I WAS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BY SMITHS MARKET EMPLOYEE

Yesterday, I stopped by Smith's Food on Constitution and Carlisle in Albuquerque. All of the handicap parking spots were taken. Several of the cars parked in those spots were not exhibiting any handicap placard or license plate. The lot was jam packed, and I was in too much pain to walk from the faraway spots that were available. I resolved to return the next day at an earlier time.

Today, I drove back to that market at about 10:40 a.m.  Again, the lot was packed, and handicap spots were few and far between, with all but one occupied. I noticed a trim and energetic young woman park in the spot reserved for pregnant ladies next to the handicap spot I was able to get, and then RUN into the market.  She was dressed in exercise gear. She had dark curly hair and appeared to be about 30 years old, or a bit younger. I called out to her but she ignored me. It reminded me that I had intended to speak to someone at Smith's about the parking situation for handicapped people.

I noticed two Smiths employees standing outside the market, apparently shooting the breeze. Perhaps they were on a break. One was very tall and of stocky build, with gray or blonde hair. The other was shorter, with dark hair.

Approaching them, I asked politely, "hey, do you guys ever keep track of the non-handicapped people using handicap parking? I see people using handicap parking all the time."

The tall man, with a derisive look on his face, said to me, "I believe in Trump's law. If you don't have two arms cut off or two legs, you're not handicapped."

The other man appeared to be somewhat uncomfortable by the tall man's comments. He shuffled his feet and avoided my gaze.

I said to the tall man, "Well, that's a mean comment!"

Still with an arrogant attitude, a cruel smirk on his face, he said, "There's too many of you." He continued to talk about how Trump feels about the topic of disabled people.

I asked him how we are supposed to get our shopping done. He said that we WOULDN'T.

His meaning was clearly communicated to me. He is one of those people that thinks that all disabled people are living off the dole and that we are sissies and not deserving of any kindness. CLEARLY he does not agree with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is the law of the land, not some imaginary law of Trump.

His comments and hostile manner made my PTSD blow up. My heart started racing. I felt frightened, in danger, and prompted to FLEE.

As I left, I said to the man, "go back to Russia!" and I went into the store as fast as I could, given my limping, pained body. I would have gone directly to the manager, had the place not been exploding with people and had I not been suffering with a full blown PTSD attack which I was working on tamping down. I decided to report the incident later.

This blog is just the start.

Trump mocking the gestures of a disabled person

When Trump mocks disabled people in his speeches, he is mocking me. When he makes derogatory comments about the relative attractiveness of women, calling them "dogs" or "fat pigs," he is talking about me. When he brags about grabbing women "by the pussy" without their permission, he is talking about me. When he discounts the suffering of the disabled, he is talking about me, and when he likewise promotes the idea that poor people are worthless and criminally minded and a drain on society, he is ALSO talking about me. These lies that he spreads about the vulnerable classes filter down to cads like that guy at Smiths who treated me with CONTEMPT.

Trump has proposed and managed to effect many government measures that make the lives of disabled people much more difficult.  In addition to public policies, his lies and demeaning comments about vulnerable people, the disabled, the marginalized, women, the poor DO impact my life and the lives of other disabled people by emboldening his followers to feel entitled to bully us.

I am constantly being assaulted by Trump's ideas. My life has been rendered MUCH more difficult than it already is. People who are supposed to be giving me service treat me, not as a valuable customer, but as an unworthy person. They feel entitled to diminish me, mock me and hurt me; physically, financially and psychologically. My rights are continually being abridged or dispensed with entirely.

"When you give a crazed crying lowlife a break,

and give her a job at the White House, I guess it

just didn't work out. Good work by General Kelly

for quickly firing that dog."

~ Donald Trump, disparaging former female appointee

All of these indignities are being perpetrated against me while I am in awful pain, the inconvenience of which is compounded by mobility issues.

That stupid Smith's employee does not have x-ray vision. He cannot see that the valves of the major vein in my left leg DO NOT WORK. He cannot see that the valves DO NOT PUMP THE BLOOD THROUGH MY LEG and that, the longer I am standing upright, the more critical this issue becomes. The blood pools in my feet and ankles. The leg falls asleep and I gradually become more and more pale because of the improper distribution of blood. Often, if I stand for too long, I come close to fainting. I am not missing any of my limbs, but I might as well be, considering the effect.

That Smith's employee cannot see my scoliosis, or the fact that my left leg is shorter than the right, and that my right arm is longer than the left. He cannot know about the Ehler's Danlos type syndrome that affects all the collagen-based structures in my body, making me weaker than the typical person and more likely to fall and break bones, which I have done many times in my life. At this very moment, I am recovering from a break in a knuckle of my right hand, which became chipped when I fell. The x-ray showed a piece of bone, wedged in my muscles, causing me constant pain and reduced function. That Smith's employee cannot see any of that.

He cannot see that there is very little cushion between the bones of all my joints. When my doctor saw the x-rays, years ago, he said to me, "no wonder you're in so much pain." The doctors rely upon x-rays and other tests to diagnose me, but that Smith's employee thinks that his eyeballs are superior.

That Smith's employee perfectly demonstrated the gross and barbaric stupidity of many of Trump's supporters, who rely upon prejudiced and limited observations instead of facts. I had all my arms and legs, so I was therefore not disabled in his eyes. When he said, "there are too many of you," he was making reference to the Trumpian idea that most disabled people do not deserve the moniker, that we are faking it, that we have larcenous hearts and just looking to take advantage of more deserving citizens who work for a living, dammit.

Forget that I worked and supported myself for more than 30 years, that I am living on my Social Security insurance into which I paid money for everything I earned during 32 years. Forget that it is extremely difficult to retire early on your Social Security income because the Social Security doctors have strict standards of disability, and typically make you wait YEARS before approving you because the standards are so high and they make you jump through so many hoops!

Ignorant but opinionated people like that Smith's employee, who know nothing of the process, spread the rumor that all you need to do is lie about being disabled and "the government" just hands you money. When that man retires on HIS Social Security, he'll think nothing of it. He will think that it is somehow different than MY Social Security, that he "deserves" it but I don't.

Fortunately, the law is on my side, and I must have some kind of recourse. I'll let you know how it works out. In the meantime, perhaps it is best to stay away from Smith's Market in Albuquerque, at the corner of Constitution and Carlisle

UPDATE:

I called and spoke to the manager, Elena Sharbutt, who could not have been nicer. She too was shocked by the comments of that employee and assured me that those comments were unacceptable and do not represent the policies of Smith's. Several times during the conversation, she emphasized that I am a valuable customer and that Smith's wants me to enjoy my shopping experience. She was very warm and gracious, in addition to being efficient. She said she will look at the video. I told her the approximate time of the conversation and other pertinent details. We will talk again later, and I will keep you updated.

Silver Rose

A MURDER OF CROWS

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens, celebrated author of  David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol, among more than a dozen other published novels, specialized in exposing the rank and heartless class consciousness in Victorian England. His own father was consigned to debtor's prison for some time. He would have felt right at home here in the United States of America in 2018.

"If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity,

I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

13:1

We pretend that we are different than the English from whom we battled to free ourselves because we do not have a system of nobility, with the attendant inherited wealth and status. No kings and queens for us! No counts, dukes or duchesses. We are egalitarian. In OUR system, anyone can (supposedly) rise through the socio-economic classes and arrive at a place where they too can thumb their noses at the poor and accuse them of every character defect under the sun - just like the English of Dickens' time!

"And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and

all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could

remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."

First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

13:2

Many Americans behave as if poverty is the result of sin. If you are poor, in the minds of a large segment of our population, it means that you persist in doing something wrong. You are lazy or criminal or crazy, and privileged Americans are happy to tell you so!

"Jesus said: Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not

commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not

bear false witness."
Matthew 19:18

Making these claims accomplishes two things for those with greater means. First, it makes them feel superior to a LOT of people, and who doesn't like that, right? [As of 2015, there were more than 43 million Americans whose income fell below the official poverty line, as set by our government, which is really too low to accurately reflect the number of people struggling with basic survival needs.] Secondly, it gives the "upper classes" the perfect excuse to justify lack of charity, thus enabling them to cater to their own greed and avarice.

"Charity is patient, is kind; charity envieth not, 

dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; 

is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, 

is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil;

First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

13:4-5

Nowhere is this more evident than on Facebook, where bragging about your blessings appears to be a national past time, but woe be to you if your life is not sun-kissed and full of roses. What if your news isn't that you just built a pool in the back yard? What if, instead, your news is that you ran out of food before you ran out of month? Or what if you simply don't have the discretionary income to purchase FUN things that the woman who married well can purchase (and brags about.) What if THAT is your news?

"Jesus saith to him: if thou wilt be perfect, go sell 

what thou hast, 

and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure 

in heaven: 

and come follow me."

Matthew 19:21

Recently, I joined an inkle weaving group on Facebook. I plan to make crocheted tapestry-style handbags that use inkle woven bands as the strap.[I am always trying to improve my circumstances with whatever art project I can produce at home.]  If I can fast track my skill building, I hope to sell the bags in a little Etsy shop or something similar. I'd hoped to learn as much as possible while waiting for the time when I could squeeze out the money for an inkle loom. Joining the inkle weaving group was the first step.

One of the members posted a brilliant photograph of a beautiful inkle loom, wonderfully polished wood accoutrements, and a gorgeous inkle strap in progress, on the loom. I made the mistake of using a euphemism when I posted a short comment praising the beauty of the product and mentioning that I don't have the "resources." Immediately, someone posted elaborate instructions about how to purchase one of the looms, so I erased my comment and wrote a comment that made it more clear that I didn't have the finances to purchase one at this time.

All hell broke loose.

Crows - Greg Fallis

I felt as if a murder of crows had descended on my head, as a group of women swooped in to slap me around. One woman claimed that I wasn't too poor to purchase a loom because my Facebook profile looked too good. Another claimed that I wasn't too poor to buy an inkle loom because I don't live like people in third world countries. Another accused me of "fishing" for one of these strangers on this random page to buy me a loom! Another said she was sad that someone like me was a member of their group, which is the bottom line, of course. These women banded together to shame me and punish me so that I would leave, which i did.

"A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that speaketh lies shall not escape."

Proverbs 19:9

Women in these fetid little pockets of privilege do whatever they can to push out anyone who doesn't "belong." It has nothing to do with creative vision or talent. It is ALL about how much money you have. Period. This has been going on for thousands of years, evidently.

Ironically, it is usually women who have not earned their own income who are the worst perpetrators of this kind of exclusionary classism. Women who married well and/or inherited money (or stole it from the inheritance of the children of the man's first wife) are the first to spread rumors about you and impugn your character. Many of these people claim to be very religious and make an effort to display this overt religiosity prominently in their lives. It is a cover, and they are wolves in sheep's clothing.

PORTRAIT OF A NOBELWOMAN

by

Bartolome Gonzalez y Serrano

"The things that are sacrificed to them, their priests sell and abuse: in like manner

also their wives take part of them, but give nothing of it either to the sick,

or to the poor."

Baruch 6:27

Being attacked by strangers on Facebook, simply because I dared to mention that I could not afford a weaving loom, is the final piece of my education in human nature which began when I became disabled. 

After I became disabled, I was written out of my father's will (when he was suffering from dementia.) I didn't even know he had died until after his body was cremated, his death certificate signed by a crooked doctor who was sent to prison for writing prescriptions for people he had never seen.

After I became disabled, a sibling contacted me after 12 years of silence, begged my forgiveness for her many sins against me over the years (in a calculated ploy to engage my religious sensibilities), and conned me into a lawsuit against the will, then refused to join it as promised, intentionally leaving me dangling without essential proofs for my case - just so I could be eliminated, leaving the field clear for the sibling. She had paid for the attorney, and there was a conflict of interest in that. She had thought of everything! She plotted against me, pretending to be doing everything FOR me. During the lawsuit, she called me three times a day. As soon as she got what she wanted, she stopped returning calls.

After I became disabled, long term friends who had taken advantage of my friendship dropped me like a hot potato and proceeded to spread lies about me among mutual "friends." 

After I became disabled, the Electroal College placed a misogynistic, lying, racist kleptocrat in the oval office, from whence he has systematically done everything he can to take the food out of the mouths of the poor.

The whole world feels like it is pressing in on me, with the exception of a handful of good Christian women, without whom I would be in terrible condition.

Jesus Christ - the only king I recognize

The words of Jesus have taken on a depth of meaning for me in my old age. He predicted that people would call his name and that He would turn them away, saying that he does not know them. He knew that people would claim to be Christian but do the exact opposite of what He commanded. He knew I would be in this position, and the ball is now in my court.

Now I must forgive everyone who hurts me and pray for everyone who attacks me. I must fight the natural impulse to retaliate and, instead, wish the best for everyone;, including the petty little women who push me out of artistic groups. Of course, "the best" entails that these people will be accepted into heaven and, in order for that to happen, they must obey the commandments of Jesus. One could say that praying for them is enlightened self interest, and I think Jesus is probably OK with that.

I ask that you pray for them also.

 Silver Rose Parnell

(c) Copyright 2018

All rights reserved.

THE POOR DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING

If an American makes $50,000 a year, he or she will pay about seven (7) dollars per year into the welfare system that supports the indigent on the bottom third of the poverty spectrum.

An in-depth analysis of the facts and statistics was done very nicely HERE on the blog Soapboxie. There are numerous other sources on the internet that echo this information, but I like the charts that this author provides, as well as the way he explains them. Very nice work, on his part.

In return for that seven dollars, a great number of tax payers are exceedingly interested in the activities of that person who receives that seven (7) dollars. They have a lot of opinions about what the poor, disabled and vulnerable should do in exchange for that tiny bit of assistance, and most of those opinions are damn mean.

In addition, the ratio of amount of assistance given, compared to the amount of control some people want over the recipients, would be hysterical if it weren't so sad. To be so focused on the money that drizzles into the pockets of the poor, while the corporate robber barons are emptying our bank accounts just doesn't make any sense.

Jesus would be appalled.

I do not receive any welfare, since I live on the Social Security that accumulated after working more than 33 years, but I very occasionally receive a donation on this blog. The cost of bringing internet into the home far exceeds the pittance I receive in donations, on a year by year basis. (I had hoped that the blog would at least pay for itself but unfortunately, it does not. I refuse to junk up my page with ads from marketers, however. I figure that, at the very least, I can give my readers a respite from the constant flow of sales pitches by corporations that they have to endure on every other page they access.)

Of the very few who donate, most are extremely kind. Others, in the guise of kindness, will assail me with a barrage of unsolicited "advice" that is not only unnecessary, but would also be insulting, if I was inclined toward that sort of response.

Although I have no choice as to whether or not I will be poor, the vast majority of monastics throughout time have been poor by choice and by chance. Ideally, it is a chosen thing, a sacrifice made for God. Even if poverty is thrust upon a monastic by circumstance, we are encouraged to embrace it. When poverty impinges upon the ability of the monastic to perform his or her functions, measures have to be taken to alleviate it. Poverty, in its essence, is not a "good" thing, but a tool in the hands of the spiritual aspirant.

Consequently, most monasteries rely upon a combination of donations and some type of work of the hands that they may sell. Whether it is coffee, candies, rosaries or liquor, most monastics have to produce something for sale in order to survive. In days gone by, most monasteries and convents survived by gifts alone, but modern times find us with far fewer devoted Christians who understand the value of what the monastic "produces" by his or her presence and prayers. Sadly, Westerners are capitalists first and Christians second, in most cases.

Being disabled and gradually becoming more so, I do not have the capacity to produce anything to any meaningful extent, which is why I have a donation request on my front page. Still, there are people who will insist upon gifting me with their opinion of what I must do to produce something worthy of payment. It is exhausting, especially since they fail to observe that I am already doing something worthy.

After trying, and failing, to get me to live under her rule, a recent small donor has gone off in a huff and unfollowed my blog. A relative who gave me a television similarly subjected me to an overbearingd brow-beating. Another who sent me a book a year or two ago erupted into a tirade of name-calling and public excoriation because I will not vote for her political candidate. Unfortunately, these people felt entitled to control my actions after contributing an extremely small amount to the household. People complain that the poor feel entitled, but my experience of life is the opposite. It is those who give with big strings attached who have a sense of entitlement.

The Bible tells us to invite those persons to our banquets who cannot afford to return a similar invitation. I definitely cannot afford to turn my life over to those who give me a few dollars. I have already given that life to God, and it is not for sale.

I have vacillated back and forth about whether or not to continue the blog or if I should dedicate the time spent writing it to some other endeavor. For the time being, I will keep it, because there are more than a few readers who tell me that their condition mirrors mine and that they receive encouragement and grace from my words.

Just as Jesus used parables to instruct, I offer the small circumstances of my life as an example that can be extrapolated to an understanding of the conditions of the poor, disabled and discarded in America, in order to rouse love in the hearts of those who denigrate the poor, and to support the faithful Christian in whom love already flows but who suffers from living in a hostile angry world.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose Parnell