Like the banner over the gate to Austwitzch — “Work is Freedom”. The great lie told to the poor and the secret is that its not YOUR freedom you’re working for.

Kate, here in Milwaukee one of the welfare agencies is the YWCA, and they actually had a sign on the wall enumerating all the ways in which work would save your soul. Feeling blue? Work. Sick? Keep working. And yes, it actually said (although not in those words), work will set you free.

When I complained about the sign and its Nazi associations, I was met with blank stares. Nobody I spoke to was able to connect the dots at all.

Here, here! Furthermore, I hereby withdraw myself from all above ‘we’s such as may be present in the construction ‘we as white women’ and variations thereof. Need we remind ourselves that we so neither speak on behalf of the Blaming community nor pen editorials for the New York of Times? Cut it out already.

This is a written medium. Read what darkymac had to say on this.

What I say is: Fish or cut bait.

Abso-fucking-lutely! I tried, damn I tried and fought to stay in school but couldn’t do it because the welfare system wanted to cut me off and didn’t give a hoot about my increased earnings potential if i had a degree. work! work! We don’t care if you can support your family! We don’t care if you can’t pay your rent with that seven dollar an hour check or afford childcare that friggin’ seven bucks an hour!

Like the banner over the gate to Austwitzch — “Work is Freedom”. The great lie told to the poor and the secret is that its not YOUR freedom you’re working for.

“but because they were rich. Really fucking rich (this was Sarasota, FL after all). My thrift store clothes never felt so shabby.”

Oh and haven’t I felt that so many times when I tried to ‘fit in’ and deny classism.

Disappointed abut “the lack of substantive discussion about issues that matter to women of color”? Now that Nubian’s blog has been made known to me, I know of at least one place where there is probably substantive discussion about these issues. Unless she takes her marbles and goes home.

“They are also fully aware that patriarchy isn’t the only issue: they need to work with men to fight racism and classism.”

No kidding.

“Women of color, naturally, tend to reject that position and have their own theories and arguments which, as white women and feminist who care about those issues we might want to consider if we truly want to work — together — for a better world.”

I do care. And what Pony said:

“Homosexual issues? Black issues. Just go for the discourse, and never mind the friggin’ dividers.

I’m here. But I am not a lesbian, nor do I have breast cancer, my hair is thinning but I still got waaaay more then Twisty, and I’m older than all of you…”

I’ve been in an online-community for a bit over 6 years. We’ve collectively learned that we need to, if we want to keep the discussion going, not let the “energy-creatures” (as they’ve been dubbed) derail the discussion. Lots of groups fall victim to this. I get the idea that Nubian’s entry was really targeted to people who wanted to derail the discussion and leave hurtful comments to raise the ire of the group by making it seem an unsafe place. Just a suspicion, I don’t know for sure.

I received one of those AAUW scholarships while I was finishing my degree. I was a single mother at the time and I attended several of their functions. I was hoping I could persuade them to consider an alternative form of assistance for students/single mothers like myself: childcare assistance. I had been turned down for a childcare subsidy by public assistance because in order to qualify you have to work a certain number of hours per week. As a college student I didn’t qualify, and it bothered me (not surprised, though) that the system doesn’t reward poor mothers for making an effort to improve their prospects by earning a degree.

Much to my dismay, the women at the AAUW weren’t interested in my idea. Although I will give them credit for treating me very politely even though I showed up at their dinner party with all my hair buzzed off. Or maybe that’s why they didn’t like my ideas? I’ll never know.

I’d also like to point out that I wasn’t turned off by the AAUW women because they were old, but because they were rich. Really fucking rich (this was Sarasota, FL after all). My thrift store clothes never felt so shabby.

Hattie, my sister (white) spent about 10 years in Hawaii, and it really opened her eyes to racial issues, because for the first time in her life, she was in a racial minority. More than that, she got a taste of what it was like to be addressed as haole with contempt.

Hawaii’s definitely an interesting place.