from women friends saying that they feel isolated, despondent or lethargic – maybe even not interested in reading any more for lack of concentration.  Yesterday, I was feeling a little down myself, the emotional shakes sneaking up my tattered spine.  The resurgence of the Covid-19 virus is getting to us, each in our safety pod of loneliness.

But then I started thinking about the life span of my grandmother.  She was born in 1901.  As a teenager, she had to endure the effects of World War I that resulted in 9 million soldiers dying, along with 13 million civilians. Great sacrifice was required from the civilian population here.

While she was still a teenager, there was the scourge of the Great Influenza epidemic, deaths from which were estimated to be 20 – 100 million people.  She told me what it was like when so  many people died that wagons were driven through the streets with someone calling, “Bring out your dead,” in order to collect bodies from homes for mass burials.    

After she finished school, she looked for work in Denver, going from business to business.  Some shops had signs in the windows, which she recalled saying, “No Jews Or Irish Need Apply.”  That was emblematic of the racism that flourished here.  Even the main street was named Spear, after a man who was affiliated with the Klan.

This was followed by the Great Depression.  At that time, hundreds of thousands people were homeless and hungry.  My grandfather sold all his rental properties because he knew that nobody would be able to pay rent.  He then opened a slaughter house and butcher shop, selling meat wholesale to the public. My grandmother took it upon herself to collect meat scraps from those two enterprises.  She then made soup and fed many, many people who lined up in front of the shop each day for free food, often their only meal.

In World War II, her son, a sailor, was sent to the Pacific and was wounded. Communication from the theater of war was scarce. My uncle, her son, was then shipped to a San Francisco hospital for recuperation.  It was impossible to phone him.  There was gas rationing and trains were pre-booked for soldiers.  So, my grandmother begged and borrowed ration coupons from friends and neighbors, so that she and my grandfather could drive to California to visit their son, who luckily, survived.

And I then remember that in my lifetime, I had Hepatitis A in Zaire, a place where there were no phones, no televisions, no computers - nor was there reliable postal service. If I was really lucky, the short wave radio would pick up the BBC or the Voice of America. It was often weeks between the times I heard from loved ones.  So weak at one point, I couldn’t turn over in bed and had to be carried to the restroom. I was bedridden for almost four months.

So, when I think of all of the ways now that I can stay in contact with friends and family through various kinds of technology, I understand that it is not so bad to be alone because we can still be together virtually.  My love and support to friends reading this.  

[asylum-ireland-blog]

Irish Government 'afraid allowing asylum seekers to work will worsen housing crisis'

New Post has been published on http://asylumireland.ml/irish-government-afraid-allowing-asylum-seekers-to-work-will-worsen-housing-crisis/

Irish Government 'afraid allowing asylum seekers to work will worsen housing crisis'

The Government is afraid allowing asylum seekers to work will “worsen the housing crisis”, it is claimed.

Last year, the secretary general of the Department of Justice warned a Supreme Court ruling, which would allow 6,000 refugees to work in Ireland, could result in many asylum seekers leaving direct provision centres.

They could then enter the crowded housing market as the State struggles to keep a lid on the homeless crisis.

In response to the ruling the Government created a scheme that meant asylum seekers would need to pay up to €1,000 for a work permit, and find a job that pays at least €30,000 a year before being able to work in Ireland.

The Sunday Times reported the Department of Justice feared removing of the ban could result in an exodus of refugees from direct provision centres, worsening the housing epidemic.

It has also emerged the State is concerned with how it will cope in the coming years after committing to take in a further 4,000 refugees amid a homelessness and housing crisis.

In recent years, 2,000 asylum seekers have entered the country under the Irish Refugee Programme.

Labour Senator Aodhan O Riordain slammed the Government following the revelations.

He said: “It’s an insight into the mindset of the Department of Justice who are completely incapable of dealing with this issue in a compassionate manner.

“They approach every issue with a security mindset and this is no different.

“They are obsessed with the concept of a ‘pull factor’, from my experience as a Minister of State in the same department.

“I will be one of the voices within Government arguing for a harder border because of the potential increased flow of migrants and asylum seekers.”

, https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/irish-government-afraid-allowing-asylum-12493275

[criticalwilliam-blog]

The Monster Outside

As the homosexual is the vampire, the Ethiopian is the Devil, the Jew is the giant, as the Irish woman pees standing up and the Irishman sitting down, the homeless population is often portrayed as a flesh-eating, virus carrying, zombie monster. Since these zombies can be found nearly everywhere in the world, I will attempt to narrow my assignment down to the San Francisco “riff-raff” terrorizing the Bay area. I have read that this is one of the most populated and dangerous areas to see these creatures. Here is a quote from the owner of a successful startup company about the homeless epidemic in San Francisco: “The residents of this amazing city no longer feel safe. I know people are frustrated about gentrification happening in the city, but the reality is, we live in a free market society.” Another wealthy CEO of a tech company referred to the homeless population as “degenerates [who] gather like hyenas.” So there is no denying how the more prominent people of our society see these despicable people without homes.

The fear and anxiety that is being associated with homelessness aren't quite adding up when you look at the statistics. In recent years, violent crimes have declined in San Francisco. Although, in some neighborhoods crime has gone up from its recent tally, two violent crimes occurring in more affluent parts of town. A fourteen-year-old skateboarder was so badly assaulted he was hospitalized and another young man was shot while sitting on his grandmother’s porch. Yet both were deemed unrelated to anyone being homeless. The majority of the population see the homeless as drug addicts, degenerates, lazy, virus-spreading psychotics trying to ruin everything that we as regular people have set out not to be. But could it be that some of these slimy, disgusting monsters could be humans after all? Humans down on their luck? Humans, with nowhere to turn? Humans like me and you, who have a conscious and a heart and feelings that need a helping hand?  

I will conclude with a quote from the centaur’s (a homeless resident of San Francisco named Bercé Perry) mouth: “Being homeless is like being the germ of the city. That’s how they treat you.”