Strangers need to hold their advice especially if you can't control your kids

A lot of people feel free to give poor strangers advice or scorn, both online and in real time. Actually, its rude to do this, but it happens all the time. Just remember this while you feel free to give unsolicited advice we also have the urge to give you advice too. How do you justify telling someone to get a job or how to spend their money when your five year old is running up and down the grocery store and injuring people with their misbehaving.  Most poor women are bold enough to tell you off and if you were so rude to look down at your nose at them, they will pull your card. I was in a grocery store and this middle class woman with three children who were tearing up the store running grocery carts into people, screaming at the tops of their lungs and throwing temper tantrums. The mother only said in a meek voice
"Honey, please don't do that" while the older kids were running around.
She felt she should be able to go before me since I didn't have a job. She started giving me advice about going to work. I refused to justify myself to this rude women instead I offered my own advice.
"Why don't you control your children?" I asked. "Are you afraid of them." My children snickered. "I have 12 kids with me and all of them know better than to act a fool. Why can't you control your three." She glared at me. "You must be working to many hours or your weak. I wouldn't give advice to anyone when you can't control your kids." I know the woman was surprised when I paid for my groceries with cash. She did shoot back with a " Keep your legs closed" My nice told her that only half the kids were mine.

People are worse online with their advice, not only the general public but also Political commentators or writers. You may have preconceived notions about people but you should be aware that the poor person you are lecturing has opinions about you. You don't mind forming incorrect opinions about complete strangers don't get butt hurt when that person gives it back. If you do not have the Home training not to mind your business and the person answers you back and YOU get offended you reap what you sowed. A lot of Middle class people feel like they have the right to take poor people to task about things that is not your business then want to cry because you give it back to them. I hate for some Conservative or Liberal telling me I should have waited or got married before I started my family. When I tell them that they need to stop working so many hours and spend time with their kids so I didn't have to worry about their kids shooting mine in a school shooting. You have a problem with when I started mine; I have a problem with the hours you spend with your kids. They become upset like I'm getting out of my place by daring to question someone in a different class. All that means is you have more money than me you certainly do not have manners.

This has nothing to do with race because black middle class do the same thing as white people. Larry Elder thinks because he writes that he can tell people when to have children and how not to be poor. Since he is speaking to poor people I informed him that most poor people do not have any interest in becoming middle class. He seemed stunned that someone would tell him this. I hate to inform people that we have no desire to be middle class. Why would we want to be stressed out, having more bills, and working so much that we never see your kids. Some middle class people are slaves to their things. Poor people know that anyone can lose things and all those hours away from your kids so you can have an expensive car is not worth it.

I had a member of Black Lives Matter ask me why I was so proud of being from the hood. I should be ashamed of where I am from. The people from the Hood including me educated this young privileged woman. You wanna make a member of BLM angry call them privilaged especially if you have the nerve to pull their card in front of whites. People from the Hood don't care. A poor person from the hood will let them know we are sick of you treating us worst than white people. We will let them know that they treat us the way they claim white people treat them. We also ask them if they were taught to respect their elders? They either shut up or start hurling insults.

Jesus said "How can you help take out the speck out of your brother's eyes when you have a log in your own eye. First remove your log before helping your brother remove his speck."  Remember this everyone has stereotypes about every one else. If your so rude that you feel you can advise poor people then don't get so offended when we give you advice back based on prejudices.

Remember this the poor don't mind being poor and we work just as hard as you do.

Anger and Negative words and the Hood don't mix

How many times do men and women in the hood refer to black men as Nigga" yes it is different because most of the time it's said in love and brother hood but it is also often the last word heard when a young man is murdered by another black man. Nigga is not said in love then. Just another dead man laying in a pool of blood.

Females in the hood who are best friends often say "That's my bitch" about each other. That is said in love but calling women we are about to fight call each other "bitches" we fight each other both out of jealousy and for others amusement. We fight some woman and some random man or woman films it. Shows like Jerry Springer has poor people of all races fight.

I have to be honest I was fighting a lot until recently. My friend Carol has been teaching me other ways. I am a lot less angry than I was. I'm tired of all the yelling and rage. So I started living and acting different. Now Carol isnt the first to tell me these things I was just ready to receive it.

Poor whites call each other Trash. Latinos call each other Puta. We all have to stop using negative terms both inter and intra racial. We are all Poor people and if we can get over the anger and rage and stop the self hatred maybe we can get it together and change our lives.

I have an Autoimmune Disease

In 2010 I was diagnosed with spleen cancer the doctors believed I had something called Sarcoidosis. It wasn't in my lungs so they were not sure. After my spleenitmy they diagnosed the Sarcoidosis.

I have been in a lot of pain and sick at times but I returned to work full time and worried about this disease the survivor rate is very low.

In 2015 I was in and out of the hospital finally I was told my immune system was failing. After several more hospital stays and trips to several specialists I was advised to quit my job. I did not want to but it turned out to be a good idea because of how frequent I get Ill.

Most of my organs have been affected. My heart, spleen, kidneys, heart, liver, and gall bladder. It also affects my skin, my muscles and bones.

Yesterday I couldn't move without taking muscle relaxers and ointment. When I did move I yelped. My two year old granddaughter Dayla would say sorry because somehow she believed it to be her fault.

Today marks the 19th month since I appealed the Social Security decision. I still haven't heard anything. I can't hold on to much longer. I pray everyday I hear something. I'm resting today at least I don't have to call off.

I keep waking up and fighting this disease. It's in God's hands.

What about the poor?

"But what about the poor?" Pundits of both political parties shout. "Our side is right on the issue. Your side hates the poor because you believe that"

Today it's illegal Immigrants the right insist that they take jobs from the poor. They insist that poor Americans need those jobs that poor Mexicans end up in. Never mind the fact that poor Americans cannot or will not take those jobs because they have to move from place to place and the pay is lousy.  When I hear a person make this statement, mostly middle class, I ask them when they are going to go to the fields of America to plant and harvest the fruits and vegetables. They look at me and say "I can't afford to take those jobs they are not enough money."
"I can't afford those jobs either" I say.

The next suggestion is slave labor, or using Prisoners to do this job. The Republicans know that if they do this they will never stop being known as the racist party.   They know to use majority poor people as slave labor hurts them. Do they ship these Prisoners from different states? The Republicans are now known as the anti poor racist party.  Poor people do not want Prisoners being exploited not when people were willing to do that job.

During the 90s Bill Clinton and the Republicans came up with welfare reform. They both were called Anti poor and racist. Hillary Clinton suffered because of this. Poor people were not upset and instead of this law hurting poor people it helped them. We were no longer trapped on welfare. We no longer had to sneak off by getting jobs. The laws before were devasting to the poor. They lost everything and many were afraid to get jobs. Today you are encouraged to work and they help you receive some food stamps. Because, we now work we are not stuck in Public Housing we can live in private housing.

The minimum wage needs to be raised but not $15 an hour. That is to much and it will hurt businesses like McDonalds. Minimum wage can start at $8 then raised again to $9.25 then $10.

Despite what Democrats and Liberals say you can be lifted out of poverty on $10 and $12 an hour. To little of a minimal wage and you still have to pay for food stamps. To much of a raise and the jobs go away which causes more poverty.

Cutting Food stamps and Medicaid to poor people is never a good idea. People who equate this bad idea with welfare reform are misinformed. Tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations are foolish and they hurt the poor. I am much more compassionate about middle class tax cuts. I just don't believe that they should come at the expense of poor people who will go hungry.  Now when it comes to welfare if the Politicians would ask welfare and former welfare receipents about the so called training programs that are basically babysitting adults taxpayers are paying for bad programs but childcare for children. Make sure the program offers real training. Conservatives always are talking about teaching people how to fish.

The poor have enough problems being poor they don't need to continue being political footballs. We are not puppets on the string our struggles are real.

Believe what you want just don't use the poor to justify your belief.

Hunger in America. The Truth

"We don't have hunger in the streets." A FB comment read. She is correct but we do have hunger. We tend to hide it or we keep it in the community.

Food Insecure household, hungry, P O so poor you can't afford the other O and R and any other name you call not having food nor the means to get food. It happens a lot in poor families even households that get food stamps go hungry the last week of the month. The food stamps usually only last three weeks a month and not the whole month. Most people work to pay the bills but because they work the food stamps are only about $200 because they use gross and not net the income is much smaller than what they credit you with. Often times the family needs to decide what bills can get paid using basic first.  If food is chosen you may lose an Utility. It's hard to make a dollar out of 15 cent.

Thanks to certain groups that always assume your hungry because your kids have Jordan's never mind they were donated and you found it. Most poor people are not stupid they don't buy Jordan's they buy food.

They go to the food bank but they cannot help you through a long term food emergency. The caseworkers losebl or never sent you a notice you missed, this leads to a three week hunger.

Most poor people do not spend their food stamps on expensive food because they know better.  We have to get as much food as possible with the amount your given.

Hunger has a stigma that brings with it a sense of shame sort of like being homeless. I have been hungry many times for a variety of reasons.

Yes Virginia hunger exsists in America.

Labor Day

Today is Labor day for most people Labor day and every other paid federal holiday is a day off with pay.  For me it is Double time and a half and 8 hours.  I work in a Group Home for people with mental illness that is staffed 24/7.  I don't mind working on a holiday because I really like what I do and when I work I give the Consumers a normal life.  They help prepare the food and set it out. They have a good time. 

Most poor people have to work on Labor Day because we tend to work in hospitals or Nursing Homes or like me in Group Homes. They also work in Retail where there is day off lots of people want to shop on the Holiday.

Labor day started because of people in Unions changed the way workers were treated.  Labor Unions like United Steel Workers started in Braddock and Homestead PA.  Back in the day the Steel Companies would do anything to prevent their workers from joining a Union.  The Steelworkers in 1919 were fighting for shorter work days and shorter work weeks.  The Steelworkers worked 12 hours a day and one day a week they worked for 24 hours straight.  It was downright dangerous.


The working conditions were lousy then and most people living today would not want to work long hours for pennies a day often if unventilated rooms and being locked in rooms.  Children were also forced to work long hours doing dangerous things. 

Most of us work 40 hours a week and 8 hours a day.  It leaves us a lot of time to spend outside of work with our families or attending church.




Enjoy your labor day and I hope you enjoy the food, fun and family.

Happy Heavenly Birthday to my Mom

Today my mother, an outstanding woman, she wasn't rich or well known outside of Braddock, but she was much loved by everyone who knew her.

My mother was in a car accident because her then fiance was drunk she was told she would never walk again but with fierce determination she worked hard she walked again and regained movement in all but her right arm. The feelings in her legs did not return until she was at the end of her life.

She survived an abusive marriage and left her husband in the early 60s. She met and fell in love with my dad. She was a single mother of two girls at a time when single mothers for any other reason but being a widow was rare.

She married my dad and they had 3 more daughters. My mother was a champion for other poor people. She was the President of the PTA of an inner city school district. She also advocated on behalf of people with Mental Illness and Intellectual Disabilities by sitting on the board of Turtle Creek Valley MH/MR.

My mother found Christ and became a Christian her church became her home. She also was very independent and until the last few years of her life she had no problems getting up and going.

She raised her daughters to never give up when times were hard but to keep fighting. This has kept me from giving up when I lost my babies, or battling cancer and an auto immune disease. I was diagnosed with a Learning Disability as a child, actually 53 different ones, my mother spent many hours encouraging me to go on.

My mother faught the teachers for mistreating the poor kids and faught against the Desegregation of General Braddock because she felt the poor and black students would be hurt. The black parents didn't want this merger anymore than the rich white folks. Like my mom they worried about their kids. This was Woodland Hills turns out they were right. Woodland Hills was and still is a disaster.

My mom became a grandmother then a great grandmother and with much love she passed away, sorrounded by her children and grandchildren at the age of 78. She went home to be with the Lord and my dad.

Today, I sit on her 80th birthday and remember the remarkable woman who was my mother. Rest with God Edie Mae McCombs I love you always.