rowlandm

SingsongRaptor , 1 month ago to random

They kicked my kid off Medicaid and onto CHIP and are now demanding $63.24 a month for her to have health insurance. I can barely scrounge up $150 a month for food for 3 people and a cat, like wtf. Like cost of living is going up, I cannot. I am going to fucking weep. What are people supposed to fucking do like this? This is the "low-cost" option? I can't even find a part time at home job!
#disability #poverty #workingpoor #DisabledFedi #BlackMastodon

rbreich , 1 month ago to random

Poverty is a policy choice. Mass incarceration is a policy choice. Inequality is a policy choice. Insulin rationing is a policy choice. Climate disintegration is a policy choice. Billionaire tax loopholes are a policy choice.

Make no mistake: We have the power to change things.

rowlandm , 2 months ago to random Spanish

PM of Australia when Hamas attacks:

Anthony Albanese condemns ‘slaughter of innocent people’ by Hamas – video

When Iran attacks:

"Iran's ongong flouting of international law, its egregious human rights abuses and threat to International security is why this Government has imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans, including Magnitsky-style sanctions, on 85 individuals and 97 entities."

What about when Israel attacks? Can someone share what he said?

#Iran #Palestine #Australia

poligraf , 2 months ago to palestine group

« … she and her fellow aid workers were killed by an Israeli IDF mission, in what was known to be a safe zone for aid convoys… you know you can't spin your way out of this… »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_5eM9l8lDY

#Palestine #ceasefire #FreePalestine @palestine

🕊️ 🇵🇸 🍉 🙏🏻 ✌️ ☮️ 🇦🇺

18+ futurebird , 3 months ago to random

I keep seeing these discussions in left circles about how terrible social media is. It angers & frustrates me that Mastodon & the Fediverse don't even merit a mention.

"The Majority Report" goes as far as dissing Threads but never mentions the fedi.

There are only 170 comments. Why not leave a comment asking why "the left" keeps complaining (rightly) about corporate social media but ignoring the alternative?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqY7sLRaUWQ

alice , 3 months ago to random

I have to share this. So my partner is on the DEI board for a nonprofit org, which consists of my partner, a gay black woman, a Latina woman, and a straight white guy.

I was working from the other room and overhead some of their meeting.

The guy, (Fred? Doug? Something like that. Let's say Fred), had coopted the meeting for the last hour. He was going on about how he didn't think the org needed a DEI committee...it went something like:

"Race is an outdated social construct."

"I don't see color or gender."

"If everyone was just chill like me, there wouldn't be an issue."

And so on.

I heard my partner trying to gently reign in his monopoly on the discussion:

"Maybe we should hear from one of the other members about their lived experiences?"

He kept going; transitioning into the topic of "handout programs":

"I mean, the opportunities are there. Maybe the story was different in the past, but now they just have to work for it like anyone else."

Note: my partner was (nearly still)born into poverty, abuse, a broken child welfare system, and has multiple chronic conditions.

I could hear the frustration in my partner's voice. No one else spoke up.

My partner got up and left the call for a bit. Fred didn't seem to notice, as I could hear him still talking away in the background.

Eventually the meeting ended.

The other two women said they thought they got a lot out of the meeting, and that Fred brought up some good points (though I must of missed those ones from the other room).

My partner came into my office and recapped the meeting in one looong sentence (they were rather agitated).

So what's the moral of this story?

If you don't know why diversity, equity, and inclusion are necessary, then you're probably the reason.

If you refer to inclusion and social systems as "handout programs" then you have probably lived a priveledged fucking life.

If you're sitting on a DEI board full of LGBTQIA+/BIPOC people and none of those letters apply to you, then you'd better pay close attention to the collective lived experiences and perspectives of those other members.

If all the above apply to you, then you're probably Fred (and feeling pretty called out).

Don't be Fred.

#DEI #LGBTQIA #BIPOC #Rant #Privelege #DiversityEquityInclusion

rowlandm , 3 months ago to random Spanish

Please give if you can to @Tinu

Tinu, a devoted advocate and volunteer for Black women and disabled people, lives with cancer and asthma and is now hospitalized with COVID pneumonia. As a high-risk person, she and her family need our help: cancer is expensive, and without her income this month while she is in the hospital, she and her household need financial support. Hospital stays are expensive—please help her.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fortinu-covid-recovery-expenses

SingsongRaptor , 4 months ago to random

I wanna go back to school, but I feel deeply unsure about it. It costs a lot. Everything I'm interested in doing isn't available as online degrees. Which means having to travel to class on top of learning, homework, being a parent and adult. I worry about requesting accommodations and my ability to keep up. I worry intensely about finances. I've already got 45k in student loan debt from previous failures. I feel trapped between disability and money and potential wasted effort