What I go through...

Another fat bigot

This morning I was listening to the radio. The program had two economists discussing income inequality in our country today and what it means. At some point the dicussion turned to how there isn't just income inequality but life expectancy inequality too. And I swear to god, one of those dudes straight up blamed poor people for dying early because they are more likely to be fat. It was pretty early in the morning and I was half awake but it sounded to me like he was saying that poor people don't die sooner because they don't have the same access to health care. They don't die sooner because their lives are more stressful. They don't die sooner because they don't have the time or access to the kinds of recreation choices that make people healthier. No, they die sooner because they are fat and they are fat because they make bad choices. Which is probably why they are poor too.

I fucking hate people sometimes.

The D is the future.

I am very worried about the direction our country is going in. I worry about it all of the time. But I am not entirely without hope

What makes me hopeful is Detroit. Seriously. Mother F*cking Detroit! What has happened to Detroit could be what happens to the rest of our country. Detroit has a 50% illiteracy rate and probably not coincidentally a 50% unemployment rate (if you count discouraged workers). The government is near collapse. There is decay and crime and every other thing everyone fears.

And you know what? It isn't that bad. People do step up. Although people do starve to death there or die of exposure, it isn't exactly common. We could all do better of course but what I am seeing in Detroit is a bunch of people making real policy changes that I suspect are going to result in a huge improvement.

Not only that, the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" entrepreneurial spirit that everyone says is part of the American psyche is thriving there. I see it every day. I have a lot of friends who live there and the things they are doing are amazing. They are *farming* there (stick it up your butt big agribusiness!) Others are making things and then selling them and really actually making money in the process. People are starting all kinds of businesses. It turns out that for a lot of people, when they can't get a job, they make a god damn job and it is exciting in ways I can hardly describe. But mostly I see it as proof that the 1% isn't going to have an easy time with their feudalistic intentions.

There was a nice article on Huffington Post about just this thing today so I am sure that is why I am feeling that if Detroit can come back, the USA can come back. Here is a link:

Why Detroit? Why Now?