Just can't win...

any points with someone who is that closed minded


sometimes i see better with my eyes closed pictures

Getting back my knitting mojo

I love to find things to knit that support activist activities and causes.  This one is for the mothers out there that want to nurse in public places.  Why not?  It is the most normal and healthy thing to do for your baby.  So do you want a baby hat for you child or maybe you know someone who would appreciate the positive statement that it makes.  Makes a great shower gift! 

Who knew...

that your child could be so ungrateful for everything you had given her over the years.  Forget about the cars I bought for you.  Forget about the 5 thou I gave you to leave him.  Forget about the 20+ thou that you took.  Your mother is now homeless.  HOMELESS.  A game on tv is more important than that?  Your nightly visits to the bar are more important than that?  More important than my mental health?  Did your extensive medical training include anything about depressive disorders?  I guess not

My take on things

I know some of you didn't like the meme I posted last week. You made it very clear with the hateful and condescending things you posted in the comments causing me to moderate my comments for the first time ever. I made my point so I took it down. Some of it was so bad that the website asked me if I wanted to report it as abuse. I did not.

If you don't understand why I made it in the first place then you haven't been paying attention. I have had it with the hateful things I have seen on Facebook in the last few months and it was my way of expressing my feelings. The comments directed toward me have made me feel that, in your eyes, I have lived out my usefulness and I should just shut up and die. That may have not been the words you used but it is how I was made to feel. These things did not come from some random people, it was from my own family members. My comments, on Facebook, were not hateful. They were stated in a questioning manner and also in an informative manner.

This is not an apology, it is an explanation. I was extremely depressed when I came back to NY and I had found something to bring me out of it. That something was Occupy Wall Street. I found something that woke up my passions and gave me something to do everyday. I had not been able to find a job and that only added to the depression. The response to this was to insult me outright in the public forum of FB. No one had my back and no one questioned the abuse in any way except offline. Some even agreed with it. This only reinforced the abuse to me. I expressed myself OFF Facebook in my own blog and then got crap for that too.

If you don't like the way I express myself in my own blog, you don't have to read it. If you want to help, maybe you could buy something from me so I can try to pay some bills. I am working on getting better but it takes time.

How much is too much?

Or maybe I should say how much is enough?

I have done research. I have been on the front lines. I have talked to people. I do not go blindly into anything (except maybe love).

How can you doubt my good intentions especially when I have our children and grandchildren as a motivation for changing what is wrong with this country.

So I guess what I am asking is if I should just give up and save myself the aggravation of hitting my head against the brick wall that is your blindness. There are facts that are indisputable. Just because it hasn't happened to you yet doesn't mean it can't.

People are being kicked out of their homes. People have lost their jobs and pensions and life savings. People who have worked hard all their lives now work hard just to stay alive.

Maybe you could put some effort into basic fact checking before you go on the attack next time.

That is my perspective

Family ties

Sometimes it amazes me how 5 people who were raised in the same household could grow up so different. I guess that makes an argument for nurture vs nature or does it? We all came from the same 'nature' and for the most part had the same 'nurture'. So how does one become an atheist, one a bible thumper, one a cult member, one an athlete and one an activist. I would never say that each of these descriptions is an all-inclusive definition of any one of us as we also have things in common. We all have a strong mid-western work ethic, a love of family and a stubborness when defending our beliefs.

I always believed that conversation and communication were an important part of being human. I love a in-depth discussion with my friend Matt talking about movies we have seen. Coming from different generations we almost always see the movie from a completely different perspective. When we watched "Forrest Gump" I felt nostalgic and he saw a history lesson.

Lately, there seems to be a problem keeping the discussions civil within the family unit. Everything deteriorates into insults, CAPS and hurt feelings. I don't like having some members of my family, extended or otherwise, at odds with each other or, even worse, not willing to talk to or see each other. Some of these behaviors have been going on for a while and some have just bubbled to the surface. Is the younger generation being influenced by the older? (nurture) Is it Facebook that is really the enemy? I would like people to remember that gossip is NOT A FACT. If you were not there, don't assume the first story you hear about something is the truth. There are always 2 sides (or maybe even more).

My mother was a great peace maker. I think if she were still here with us that a lot of this would not be happening. I also believe that if she were alive, she would be supportive of my effort at Occupy Wall Street and even participate in the effort to make this country and this world a better place to live in. She was like that. Happy Birthday Mom, a few days early but I have been thinking about you a lot lately. I hope you got the note I sent on the smoke of the palm fire tied to the strings of my heart.