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

LET'S STARVE THE POOR

I think I'm going to have a heart attack if the news continues in this vein. Every day is a fresh horror. When I read the latest sadistic method that Trump and his Nazis have devised to hurt the poor, sick, disabled, elderly and marginalized, my heart starts to race, and I seriously wonder if it is damaging my heart.

Donald Trump's new budget slashes food to the poor, ESPECIALLY to the unemployed. That's right, Donald, kick them while they are down.

Further cuts will be made by forcing people to eat what the government provides, in the form of canned food delivered in government boxes, paid for at cut rates, with no fresh fruits or vegetables. It may have calories, but anyone who has watched television for more than a few months in their life has surely absorbed enough information about a healthy diet to know that this diet would make people sick. Canned food has almost no nutrients whatsoever, and the older one gets, the less able one is to digest many things. Everyone seems to have their own special diet after age 50 or so.

I have no dog in this fight. My Social Security income is slightly too high to qualify for food stamps or any other assistance that our government is slashing right now, except perhaps for a small reduction in rent, if I were to sign up for HUD housing vouchers during the two weeks a year that they are available. I would then have to wait 3 to 5 years before getting a voucher and would have 30 days to use it or lose it.

No, I am one of those older disabled people who fall through the cracks. My illnesses create a lot of (expensive) needs, but my income falls just over the cutoff line because I worked for more than 30 years to support myself, and my Social Security is about the same as the income of someone living on minimum wage. If I was WORKING, I would qualify for food stamps and Medicaid and other programs, but because my income is (supposedly) "unearned," I don't get anything. Thank God for kind Catholic friends who help me, otherwise my survival would be in question.

Anyway, I am not hysterical with grief over Trump's hatred of the poor because he is cutting programs upon which I rely, because I don't. No. I cry every day for the poor people who are being smashed into the dirt. I cry every day at the gross, disgusting prejudice and hatred for the poor that is being cultivated by the well fed. I cry every day that these well fed people consider themselves Christian but they will surely go to Hell for participating in making the lives of the poor an abject misery.

On some level, these people must know that when they blame the poor for their conditions that they are lying and giving false witness. I have to believe that one day they will wake up and realize how cruel they have been, repent and change their ways.

In addition to prayers for the poor, which are needed now more than ever, I ask you to pray for the hard hearted, well fed, hateful Americans who take the bread out of the mouths of the poor while impugning their character at the same time.

Silver Rose Parnell
(c) copyright 2018
All rights reserved.

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

MILKING THE SYSTEM

Chart showing distribution of entitlement benefits from data obtained

from:

the Office of Management and Budget,

The U.S. Department of Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

The U.S. Department of Labor

and

The U.S. Census Bureau

It seems like every time we approach a new election period, unscrupulous politicians start belittling the poor and claiming that there is "massive fraud in the Welfare system" and that the poor are "milking the system." They actually have the nerve to blame the poor for the awful economy and perpetuate the myth that we are all living the life of luxury. Social Security payments, for those who worked enough to qualify, average $1,000 a month. Supplemental Security is a maximum of $560 a month.

The first thing I point out to anyone who will listen is that less than 3% of all entitlement monies that are paid out are given to able-bodied people who choose not to work, yet the entire demographic of poor people is painted with the idea that there are massive numbers of criminals who have managed to scam their way into "the system" and are getting rich. There is absolutely no proof of this, of course, but who needs proof when people are so ready to buy this rotten lie? Selfish people want to believe this because it justifies their reluctance to help the poor that they deem undeserving.

This readiness to believe these wild claims against the poor and to use them as justification for reducing or eliminating assistance is the antithesis of the Christian message.

Jesus says: "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your coat as well."

Matthew 5:40

Notice that he DOESN'T say to fight like the Devil to keep him from getting your coat, nor does he say that you should make sure that the person is deserving of your shirt or your coat. This particular quote is about one's enemy.  How much more giving does Jesus expect us to be when it comes to His beloved poor?  The Bible is full of references to our expected generosity toward the poor:

In Deuteronomy 15, it says, "Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land."

In Mark 10, when the rich man asks Jesus what he must do to follow Him, Jesus says, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

In Luke 6, He says, "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation."

Again, in Mark 10, He says, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

Notice that, in our sinful world, it is the rich person who is given great credit and adulation, who is served and fawned upon. The rich feel superior because of this and look down upon the poor, making them squirm and cry for every pittance. The rich are loathe to give any of their riches to the poor, but instead take the money from the labors of the poor.

In Proverbs 19, we read, "Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed."  The Lord is watching how we treat the poor and will treat us with the same generosity we exhibit toward them.

In Matthew 25, we are told, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."  When we defame the poor, we defame Jesus.  When we help to supply the needs of the poor, we are supplying Jesus with what He needs.

In Luke 3, He says, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise."

In Luke 12, He admonishes his followers to "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions," telling them once more that the Christian life is not about how much riches one can retain.

In Proverbs 21, we learn that, "He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered."  Enlightened self-interest would be enough to encourage us to respond to the poor with compassionate kindness and to supply their need, what to speak of Christian charity and love!

Instead of listening to politicians who have their own agendas, we need to look to the Bible and to the Catholic faith for guidance in this matter of how we treat the poor.

As far as the rumors of "massive fraud" by the poor, that has not been proved.  There are, however, criminals in every walk of life. The only difference between the rich criminals and the poor ones is that the rich steal MORE from us than the poor ever could. .It is ludicrous to punish 97% of the poor people because some of the remaining 3% might be dishonest!

Catholics, take note:  Here is the official position of the Catholic Church with regard to the government's care for the poor:

"The function of the rulers of the state,

moreover, is to watch over the community 

and its parts; but in protecting private

individuals in their rights, chief considera-

tion ought to be given to the weak and 

the poor.  "For the nation, as it were, of

the rich is guarded by its own defenses

and is in less need of governmental protection,

whereas the suffering multitude, without the

means to protect itself, relies especially on the

protection of the State.  Wherefore, since

wageworkers are numbered among the great mass

of the needy, the State must include them under

its special care and foresight."

Quadragesimo anno Encyclical on

Reconstruction of the Social Order

His Holiness Pope Pius XI

May 15, 1931

Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about the poor:

2446 "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal

from them and deprive them of life.  The goods we possess are

not ours, but theirs.  The demands of justice must be satisfied

first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered

as a gift of charity." ... "When we attend to the needs of those in

want, we give them what is theirs, not ours.  More than performing

works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice."

Note: "The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs." We do not have the right to make these poor people jump through hoops and perform some dog-and-pony show to prove that they are worthy of receiving what is already theirs to begin with!

If you decide to spread the gospel of the greedy politician and help him to spread scandal and lies about the poor, then you are free to do so.  This is America.  But know, when you do that, you are stepping away from the Christian faith and into another world.

Silver Rose Parnell

(c) 2015
All rights reserved.

IF YOUR FIRST INSTINCT IS TO CRITICIZE, YOU ARE MISSING THE BLISS

We all know that Jesus said to love your enemies.  When I first read the Bible, I was struck by the passage that says, "They will know you by how you love one another."  One of the two most important commandments, according to our Lord, is to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.

He told us to show this love by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoners, etc.  He said that, when we served the poor and needy that we were really serving him directly.  What a glorious opportunity!

Love. Love. Love.  Jesus is all about the demonstration of love, yet today we have an upsurge in the amount of toxic public discourse in which the poor are demeaned in every way.   Mostly, the people who complain about the poor claim that they are lazy people who are "working the system" and taking advantage.

Stories ABOUND in which nosy people examine the shopping carts and personal dress of a person using a food stamp subsidy to pay for their groceries and then extrapolate that, if they can afford those things, then they shouldn't be receiving help buying food.  Never mind that the critic knows absolutely nothing about the personal finances of the person upon whom they wished additional poverty.  The critic does not know who is paying for the cell phone they wish the poor person did not have.  The critic begrudges the poor person the nice vehicle he or she is driving, yet does not know to whom the car belongs or even if the poor person paid for it themselves when they were working and successful.

Critics assume that poor people have been poor their whole lives, it seems, because they can't imagine that a poor person would be in possession of things purchased when they were financially successful.

I could give many credible reasons why someone would have a cell phone, a car, a pair of earrings...but it doesn't matter because it is irrelevant.

Jesus did not say to love your neighbor as much as yourself provided that you approve of all of his or her life decisions.  No.  We are to love one another.  PERIOD.  Love.  Not criticism.  Not judgment.

If your first instinct is to criticize, then your mind is inclined in a direction away from Jesus and away from his commandments.  In fact, all this criticism of the poor is a distraction from the commandments of God.  It is a method of grasping onto one's own greedy little pile of comfort.  If a person can convince themselves that the poor have some egregious character defect, then the critic thinks they can assuage their conscience and continue to live in comfort while others go hungry, unhoused, unchurched, and unhealthy.  They grow to think that the poor deserve to be poor...and the poorer, the better, so that they'll be forced to get off their lazy bums and get a job.

I have written many times about the facts that disprove every one of the critic's arguments about the conditions of the poor in America.  Today I write about saintliness.

When Mother Teresa picked up the filthy, scabby, maggoty, sick old man from the streets of Calcutta, she did not first interview him to determine if he was worthy of her love and care.  She did not sit there on the curb, pad and pen in hand, asking questions and checking off boxes on some form. She did not consider if he had bad habits that contributed to his pitiful condition.  She did not care about any of that.  She dispensed the love of Christ.  That was all.  She did not hesitate.  She picked him up and brought him indoors where she and the nuns loved him and cared for him, washing, dressing, feeding and coddling him until he revived or he died.  Mostly, they died.  But they died in love, surrounded by sweet, gentle, smiling faces.

I do not imagine that this tendency to criticize lays outside of myself.  I have also experienced bouts of criticism in my lifetime, when my heart has not been soft enough and I needed to lean into a person with God's love instead of arrogance.  It is a daily process, to check one's mind and make sure that it is inclined toward Jesus, in tune with his love and his intentions.  Lots of prayer helps.

Writing this constitutes my commitment to maintaining a loving inclination of heart, to look upon all others with a compassionate eye and see them the way God sees them, in the radiant beauty of the image of God in which they were made.  To think well of others is a delightful thing.  It generates a deep feeling of joy and bliss.  Come join me, all you critics and pessimists, and partake of the bliss. In the meantime, I pray for you.  Please pray for me.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose Parnell

BREAKING NEWS: SHOCKING, SCANDALOUS DISCOVERIES IN OBAMA'S COMPUTER

A cappybarra and a dog FOUND IN THE TUB TOGETHER!!!!!

Oh, hi!  There you are.  SO nice to see you.

For the last several weeks, I have been posting and re-posting a fundraising blurb about my need for a service dog, asking people to just spread the word around so that I can get the fundraising site up and running.

YOU, however (and you know who you are), you can't be bothered to even make a supportive comment or "like" my post, what to speak of sharing it on your timeline, which is what I really need.

However, in that same span of time, you are very quick to put in your two cents' worth about political garbage that is at least mostly, if not wholly untrue.  As long as I post some kind of controversy, you are right in there with a quick retort.  Thus, the title of this blog post.  I have no breaking news about scandalous discoveries in Obama's computer.  I had to get your attention, and this was the only way to do it.

But I DO have a scandal!  The scandal is that there are so many people who call themselves Christian who, when the subject of the poor comes up, immediately have something nasty to say.  I am beginning to see that you are one of these people.  Usually, some anecdote is trotted out about people that you "know" who are "scamming the system."  Of course, you don't know them.  You don't even know their names.  You've certainly never seen their financial information or their medical records, and you DON'T have X-ray vision, don't even try to say you do.  No one knows the suffering going on inside another person.  No one knows another person's heart except God, and you ain't God, honey.

The only thing you know about these people who supposedly scam the system (if they exist at all) is what they look like.  You aren't up in their houses having tea with those folks.  They wouldn't want you there, anyway, considering the way you talk about them.

You know the Bible is FULL of references about being good to the poor and not judging.  Jesus, who was poor his whole life, is particularly fond of poor people.  He never said anywhere that you should criticize the poor, spread lies about them and gossip about their habits.  He said to help them, and if you DO help them, you are helping HIM.  He was very clear about that.

So let me be clear about this.  I am a poor person.  Yes, I am a nice old white lady with fairly good manners and a proper, modest wardrobe.  I don't smoke, drink or take drugs and you are pretty sure I don't even cuss, so when you criticize the poor, you automatically assume that I am not going to take it personally because I am not one of "them."  I've got news for you: I AM one of "them."  I am no more or less sinful than any other human being on earth, including the poor, to whom I belong.  In fact, compared to some poor people I know, I think I am much more sinful than they are.

If you can't bear to leave off criticizing the poor and spreading stories about people "scamming the system" instead of spreading God's love and compassion, I am tempted to tell you that you can just take me off your phony "friend" list on Facebook right now, because as far as I am concerned, concentrating on the sins of the poor is just another way of doing Satan's work, and I am not up for that.  On the other hand, I love you.  You are my fellow Christian, even if you are misguided.

I want to encourage you to work up some compassion for the poor and to concentrate on God's mercy instead of the (supposed) sins of others.  While you're at it, for the love of God, would you please just share the item about my service dog the next time it rolls by?  I need a proper service dog.  TWO doctors agree I need one.  The veterinarian and the breeder/trainer and the doctors are ALL on board as to the type of dog I need and the type of tasks it needs to perform.  The problem is that I am poor, and dogs, like everything else, are EXPENSIVE.

For the three people that did share my Facebook post, don't think I didn't notice.  I surely appreciate it and I thank you!

For all my other readers, please take a look at the last post of this blog and you will get the whole story about the service dog.

God bless you all

Silver Rose Parnell