Still Needed...

 

I grew up with the Labor Day Telethon & poster children.    Some looked at them & thought at least something is being done about that issue or that disease.   The fact they had to happen shows the lack of health security in this nation.   Jerry Lewis, March of Dimes, Red Ribbon Revues, Cause Walks, Balls, etc...  They all show holes in the system & use begging for charity to try & fill in the gaps.  They promote images of the sick, injured or victimized to further the cause.  

This approach exploits the needy, nags the well-to-do, emboldens the do-gooders & fails to provide enough to make up for the broken system's failures.  AIDS/HIV walks, rides & revues are still happening decades out.  When will we have actual health care in this nation & not have to resort to begging, tricks & gags to get the barest of minimums?

The US healthcare system was & still is a failure to much of it's people.  I guess the question is, do enough of us actually care?  It doesn't look that way.

Cya...

Spirit...

Living with HIV can be overwhelming.  You'll wonder why am I doing this.  There will be days when you're certain you made the wrong choice.  Having things lift your spirit is important.  It's why SAD can be devastating.

I look out my windows a lot at the plants & animals.  They can make me smile.   Red birds & squirrels are flitting about this morning.  Occasionally, I get to read about other things that make it feel there's still some good will left.

I read about 3 instances this week:

1. A young girl sold cookies & cocoa to raise money to pay off lunch debt at her school.
2. A church bought a parking lot & hired security so people living in their cars could have a safe place to park.
3. An LA church paid off over $5 million in medical debts affecting over 5,000 households.

They not affect me or even be near.  At least it shows there are some people left in the world helping where they can.  It shows that local care will always beat some far off charity in whatever-land.   Give local, tend to your own backyard & you might be amazed at the outcome.  

Cya...

PS - Merry Christmas

A Charitable Cussing...

Let me begin this with a bit of back story.  First, I am on disability, in other words, I am poor.  According to the Census Bureau's definition, I am a good ways under the poverty line.  I might not even have internet if it wasn't included in my rent.  

Second, I am interested in many social/political causes.  I may not have $ to give to these causes & charities but I can at least sign petitions, post things to may Facebook wall & make telephone calls, but's that about it.  There are a lot of charities & causes I would love to give $ to if I had it to give.  I'm usually running in the red. 

Finally, I am fairly selective of these causes.   I am not going to be active in something I think there is little chance these efforts will have an impact.  I really doubt if some African country gives a damn about a petition to treat gay people better in their country.  I do not care for charities that treat people in other countries before the people in their own country are being taken care of in regards to whatever matter.

I have been told repeatedly that there are so many charities & aid groups for people living with HIV in the USA.   I have looked high & low for over a decade & have found only three that could help me in any way at all.   I believe that the Ryan White grants have helped my specialist out Tulsa with OSU Medical at Houston Parke.  Tulsa Cares did what they could for me in the beginning. Mostly they got me on HDAP before  I got disability to get my meds.   Before all of that, a group out of Fort Smith, AR helped with a couple months of meds.  I believe that group was called Fort Smith Reach Out! but I could be wrong on that.  My recollection of the early days on the meds is really mainly a blur.  I do remember that they were based out Central Mall in Fort Smith.

Everything else I receive is what anyone on disability could get.  I've found no other support system, aid center or really even any one else to talk to on the matter.  So I get touchy when people tell me I have so much more than someone else in a  foreign country & I should give what little I have to them, because somehow they are more deserving than me.

So, to the point, yesterday a HIV  "charity" group based off of Facebook sent out this request for an event.   I was busy & clicked maybe on the response & had planned giving it more attention later in the day.   Turns out it was some aggressive panhandling being done by this group page.  I won't say which charity they were campaigning for, it wasn't the charity's fault this person was an ass.

Before I can get back to it, I receive a rude message about how this a charity drive & if I don't send $ via Paypal I will be dropped.  I went to the FB page & remarked that I did not appreciate his aggression & if that was the way he planned on running his group, he could drop me from it.    I received another message informing me he didn't give an F'ing damn about my feelings & I had better cough up the cash.  I replied back that it was obvious that he did not care about other people's feelings & that I was + & broke.  After this I received several more messages from this person being cussed & having names called.  Finally, I  reported the messages to Facebook.  I'm not sure what they'll do about it, but now this person is blocked from my page.

After this I looked at all the charity FB groups I was involved with & it seems that this individual was highly involved with every one concerning HIV/AIDS.  He was being just as belligerent on each groups' page.  I contacted these charities & informed them that I was removing myself from their lists as long as he was allowed to go on these tirades via their FB pages.  I have yet to hear back from them & might not.

I am a bit upset that I had to remove myself from these groups, but it was for the best.  No one who attempts to bully $ out of people is truly charitable. Any group that allows him to continue on like that isn't one I want anything to with.  This individual was not charitable, but instead was quite hypocritical.  The group I left had hundreds of members  & only a few had responded to his liking.  He has promised to remove them all from the group if they do not comply with his wishes.  This is how the Grinch stole charity.

Oh well, there are other groups to work with & endorse that will accept what I can do for them.  Hopefully this jerk won't destroy the charities he's representing.

Cya