regarding a controversial topic that's going around: I am only one person, and an odd one at that

[The Wandering Harper]

Last edited Mon Nov 18, 2024, 02:01 AM - Edit history (1)

I grew up in poverty but I went to private schools.
I could pass for a white supremacist bearded hick but I'm queer and my oldest friends are Black.
I was born in a shack my dad built. I saw it again when I turned 18. It had become a toolshed.
I'm still poor. I'm autistic.
I've had a visceral fear of police for as long as I can remember and I don't know why.

in regard to the controversial topic going around,
here is in brief how I lost my enthusiasm,
copied from my reply to another post about it:

as the still-poor child of working class and poor people

there was very little at the Democratic convention for me.
There were moments that were downright nauseating to me.
I was very enthusiastic for Kamala before the convention,
and especially after she picked the running mate
that expanded free school lunch for all.

After the convention?
Well, I came out and voted

editing to add link to post that triggered this post
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19730918

[LexVegas]

1. Rec. nt

[elleng]

2. Sounds like you might have a handle or 2 on why tmp beat Kamala.

' the still-poor child of working class and poor people'

'there was very little at the Democratic convention for me.'

Discuss???

[The Wandering Harper]

3. I would love to when I have more energy

[elleng]

4. Thank you, we ALL may learn from you,

'the still-poor child of working class and poor people'

[The Wandering Harper]

5. and thank YOU for engaging

I hope i can speak in more depth soon
being poor is exhausting

[Doodley]

6. What does this mean?

[The Wandering Harper]

8. thank you for asking. please understand I'm exhausted -

can you be more specific?

[Doodley]

9. I don't understand what point you are making. Thanks. Did you vote for Kamala?

[The Wandering Harper]

10. my post is about this other post and similar ones

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19730918

hope that helps a little

yes I voted for Kamala

[Iris]

7. Understood. I'm sure you are not the only "odd" person who watched with the same feelings

[Ilikepurple]

11. Thank you for this personal perspective

We need to hear the many voices of the party. I think it’s more informative than the blanket determinations we’ve been seeing lately. Time to digest.

[jfz9580m]

12. I am sorry you are exhausted

Hang in there The Wandering Harper. I like your posts . I am subscribed to you .

[The Wandering Harper]

16. thanks so much

for the morale boost !

[jfz9580m]

18. I wonder how MLF1981 is doing

He was a DUer who was struggling somewhat. He has stopped posting after the election-I wonder how he is doing.
Poverty and homelessness are imo central democratic issues.
No one should be poor in a country which can afford corrupt billionaires.

[The Wandering Harper]

42. I hope he's okay

Not familiar with him though.
Is there a way to reach out to him outside DU?
(maybe getting ahead of myself there,
but if someone else knows and feels moved to do so...)

I shudder to think what kind of state I'd be in without the happy new experience that's been coincidentally unfolding in my life

[jfz9580m]

43. DU mail

Probably is the only way. Not sure he responds though. I was worried about him from the few posts he made here.

I liked his posts like I like yours. And then he sort of vanished after the election :-/

Unfortunately I don’t think he knew anyone here that well so like you I would also feel awkward about DMing him.

This was a post of his that caught my eye:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219541003

He came across as a positive and kind person though he seemed to be going through a hard time.
I am glad at least you have some happiness in your life .

[The Wandering Harper]

44. wow, yea, he reminds me of me

I looked at the post you linked.
I probably got so deep into stories from Holocaust survivors
and prison inmates
and anyone generally going through hell
for the same reason he was grateful for the video he posted

[jfz9580m]

45. Yeah I do that too

In a way this election has had a salutary effect on my brain. I had a bad downturn some 13 years ago and never really recovered though am still trying.
Somehow news this bad jolts one’s brain into high gear and makes you realize how much better off you are than most people.

[AlexSFCA]

13. I thought the convention was absolutely phenomenal

[The Wandering Harper]

19. what was your favorite part?

what was your least favorite part?

[AlexSFCA]

20. favorite part - Harris's speech, Michelle Obama speech and Project 2025 trivia

[mountain grammy]

14. When I was in high school

LBJ declared a war on poverty. We were poor and so were many of my friends so naturally I felt the Democratic Party was for us and I still do but it’s almost as if the poverty issue has been fixed and it hasn’t. .

[The Wandering Harper]

15. it hasn't been fixed and it's getting worse

every year I see more people living on the streets

[mountain grammy]

17. One thing about the 60's

at least where I lived, people did have housing. There were the projects, owned and operated by the city or state, They were awful, but at least it was housing with hope it could be improved. Like mental hospitals, awful but something that could be fixed. The answer was to defund everything..all during periods of either party being in power. The results have been devastating.

[Solly Mack]

21. What parts were nauseating to you?

[The Wandering Harper]

31. primarily

the billionaire governor
Oprah
the uniformed police officer

[Solly Mack]

32. I did not watch the convention in its entirety and missed Winfrey speaking. I wasn't aware she said anything

offensive. I'm not a fan though I enjoyed her during her early years in Chicago.

Missed Pritzker's speech, too. Other than he is a billionaire, I don't know a lot about him. Saw him, didn't really listen to him.

Saw a former capitol police officer who survived January 6th, but his remarks didn't get my full attention at all.

But you mentioned you were afraid of cops, so I can see how any cop would be an issue. I'm not a fan of cops either.

Busy time at my house. Caught what I could, and life got in the way of the rest. I was in and out of the room, catching glimpses and snippets - though there were times when I made a point to sit and watch,

There's a lot of money in politics. Too much. Vicious cycle of needing to outspend your opponent, so the sums are ever increasing. Money has become speech, sadly, and the difference between the "speech" of the wealthy and the "speech" of everyone else, especially the poor, is vast.

I enjoyed what I saw of the convention. I'm a woman and seeing so many women speaking stood in stark contrast to the past conventions held during the majority of my life. It mattered.

[The Wandering Harper]

37. that dependence on big donors to fund your campaign to outspend your opponent is a huge problem

and outside of something like a general strike, don't know what to do about it at this point.

Because of that I grudgingly accepted the billionaire presence,
but it still sickened me. It might be going too far to say billionaires are evil,
but for one to have that much wealth when so many are suffering and dying
from unmet basic needs, that is evil.

If I had a favorite part of the convention it was AOC

[Solly Mack]

40. I like AOC. It's a circle - the system has been influenced by those in power to get the dollars of those

with wealth which allowed those with wealth to gain more influence as it gains those with their hands out to gain more power. Eventually you end up with people like the Koch brothers, Elon Musk, Crow, Leo, etc..

It's been deliberately distorted to be that way. (Citizens United, for example)

It does not have to be that way.

But you need representation in government with the integrity to say no to influence in exchange for money.

I don't think Winfrey seeks political dominance. Never seen anything to suggest it. Not even attending the DNC.

But money, the need for it, will always be a part of campaigning. It's the influence it can carry that needs to be regulated.

[The Wandering Harper]

38. a question that just popped into my head

would Pritzker or Winfrey support an effort that would ultimately reduce the influence of their wealth?

[Solly Mack]

39. No idea. Not all money has been put to bad use.

Not all dollars were used for negative influence.

[questionseverything]

41. In Illinois, pritzer has been really effective in trying to help poor and middle class folks

[Ms. Toad]

22. Thank you, and thank you for the clarification that connects it to the discussion on elitism.

I know intellectually that it is an issue, and I did what I could to point out that we had to stop telling people like you not to believe your lying empty pocketbooks. But never saw that message gaining any ground.

And now, after the election, I'm struggling (as one of the elite Democrats) to explain our (well-deserved reputation of) elitism turned people off, because it is not an issue I can speak to first-hand. But to be honest, I'm struggling to understand why enough of us don't see it that it has to be explained.

[The Wandering Harper]

25. you're welcome,

and thanks for the reminder might be useful if I edit my post to include it

[Ms. Toad]

28. I scrolled through the thread and found your link.

You seemed a bit stressed/out of spoons.

[TheKentuckian]

23. You should have been thrilled to choose a different fate than the dogshit one we are taking.

This country may not be salvageable.

Too many low life, weapons grade stupid motherfuckers balanced against unserious player character minded folks and political thrill seekers always a heartbeat or two away from sitting home or still taking their happy asses to the polls to vote for a Putin puppet in order to pretend they were participating and not supporting the enemy.

[The Wandering Harper]

24. this country handed me a dogshit fate when i was seven years old.

You?

[Miner Grandaddy]

27. This country handed

My fate to the ancestors of my great-great grandfather. That shitty fate still applies to me today. I bet we have common interests, but our discussion of them is discouraged, primarily by those whose power depends our compliance with their discouragement. We should break their rules, just to see what might happen.

[TheKentuckian]

34. I think mine was like 400 years back. No excuses.

[The Wandering Harper]

36. excuses for what?

[DiamondShark]

26. K&R

[JI7]

29. How come it's not elitism when Republicans want to cut

things that benefit regular people and give tax cuts to the wealthy?

Why wasn't it elitism when Trump wanted to end Obamacare ?

On the issue of housing it's a very local and state issue with many people having the nimby attitude. In Los Angeles some wealthy guy wanted to buy some abandoned building and turn it into something to help the homeless and locals protested. And these are not even wealthy or financially well off people. At best they might be comfortable middle class.

[The Wandering Harper]

30. when I was a kid I thought middle class was rich

or anyone who had a car, plenty of food, and a not cockroach infested home,
for that matter.

All I can say to your question is
Republicans being elitist does not preclude anyone else from the same

[JI7]

33. But my point is that the Republicans are NOT called elitist

when they do the things they do such as tax cuts for wealthy and cut funding for things that help most people.

[The Wandering Harper]

35. I remember the term "latte liberal" going around at some point,

as a sort of synonym for "elitist."
Was that a Rush Limbaugh invention?
Anyway,
deserved or not, the sentiment behind it seems to have taken hold.
And I think the behavior I've seen from some Democrats feeds into it.
On this site I've been spoken to more than a few times in a patronizing
and arrogant manner, just for stating an experience I had or an opinion.

Maybe we can start something, a simple low-effort move to
try to balance the information landscape or something:
anytime you might say "Republican,"
say "elitist Republican"