Poor People

Why is it that so many poor people are so lacking in any form of class? I am poor, so please don’t think I’m looking down on low-income people. In fact there are times when I lack class. Usually while drunk, sometimes while writing blog posts.

Today I was on my way to Walgreens to get some food for my cat. On the way I passed my old apartment complex, which was converted in to condos two years ago. During the renovation they put a waterfall type fountain thing on the wall facing the street. So today I see a large (read fat) woman, in clean clothes, no big bag or grocery cart so I don’t think she’s homeless, and she is rinsing her hair in the waterfall fountain. Her big butt hanging out of her pants facing me and the big main road I live on…ugh.
I was both angry and embarrassed.
A few more recent experiences to illustrate my point.

I was waiting for the bus one day, the stop I was at is in front of a thrift store. Some guy comes out of the store with some socks. He sits down at the stop, takes off the socks he’s wearing and throws them on the sidewalk, puts on the new socks, tosses the bag down and walks off.

There’s a guy in my complex who I’ve seen pissing on the side of the building a few times.

There’s another guy here who walks around all day asking for money. Yet somehow he’s got a car.

I could go on and on. I just don’t get it. You can be totally poor, and still have class and dignity. I’m starting to understand why the middle and upper classes tend to look down on the poor. Why should they respect us if we don’t respect ourselves?

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Socially Retarded

Tonight I stumbled across a blog;Love On Wheelz, written by an 18 year old with MD. I suggest you read it.
A lot of our experiences have been similar. People talking to the people we’re with about us, people praying for us, etc… One post that struck me was this one, about being an adult but still having your parents make decisions for you and make you do things, simply because you can’t physically stop them. I was very lucky in this regard. The only thing I was ever made to do after turning 18 was go to school (well, there was my ex-stepmother basically pushing me out of the house but that’s another story for another time.). I really hated high school, and still hate almost everyone I went to school with so that pissed me off. Many cripples aren’t so lucky though. Most parents of cripples, though well-intentioned smother their little deformed genetic misfires too much. They make all their decisions for them, go everywhere with them, answer questions for them, and on and on. This socially retards the child even if there is nothing wrong with their minds.
I belong to a few Cripple groups on Myspace. In one of them there are a lot of members from FL. A few years ago they were planning a meetup, and one of the members; a girl in her 20’s, who worked, went to school, drove, but lived at home. She always seemed smart and independent. Her response to the meetup was that she’d like to go, but would need to ask her mom first. I chimed in, saying she didn’t need to, that she was old enough to make her own decisions (I might not have put it that way, I’m kind of a dick). Her response was basically that I was wrong and that it was her mothers responsibility to decide what was safe for her and if the people she would be around were safe. Holy brainwashing Batman!
This is the worst thing parents do to cripples. Our bodies are broken, not our minds (my penis is not broken, ladies…hello?). Please, for the love of Gary Busey stop smothering your crippled kids. If you don’t want us to fit in to the normal cripple stereotype, stop raising us with that mindset. Let your kid be as normal as possible.
When I was a youngin’ my parents were always there, always supportive of me, but took a very liberal approach to raising me (in some ways). They learned very early on that telling me what I was and wasn’t capable of wasn’t going to work. They would tell me I wouldn’t be able to do something so I’d turn around and do it just to spite them. They knew they couldn’t shield me from kids making fun of me, and they didn’t try. As a result I’m socially adapted, and able to take care of myself, make my own decisions.

Please parents, do the same for your cripple.

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Devotees, Fetishists, Wannabe’s and Fakers

Man this blog is all over the place, but it’s my blog so deal with it.
I’m going to talk a little bit about Devotees, Fetishists, Wannabe’s and Fakers as they pertain to disability culture; and more specifically the amputee culture. I realize that I’m not technically an amputee, but with my missing limbs it’s the group I identify best with.

First, a little background on each (as I see them):

Devotee: Sometimes known as a “devo”. Amputee devotees are usually male, though there are females as well. A devo is someone who feels a strong initial attraction to amputees. In my eyes it’s not all that different from someone liking blonde’s over brunettes, Asians over Caucasians, etc…

Fetishist: A fetishist is like a devo, but they view the person as an object. They will lie, pretend to be someone else, pretend to be interested in an amputee to get close to them, get what they want, regardless of the effect this has on the other person. It’s purely an attraction to the amputation for them.

Wannabe: A wannabe is someone who quite simply wants to be disabled

Faker: A faker is someone who wants to be disabled, so they pretend they are. They use crutches, wheelchairs, bind their limbs to look like an amputee, etc…

In my eyes devotees are ok. Ii like the idea of someone actually liking my disability, as opposed to just being ok with it. Devo’s actually care about the person they are with, not just the disability.

It’s the other three I’m not too fond of.

Fetishists are just creepy. They literally prey on the disabled. Just about any cripple online, including me has stories about these scum. Sometimes they come on directly, sending an IM or message telling you how beautiful you are then asking for pics with your shirt off, etc… The more sinister of them will pretend to be someone else, and try to lure you in. Once, shortly after I began being open about my disability online, I started communicating with “Zana”, a lovely young lady from Atlanta who claimed to be a devotee. We exchanged emails, “she” started asking a lot of questions about how I do what I do, etc…Pretty normal stuff. We got close. Shortly after “she” started asking for pics of me in my boxers and nothing else, close-ups of my shoulders, my foot, you get the idea. As soon as I said no, “she” disappeared. I found “her” once on a site that was exposing fetishists. It was a male fetishist who was doing this to a bunch of amputees. Creepy

Wannabes and fakers kind of creep me out too, but for different reasons. I cannot wrap my head around the concept of being able-bodied and not wanting to be. I realize that it’s similar to people who wish to be a different sex, and I get it intellectually, but not emotionally. People who wish to be a different sex don’t bother me at all, but wannabes and fakers do. I guess it’s because I’m in a way, what they desire to become, while I would do just about anything not to be like this.
I saw a documentary once on wannabes/fakers. There was a man who so desired to be an amputee. Doctors refused to amputate a healthy leg, so he took a shotgun and shot his leg off. I was so disturbed and angered by this that I was nauseous. I couldn’t watch the rest of the film.

Well, now you know a little tiny bit about dis culture, you’re welcome.

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Random Things

I’ve been suffering from some writers block. That’s a terrible thing when you’re a famous writer like me. Today inspiration struck me. I would write about the new 90210 even though I haven’t watched it. Unfortunately PotatoE already wrote about it. Damn you PotatoE! So I’m back to nothing to entertain you kids with. Speaking of kids, I have some advice for the kids reading this.

• Smoke – Nothing makes you cooler than cigarettes
• Drink all the time – Alcohol is really good for you
• Have unprotected sex – Condoms are for pussies
• Watch lots of TV – Why be your own person when you can get all your social cues from MTV?
• Forget schoolwork – Good grades never got anyone anywhere
• If you can’t afford something, steal it – You deserve it
• Don’t pay attention to politics – Who cares, right?
• Don’t listen to your parents – They’re full of shit

I’m gonna be an awesome parent!
Speaking of parenting, I haven’t had sex in way too long. If you’re a hot chick in the PHX area, write me. I’ll do you. This works for Tucker Max, why not me?

Ummmmm…. Follow me on Twitter, and tell your friends about this brilliant blog.

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