I'm posting this comment which was left on my last post just in case any of you missed reading it. I'm posting it for a number of reasons. The first reason is that I think we all need to see how "the other side" thinks. I think it is good for us to try to understand how others justify The Troll's actions. I'm also posting it because I was in no way speaking politically, though I certainly could. I was speaking about something close to my heart. I am in the trenches with these kids every day so I speak from knowledge, not just emotionally which this comment accuses me of, as if it's the wrong place to be coming from. It also questions that what I do isn't the right approach...I should be out in the community telling parents how to be good parents? WOW! I'm sure that would work out really well. Assuming that these children are where they are because of bad parenting is a very bigoted remark whether or not you think of yourself that way. The biggest reason why I am posting this is because I am really sick and tired of the fact that the people that leave nasty comments on blogs are always the ones that have no link back to themselves. It's so easy to be brave when you don't have to show your face. I never mind someone disagreeing with me. It's actually always an opportunity to learn something. I just don't suffer cowards well. So, for all of you blog bottom dwellers...grow a pair.
Here it is in all it's glory:
Here it is in all it's glory:
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lynney62 said... - I have followed your blog for almost 6 years and so enjoyed all of your postings. I was sad to see your post today. You see, I live in Illinois, a "Flyover" State I'm sure you've probably never visited. I am one of "those horrid, ignorant, stupid, uneducated, racist, anti-semitic, LGBT hating people who "clings to their guns and religion"" who voted for President Trump. But you see, you don't know me at all! Because you never tried to know me. One of my very best friends is gay and lives happily in a gay relationship...One of my closest relatives is happily in an inter-racial marriage with a precious multiracial child... But you don't wish to know me, a person who wants America to be safe, secure, strong, and full of opportunity for all who come here "legally" and live according to the Laws of our Constitution and country. Also, you don't seem to see the HUGE debt that our last 6 Presidents and paid politicians have placed on you, myself and our children....You don't seem to see how each State would be more able to manage programs such as yours through cutting other programs of free education, food stamps, etc to "Illegals" that drain our State and Federal Budgets Why is it okay for some who come here to do so "illegally" when so many have come here "legally" and made our country great..What does this say to those folks who worked hard to come following our laws? And how can we call ourselves free without having those laws? ....I admire all of your work and time given to these inner city children...But I ask you...Would you give some time to work in those areas to teach women how to be good mothers, teach men how to be responsible fathers..work in your local government to bring prosperous economy, new businesses, jobs, to those people....Then programs like yours would not be so needed. Families could be reestablished to work together to grow for a better life. I'm doubtful you will really understand what I'm trying to say......I understand how different many of us are......You live through "feelings"....I live through "reality" and looking at the very long term for my child..I want America to stay a free country with Laws that keep us free.....Don't worry...I won't bother you again...And I won't be reading your blog daily anymore...I just have a hard time with the way you spoke about our President...If I had spoken that way about President Obama, I would have been called a "hate monger and a racist"...But life, sadly, is full of double standards.............................
Comments
I think I am on of those on "the other side". I don't think I'm a troll, I genuinely want to understand all sides of the issue. I am constantly distressed by the lashing out of people on both sides of these issues, and although I try not to take personally the horrible things people say to me without even knowing me, I do take it personally. I grew up poor, and for a while benefited from the school lunch program. I grew up and worked, and did without for many years to make sure I could take care of myself, and my family. I believe it is my responsibility to help people who cannot provide for themselves, and that includes children and the elderly. But that doesn't mean I have to agree with the way it is being done. I have spent too much time on the other side, seeing the abuse of these programs and wondering why there was not better oversight.
When I look at the list of programs, the sheer volume of money being spent in overhead dictates that some of these programs need to be reduced, or combined, or re-evaluated. In general, I believe communities need to take care of their needy citizens, not the federal government. So while I cannot really address how the current budget proposal is being allocated (I don't have a copy of it), looking at the number of programs tells me that some of them need to be rethought. I think these all came out of the right place - helping children - but, we need to take a step back and make better use of our resources. We cannot just keep throwing money at the problem - we have been doing that for a long time, and the problem seems to be getting worse.
Federal Child Nutrition Programs include, but are not limited to -
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP);
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC);
School Breakfast Program (SBP) ;
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) ;
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) At-Risk Afterschool;
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP);
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program;
Special Milk Program.
Maybe if politicians were not being paid full salary and full medical benefits years after leaving office, we could afford to feed people.
I added you to my blog roll yesterday.
practical parsimony
He also made a fool of himself while visiting Germany, now we all see Angela Merkel as the worlds leader.
Christer.
Its not a black or white situation ...
There's a reason why its getting worst... wages are not going up... but everything else is..
There is no hand up anymore.. no compassion ..
I'm an ex welfare Mother of two grown children.. do want to know what got me off welfare?
It was a Federal and state program that with the help with local businesses .. help trained women on welfare .
For 12 weeks we were in class to make sure we had at least a 9th grade grasp on spelling,math and such.. to make sure we knew how to do a resume and to prep for job interview..
While we were in the program we were give a travel expenses for either bus or gas ... and a little bit for lunch ..
Our daycare was paid for ... so we didn't have worry about who was going watch our kids while training .
You didn't come to class you didn't get your money for lunch/travel/daycare plain and simply ..
After 12 weeks.. then local businesses would take you in for more training..
I ended up in at a local hospital in their file room ...
After another 8 weeks the business that was training you had the option to either hire you or send you on your way ... either way they got a tax break for helping out .. and a bigger tax break if they hired you..
They hired me .. and I haven't been on welfare since.. and that's been 24 years ago..
Great program right?
Well a year after I finished.. The Gov't de funded it .. something that worked .. oh we can't have that ..
I've also be part of the working poor.. trying to decided if I can afford medication for myself or buy gros. for my kids...
Made too much for assistance and not enough to live on ..
Now days where I live young people don't have a chance.. Not when you have to work 2 jobs just to pay the rent... and nothing more..
A apartment in Nashville.. one bedroom are going for 1,200.00 a month ... forget about a house..
And if your working you don't qualify for Section 8 and if you do .. there's a waiting list a long waiting list..
Young people today don't have the chances we did ( not knowing how old you are ) not even close..
and its getting worst..
and don't get me started on insurance.. it wouldn't be pretty .
Yes things have to change .. re done ...but you don't take one crumb of a child's mouth ..or the elderly...
You don't do what this Gov't is hellbent on doing.. period...
If as a person thinks taking away a meal from a child or a elder person is OK .. that person is not ok.. inside and out ..
Former Welfare Mom
I admire and appreciate your generosity to these kids. Sometimes just knowing that someone cares enough to make you food is a huge inspiration.
Blessed be!
Our country is not unsafe, although that is what plenty of people would like us to think. They would like us to look at "Them" and be fearful. Fearful that we might be hurt, fearful that someone is taking resources we may need. This simply not the case in America. We ae safe, and the way to increase our feelings of safety and well being is to get to know our community. You can't fear those you are connected to.
I live in a small town in the suburbs of Boston. Boston is not historically know for it's diversity. We have many different groups of people but they each occupy their own neighborhoods. One thing that I love about my town and my daughter's public school is that we have families from ALL over the world. 21 countries represented and many, many, languages spoken in people's homes. Because of this diversity and because we are friends with all kind of people we have had opportunities we would not have had otherwise. Our eyes have been opened to "Them". Once you get involved it can not longer be Us vs Them. That sentiment turns to the fact that we are all part of a community and have to all do our part to keep our community healthy.
Hopefully the person who wrote that comment can get involved in some way, maybe a bit out of her comfort zone, hopefully she can open her mind to people different than herself and see them as fellow community members deserving of her compassion and even friendship.
Rest a sure that most of America is does not support this man.. and its pretty clear by the political activism that has sprung up since Jan.
I have been amazed..
This is one thing good I've seen come out this whole situation.. Folks in Americans are waking up. Maybe we need this slap in the face we needed .. we've become too lazy ... to willing to let things "slid" by.. too dumbed down in how our country works..
We are a young country..sometimes too proud for our own good.. But its time for us to grow up .. find our compassion again.. our soul ..
For EVERYONE not just the few ..
We just ask the world to be patience with us as a country ... our system is experiment .. it not perfect .. but we do have check and balances that are in place that hopefully will not let this man or Administration destroy who we are completely and as long as they are in place the maybe we can survive this ..
We will come out it batter and brushed and unfortunately so will the rest of the world.. but just maybe.. just maybe we will come out a better Union
we will find out soul again..
We must understand their thinking, though, if we are to be able to construct arguments against it. I keep reading that it was a lack of understanding of this group of voters that got trump elected. trump seemed to hear them and buy into their rhetoric, not something I'm advocating for, and that's how he got elected. What can we do differently to help these people who think they have been overlooked?
Sorry if I misspelled anything or got anything wrong. I'm heavily medicated today.
http://www.philosophersguild.com/Trumps-Small-Hand-Soap.html
http://www.philosophersguild.com/Trump-Embarrassmints.html
I'm waiting for the Troll to implode.
you can't say you have gay "friends" but spit on LGBT rights.
people can be racist and still have inter-racial people in their family/friends circle. My grandmother never liked black people (she's a proud Christian republican btw) and she told me on the way to my brother's wedding (to a black woman) that God intended a white woman for him and a black man for her and that she was having such hard time going to the wedding. She still stayed in the picture and tries to be a great-grandmother to their daughter, but she's still racist. She may not be 1865 racist, but she's still the way she always was.
Just like the folks who claim the Civil War wasn't about slavery. States rights? Funny there was one thing they wanted their states to give them the right to do...oh that's right own people.
And some depolorables believe that "racism doesn't exist" unless you are part of the "new black panthers" or "black lives matter"
I do find it funny when they claim they aren't racist/homophobic whatever when they mention a politician they like that is black, gay, or whatever.
Uncle toms exist for every type of group of people.
People like Herman Cain, Ben Carson, and SC's senator Tim Scott are black men but they vote and act like white supremacists. Trumpettes love these guys.
Same thing with Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio when it comes to Latinos. They are no friend to the common Hispanic person.
Then we have Milo Yiannopoulos who is a gay (and very flamboyant) Greek-British person of Jewish ancestry. He worked for the far-right Brietbart and say things that are anti-Semitic, mocks transgender people, and thinks gay people should go back into the closet. Republicans love this guy because he hates what he is apparently. Though I do believe this guy is a huge troll trying to bank on being the uncle tom of the gay community.
And in terms of religion we have S.E. Cupp who is a conservative pundit but also an atheist. Non-religious people tend to up on the left-wing but she goes as far as saying she wishes to be a "person of faith" one day. No real atheist would say that. But I bet you she'd have applause at a GOP rally.
The reason they like them is the same reason we like Republicans who defect against a president. Like I loved hearing a guy say that Republicans have gone off the far-right from what they were decades ago and Trump has gone so far off the spectrum that he's in another universe.
I do believe that we should look at programs and where there is waste (and there is that in many cases), it should be addressed. However, when that Senator (or rep) said that Meals on Wheels gave little benefit, the hair on the back of my neck went up. Feeding people who are old and in need of assistance has no benefit? Feeding hungry children has no benefit? Where is there soul? They call themselves Christian but they think building a wall to keep out non-white people is more important that feeding the disadvantaged in this country. Have they not read the Beatitudes? We are headed down a dark path and at this point, I feel little optimism.
I understand that some voters couldn't vote for Hillary and wanted a change. But I could never vote for someone with no morals.
Someone that our country pays for security for three residents and for a large extended family. It blows my mind the amount of money that is spent.
I know your meals to the after school program are funded out of your pocket. As a directory (past) of a before and after school program, eliminating these services are hard to take. I do hope that people like you will step up and help support these cut backs for our children and our elderly.
We have really gone backwards in our country's beliefs. There is so much hate. I'm sorry for those that think Trump's is being mistreated. For 8 years I listened to the nasty comments about The Obama family. For that reason I don't feel bad at all. But I do feel sorry for this man's young son and wife.
Oh for the record, I am an independent, have friends of all races, including mixed families, and friends that are gay .
I have also adopted and raised one of those children that won't be getting any of the services that are so needed.
And, I can sleep at night.
So sorry that someone left you that message. I've followed you for a long time. You are such a generous and kind person. Hugs
wow..
think it is ok to cut programs like Meals on Wheels (my husband has delivered them here in Canada for 15 years and sees the real, everyday need for them), after school programs, and food programs such as yours. And yet there is $30 MILLION dollars available to guard the Trump hotel just that so his son doesn't have to change schools midterm.
I read that readers response and thought she was a very sad individual, judging you without even knowing you, I would be interested to hear what she has done to support the less fortunate in her community, she was quick to suggest that you should do more (educating parents!) I thought she was so judgemental and bitter. Hopefully this is the end of it, hopefully she reads your response and learns from it, and hopefully she signs up tomorrow to help out in her area! Thank you again for everything you do.
That old "one of my best friends is gay" remark nearly made me spew my coffee. The oldest cliche in the book. Her comment is built upon far-reaching generalizations and offensive assumptions. "You live through feelings" WHAT? WHAT? Surely cooking for all those kids -- shopping for the food, cooking the food, delivering the food, day after day -- is as rooted in reality as is humanly possible. You can't "feel" an after-school meal program into existence. The personal is most certainly the political as your anger attests, and you have every right to vent this on your blog. You are indeed in the trenches (and doing a damned fine job). x
God bless you
Diana from Canada
I hope that someone campaigns locally for you, or that the community becomes aware of your programmes work.
Regards Sol
I live in the same state as Joyce, and our current governor, Govenor Wolf, does not want to cut programs. I'm just hopping that he can be reelected. We have a guy who calls Trump his mini-me who will be running against our governor. In this climate, its hard to know what would happen.