Wednesday, April 22, 2009

FW: Homelessness is our problem too

My inbox tends to be invaded by the occasional conservative propaganda piece. They remind me that my country is Christian, we shouldn’t tax U.S. citizens and immigrants are bad.

Yes, people still try to convince me of these things despite the following minor issues:
1. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” -U.S. Constitution Amendment 1
2. Free elections, roads, primary schools, parks, defense/homeland security, fire and police departments are paid for by taxes. (Notice how I didn’t even mention “frivolous” spending like Medicaid, environmental protection, college loans, unemployment benefits and public housing)
and
3. Unless you are a Native American, you and/or your family once immigrated to this country as some point.

Many times I simply hit delete and move on with my life. Other times I write back.
A recent email of this nature inspired me to respond.


Here is the email….
I recently asked my friends' little girl what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be President some day. Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there, so I asked her, 'If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?

> She replied, 'I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people.' Her parents beamed.

'Wow...what a worthy goal.' I told her, 'But you don't have to wait until you're President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward food and a new house.

> She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, ' Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?

> I said, 'Welcome to the Republican Party.' Her parents still aren't speaking to me.

Even putting politics aside, there are several problems with this story. First of all, is the narrator going to actually offer work to the homeless guy at the grocery story? If that is true, then maybe I could buy into his apathetic logic. However, I don’t believe that is the case, which creates a big fat hole in the middle of his argument.

In addition, this example simplifies a terrible problem that reflects poorly on us as a society. It makes an incorrect assumption that those who live in cars, parks and on sidewalks are merely lazy. As usual, the truth is much more complicated.

The notion that homeless individuals just don’t want to work is ignorant. Many people living in shelters have jobs. “In 2007, a survey performed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that 17.4% of homeless adults in families were employed while 13% of homeless single adults or unaccompanied youth were employed.” –National Coalition for the Homeless

If you dig deeper into the issue you will find the causes of short and long term homelessness are vast. The following are some of those reasons:
Falling victim to natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina
Mental illness and physical disabilities
Dysfunctional family life that leads to abandoned youth and runaways
Lack of public assistance combined with job loss, medical expenses and rising food costs
Decline in wages and job opportunities
Lack of affordable housing
Domestic Violence (Approximately half of women and children experiencing homelessness left homes due to domestic violence. -National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2001)

One of the most shocking things to me was that this email was sent by someone who has served in the military. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, “About one-third of the adult homeless population have served their country in the Armed Services.” Many have post traumatic stress disorder and/or substance abuse problems and nearly all of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds.


ANY of us could face unfortunate circumstances. Hopefully, we have family and friends to help us out, but not everyone is that lucky. Judging people and simplifying this matter only contributes to the problem. Let’s teach the next generation to have compassion rather than contempt.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Michelle Obama: The People’s First Lady continues the legacy of the People’s Princess.

By: Janice Formichella and Andrea Hance

The Obama’s trip to England last week was a significant highlight in the first hundred days of the President. What the trip truly served as, however, was a red carpet introducing Michelle Obama to the world. The headlines soon shifted from the G20 summit to Michelle Obama’s performance as First Lady and the fact that she overshadowed her husband during the trip. This became front-page news after Michelle made a memorable visit to a local girls school after a historic and even eyebrow-raising audience with the Queen. As images of the visit were flashed over news programs and evening papers, many started to sense the presence of the late Princess Diana in the behavior, grace, individuality, and public awe that Michelle commanded. By the end of the day some reporters had modified the comparison between Michelle and Jackie O to perhaps the more appropriate comparison of Michelle and Princess Diana.
Some of us also felt Diana’s absence. Having grown up watching Princess Diana we found the comparison between her and our new First Lady intriguing. Ever since her untimely and tragic death in 1997, no one woman has emerged to take Diana’s place as an inspiring, intelligent, courageous, graceful woman the entire world can to look up to. Given the significance of both women it is worth taking a look at the similarities between Princess Diana and her heir apparent.
One aspect of Diana’s legacy that Michelle has already started to embody is her willingness and ability to raise awareness for issues that, while critical, gather little mainstream attention. Consider the issue of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. In 1987 not only was Diana one of the first high profile celebrities to be photographed with someone afflicted with HIV, she was the first member of the royal family to do so. Diana sat with AIDS victims at their beds, held their hands, and helped to educate the public about the disease—which was very misunderstood at the time. While much of the world (not to mention the U.S. President), and definitely the rest of the royal family, was turning away, Princess Diana was giving a human face to the devastation of HIV.
Our First Lady seems determined to use her notoriety in the same way. It is encouraging to see that Michelle is selecting issues that impact women and girls directly. Prior to becoming the first African American First Lady, Michelle championed for pay equity in the workplace and spoke about the importance of work/life balance; two issues that while important, rarely gain celebrity attention. In addition, Michelle has publically discussed the importance of women owning their professional achievements while still being proud, responsible mothers. In a society were mothers face exorbitant expectations and pressures, the importance of someone such as Michelle Obama talking openly about this dilemma women face cannot be understated as it impacts so many families.
Another striking similarity between Princess Diana and the First Lady is their ready, open arms. This is something about Diana that we will never forget and something about Michelle that is seducing the entire world. After addressing the students last week, Michelle ignored the secret service and launched, arms open, into the crowd of ecstatic girls at Elizabeth Garret Language School. This impulsive response invoked images of Diana emotionally clinging to babies stricken with HIV or children disfigured by landmines. This readiness to act on impulse and challenge the status quo allows these women to appear human to the world and will endure them to the public for a hundred years to come.
Michelle embodies the same valuable legacy of loving and responsible motherhood that Diana was so well known for. Both mothers have instilled a sense of personal responsibility in their children and managed to keep a sense of normal childhood for them while growing up in the public eye. It is important for young women that Michelle is making active motherhood such a strong focus while also promoting progressive ideas about women, careers, and families.
Princess Diana and Michelle Obama both gained notoriety through their marriages to powerful men. Both women also quickly transcended the label of “wife” and became influential in their own right. This similarity also represents a large difference between the women, and one of our greatest hopes. While addressing the school girls last week, Michelle told the girls that the men in her life taught her “what a respectful relationship should look like between men and women” and “what a strong marriage looks like.” It was these remarks about men and relationships that were possibly the most significant yet the most under reported. In an era of wide spread degradation of women, and visible, even tolerated domestic violence, hearing the most iconic woman in the world address healthy relationships is astounding and shows remarkable foresight on her part. Besides the fact that Michelle is willing to bring attention to a subject that most would rather treat as a non-issue, the Obama’s portray a relationship that is respectful and equitable. When the President makes comments about his marriage such as “as you build a life of mutual support, you retain some sense of surprise or wonder about the other person”[1] the couple is setting a wonderful example for young men and women all over the world.
Perhaps this is one issue that Diana wished she could have addressed or portrayed differently. Unfortunately Diana’s marriage was tabloid news for its lack of honesty and mutual support. She rocked the royal family by divorcing the Prince to regain her independence and self-respect. Now, we see Michelle demanding and enjoying these things within a solid relationship.
As young progressive women we are hopeful that Michelle will continue to use her influence to bring awareness and action to causes that impact women disproportionally and continue to demonstrate courage in doing so. It was revealed last week that Afghanistan is in the process of passing laws that will strip women of several fundamental rights. Surprisingly, this shocking turn of events has prompted little outrage from the world community. Given her growing influence, we ask Michelle to publically condemn these actions and press for U.S. intervention. If Michelle has the courage to take the lead on some of these sticky issues, she will not be alone. An army of women, equipped with a leader, will gather around her to sound the alarm—yes we can, and yes we will!
It is truly a tragedy that the world was not able to witness the meeting of Princess Diana and Michelle Obama. It certainly would have been the beginning of a dynamic friendship. Instead we will remember the example that Diana set for all young women of the world and will watch with anticipation as Michelle continues to dazzle and impress us.

Read more of our thoughts at feministfriendly.com and progressiveplaid.blogspot.com


[1] http://www.newsweek.com/id/184773

Take That Prop 8

What a week it has been for the advancement of LGBTQ civil rights! First from a very unlikely source-Iowa? In the corn covered state, the courts ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to get married was unconstitutional. Taking this success to another level, Governor Chet Culver whose religious beliefs are anti-gay doesn’t plan to support an amendment to reverse the court’s decision.
The second state to come to its senses this week and make same-sex marriages legal is less of surprise, Vermont. Civil unions were made legal in Vermont nine years and gay rights advocates have been fighting for marriage status in the state ever since. This week the legislature made it happen with a vote of 100-49 in the house to override the Governor Douglas’ veto.
Now there are four states in the union that show fairness in marriage. Although it is an uphill climb to get the other 46 states to jump on the equality bandwagon, Iowa has given me hope! Women started winning the vote state by state until finally the country woke up and ratified the 19th amendment. It wasn’t easy, but it worked.