‘They Don’t See Us, They Don’t Hear Us’
Jan 31st, 2008 at 6:36 am by Susie
This Kos diary made me cry, because that’s how I feel this morning:
John Edwards found his voice and his mission this time around, going for his own heartfelt vision. He gave me a little hope that maybe I could finally have a voice and a vote that counts. But I’m poor, like most of the people he’s championed. I kept meaning to send $10 when I got paid, but every time I got paid I had to keep the electricity on or the phone on or the car running or the farm out of foreclosure. I just never had a single extra cent, always behind. So I couldn’t help him, no matter how much he needed my help. All I could do was talk - stand by him in real life and on the internet…
I failed. That’s nothing new.
This is the inevitable result in a skewed system that was ramped forward to extend the season so long as to effectively forbid anyone who couldn’t raise bazillions from staying in. John championed the poor - like me - and we couldn’t give him what he needed. This result is no surprise.
They don’t see us, they don’t hear us. We get platitudes and lip service when they want to play to the cheap seats, but we don’t count . They talk about a ‘maybe’ recession coming for their millionaire and billionaire friends - we’ve been in a full-fledged depression for years, but nobody cares. This is Southern Appalachia.
It’s not our country, it’s just the place we happen to be and we’ve no way out. We’ve no health care, no way to keep up with inflation, our jobs have gone to India and China. 3 of 5 people in this region qualifies for Medicaid and food stamps, but only 1 of 5 gets them because there’s not enough to go around. Our children go to war because they’ve no hope to go to college. We hope they can do better somewhere else, because we’ve nothing here to offer them. Hope… we hope a lot, it’s about all we’ve got. Our hopes are always dashed in the end.
When whatever faceless, interchangeable Dem takes over next year, they will try to force me to buy worthless health insurance and pretend that somehow solved the “health care crisis” they won’t admit exists. But I can’t afford worthless insurance and can’t beat the cap on Medicaid, so they’ll fine me if I show up at the ER. All that does is force me not to seek medical care - I’ll have to die at home unattended. Already told grandson to bury me on the mountain where they buried the nameless, faceless prisoners who died building this railroad as slave labor back in 1908. Told him not to mark it or tell the gub’ment. They didn’t care when I was alive, they’ve no business pretending to care when I die. Then hopefully he’ll let the farm go, move somewhere where he’s got half a chance at life.
Economic Eugenics. Apparently the Democratic Party has no problem with that, the only voice I ever hoped to have just quit because - as James McMurtry sings so poignantly - we can’t make it here anymore. The first song following the hourly news on my regional NPR. We’re all in the same boat here.
So here’s my not earth-shattering announcement: I quit too.
Mr Edwards may not be a active candidate anymore, but his message and ideals are far from dead. Send this Ladies comment to Clinton and Obama. Tell them we will be watching carefully what they do and say. Tell them that voting for a Dem is only valuable if the Dem has something different to offer. And that it will be our conscious that drives that vote, not words that have no meaning. And that NOT VOTING is a viable option, that our conscious will take into consideration.
Words do not suffice
Same story here in Michigan. All the factory jobs have gone to Mexico. They (mostly gov’t sponsored functions) hold these “rejuvenate our downtown” functions, thinking that if we have brick streets and fancy street lamps, people will magically have all this money to spend shopping and eating at the businesses downtown. Except that the people working at these jobs make below minimum wage, there are too few people that make a good enough living to afford to spend lavishly, and the business tax credits end up costing the cash-strapped state gov’t even more money than was invested.
And then, we have people that blame the unions for this economic collapse. The unions are to blame for being lax in recruitment, for supporting candidates that supported Reagan and his middle finger to the unions. And yes, Ronald Reagan deserves his full credit for creating this tremendous gap between CEO and worker (500 to 1 pay rate). But the ones that are to blame are the voters/citizens of this state. They bought in to the Reagan Revolution. They voted for candidates that supported Reagan ideals. Or they didn’t vote at all. They blame a governor that has only held office for one term. They blame the unions, saying unions and their principles of workers rights, living wages, and benefits are hurting business or forcing business to leave the state. And now the unions are giving away benefits that many people fought and died for; Auto worker retiree health care has been given away to the brokers on Wall Street to rape and pillage, next will be the pension. The citizens demand that a little old granny who signs a high interest ARM loan, they demand she honor that agreement and do whatever it may cost her to pay that payment. Yet the Big 3 are allowed to break agreements they made years ago without so much as a whimper. The citizens even make up excuses for them. Where is the fairness? Where is the justice? Where is the equal protection under the law? Where are our priorities at? A corporation is more important than the citizens? What is wrong with our country and way of thinking? At the same time, executive compensation at the Big 3 is an all time high. The newspapers celebrate when a new auto supplier opens up shop, adding 100 jobs. Yet these suppliers receive tremendous tax credits and deferrals. The workers are non-union and receive little benefits and small pay. The media rarely discusses that this new shop cost the community the loss of Big 3 jobs. All that was “outsourced” was the labor. And on and on.
thank you