Danine N. Spencer

It’s Not About the “Dignity of Work”

danineAdmin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:47:22 +0000

In the midst of the whole “Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life” kerfuffle, a cute little ditty of a video was dug up by the Up with Chris show on MSNBC. Filmed at a January campaign stop, it shows Mitt Romney insisting that people on welfare need to experience “the dignity of work” in order to receive public assistance.

Video: Mitt Romney says welfare recipients need the “dignity of work”.

As I watch this video, I am angry beyond words. I believe Romney was talking about TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) recipients, not people who are on SSI or Medicaid like me, but it doesn’t really matter. There is an unbelievably pervasive prejudice against people who receive any form of public assistance, whether it is TANF, unemployment benefits, food stamps, SSI, Medicaid or any other “entitlement”. People on welfare are looked down on. They need to learn the “dignity of work”. They are lazy.

Image: Political cartoon depicting two elephants. Mom is reading bedtime story to her daughter: “Once upon a time there was a wicked Welfare Queen who had the power to destroy entire economies with one AFDC check…” (Image via Autographed Letter Signed)

Yes, “lazy”. The construction worker who has been out of work for nine months and is collecting unemployment benefits so he can pay the mortgage on his family’s home is lazy. The single mom who can barely make ends meet working two low-wage jobs and depends on food-stamps to help feed her kids is lazy. The millions of kids who, for whatever reason, qualify for Medicaid are lazy. And of course, people like me, who have catastrophic illnesses or injuries and aren’t able to work, are lazy.

I’m not sure why, but there is a general anger towards anyone who receives public assistance. Sometimes I think it is jealousy. The Ugly Green Monster makes the haves (those who are able to work and support themselves) envy the have-nots (those who can’t), insisting the latter group is somehow getting a bigger or better piece of the piece than anyone else. The Ugly Green Monster couldn’t be more wrong. Think about it: would you prefer to have the satisfaction of doing meaningful work, earning a comfortable salary, paying your own rent/mortgage/groceries/clothing/tuition/extras and putting money away for retirement, OR would you rather be forced to live on approximately $700/month in SSI benefits?

Even though it is impossible to live high off the fat of everyone else’s labor on an income of approximately $8400 per year, there is widespread resentment towards modern-day welfare queens (and kings) like me. This anger can’t be chalked up to misplaced envy alone. We should have a culture of goodwill in this country, where everyone understands the importance of caring for the general welfare because none of us know when we’re going to need the public safety net. Instead, way too many people are infuriated by the notion that part of their paycheck goes to support people like me (or hungry families on food stamps or pregnant moms on Medicaid, etc). They don’t see themselves contributing financially to the common good but rather “sacrificing” some of their income for other peoples’ benefit.

Rather than a culture of goodwill, we have a culture of animosity towards anyone who receives public assistance. This hatred leads us to believe that people on “welfare” are “lazy” and don’t deserve help. But that’s just not true. The social safety net is there for all of us. We are all just a pink slip, medical catastrophe or financial disaster away from needing it.

Who will the “lazy” one be then?

High Unemployment Rate for People with Disabilities Hits Way Too Close to Home

danineAdmin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:00:00 +0000

February’s unemployment statistics were released on Friday. While we can all cheer about the 227,000 new jobs that were added last month, way too many people, especially folks with disabilities, are still unemployed. According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate is 15.8% for people with disabilities (PWD) between the ages 16 and 64. Even more problematic is that only 19.9% of PWDs even bother to participate in the work force.

Let me sum this up for ya: In February, approximately 20% of people with disabilities were actively working or looking for work. Twenty percent! And for those people, the unemployment rate was nearly twice as high (15.8%) as the national average of 8.3%. I am not an expert on disability employment but these numbers don’t surprise me.

I am one of the 80% of PWDs who have simply dropped out of the labor market.

There aren’t a lot of options for people like me, people with disabilities and chronic conditions who aren’t able to work a traditional 40 hour/week job. I could work 10-15 hours/week. Maybe. In a good week. But I can do some work. I’m educated. I have skills. Highly desirable computer skills, in fact. I should be able to work to support myself and contribute to the economy at large.

There should be a way for me to work in some fashion. There really should be.

Goddess knows I’ve tried for the last seven years, pretty much since I was released from the hospital after my injury, to figure out how to earn a living. During the first two years, even as I was still in recovery and going to physical therapy as many as three times a week, I envisioned working part-time. I knew it was an impossibility. I did. But I also knew I was supposed to work and I beat myself up every single day I couldn’t.

After a couple of years, I gave up on the idea of a part-time job but I still felt incredibly guilty for not working, especially when my SSI checks arrived every months. I felt like I was a leech on society, feeding on the blood of the U.S. taxpayer.

I still have no idea how to re-enter the workforce and it’s terrifying. I’ve been on SSI for almost seven years.That’s seven years that I have not been contributing to Social Security or a private retirement fund. I am petrified about my long-term financial Security.

There are some ideas for working at home, which I have tried, but it seems impossible that I’ll ever make enough to support myself. I know the Obama administration is pushing hard to increase employment for people with disabilities and I hope they succeed.

I hope I succeed in being able to support myself financially. Soon. I just don’t know how yet.

Giving Up Catholicism For Lent

Danine — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:12:11 +0000

Would Mary recognize today's Church? I doubt it.

Last week was the beginning of the Lenten season. Lent, which lasts about forty days, from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday, is the time when Christians remember the death of Jesus Christ. During this time, we are supposed to pray, reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ death, and, if we’re really good Christians, attempt a pathetic imitation of Jesus’ sacrifice by practicing self-denial.

Most people, especially women, “give up” chocolate or caffeine. (Note that you don’t usually hear about men practicing this rite of self-restricting. Dare I say the Catholic Church has an interest in maintaining the Beauty Myth? I spy another post for another day…)

Although I always feel guilty about it, I don’t usually give up anything. I just don’t see how giving up M&Ms or Starbucks even begins to approximate the sacrifice supposedly Jesus made for us. More importantly, how does self-restricting bring us closer to God?

This year is different. This year, I am giving up Catholicism for Lent. I just need a break from being Catholic. I hate writing those words. I really do. But the Catholic Church keeps breaking my heart. I am not sure I belong in the Church any more.

I am not sure I belong in a Catholic Church that doesn’t believe I have the right to control my own body, the right to contraception, or the right to an abortion. The Church values the lives of “unborn souls” over my life: the life that is already here, already fighting every day to survive.

I am not sure I belong in a Catholic Church that persecutes women every single day, from nuns who are too “independent” to the 98% of Catholic women who have used contraception to women (and men) who are in same-sex relationships.

I am not sure I belong in a Catholic Church that allows its priests to sexually abuse children or even rape nuns. The entire Church hierarchy, from the priests and bishops all the way to the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI need to acknowledge their roles in the rampant sex abuse throughout the Church. They need to repent and ask the victims’ forgiveness. They need to ask God’s forgiveness.

The Catholic Church has so many problems right now but the bishops and the Vatican simply refuse to admit anything is wrong. Instead, they are pretending the only evil in the world lies with people like me who can think for themselves, who know that ultimately, God is about love, not chocolate or contraception.

I am not sure where I belong spiritually or if I’ll remain Catholic but I need a break from the Church. I hope giving up Catholicism for Lent brings me spiritual renewal. I need it desperately. So does the Catholic Church.

Yes, Facebook Users, Florida’s New Welfare Drug-Testing Law IS Discriminatory

danineAdmin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:00:42 +0000

Florida’s draconian new law requiring welfare applicants to undergo drug testing at their own expense went into effect on July 1st. On the surface, this bill sounds good, right? No one wants tax dollars to be spent on drugs. Florida’s welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), is intended to help families pay for food, housing, clothing, medical and other basic living expenses.

It should go without saying that TANF funds should not be used to buy drugs but for whatever reason, Florida’s Republican governor Rick Scott felt the need to really drive this home at last month’s bill-signing:

“It’s the right thing for taxpayers,” Scott said after signing the measure. “It’s the right thing for citizens of this state that need public assistance. We don’t want to waste tax dollars. And also, we want to give people an incentive to not use drugs.”

Not to be outdone, Facebook users agree with Scott. This little ditty, which has apparently gone viral, appeared on my FB feed last week:

Florida is the first State that will require drug testing when applying for welfare (effective July 1st)! Some people are crying this is unconstitutional. How is this unconstitutional? It’s OK to drug test the people who work for their money but not those who don’t? Re-post if you want all states to have this rule….. This is the best idea I’ve heard in a long time!!

Le sigh. Where do I start?

First, I’m not a constitutional lawyer so I have no idea as to it’s constitutionality. However, I am extremely curious why this doesn’t violate our constitutional right to privacy? Any barristers out there who can answer that?

But here’s the main point: There is a difference, dear Facebookers, between an employer requiring a drug test as a condition of employment and the state of Florida demanding welfare applicants submit to a drug test prior to TANF enrollment. Employers simply want to ensure they have healthy, reliable workers. The state of Florida is assuming two things:

Anyone who is poor enough to need TANF assistance could possibly have a substance abuse problem.
Anyone who is poor enough to need TANF assistance cannot be trusted to spend their money wisely whether or not substance abuse is an issue. Therefore, drug users must be rooted out.
Just because someone is poor does not mean they will spend their welfare checks on drugs.

This is discrimination against poor people. This is class warfare, pitting the working class, like those who are posting and re-posting this awful Facebook meme, against the poorest of the poor who, for whatever reason, need a helping hand from the government for a while.

I hope this law is challenged and overturned. Soon.

The Art of Just Being

danineAdmin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:03:03 +0000

So I’ve been feeling a little down lately. My health has been lousy for what feels like forever and I’ve barely written two words in months. I feel like a terrible activist. What have I contributed to the world? I’m not working a “traditional” job (what is that, anyways?) and I’m not writing.

Ugh. Feeling pretty useless.

I think it’s time to remind myself that sometimes just being has to be enough.

It’s a hard lesson I’ve had to learn over and over during these last six years since my spinal cord injury. Sometimes, when you’re sick, in pain and tired, and especially when these gawdawful periods of misery stick around for a while and won’t go away no matter what you do, it’s enough to just…. be.

Just “being” is a learned skill.

When you’re sick and in pain, it means learning to have patience with your body and not get frustrated. It means being grateful for the things your body can do. It means accepting your body’s limitations, trying to understand where the pain/illness/fatigue is located and doing whatever it takes to give your body what it needs (nourishment, rest, exercise, medicine, etc).

There are many days when just being means taking things one minute, then one hour and then one day at a time. Otherwise, the pain/fatigue/sickness would just be too unbearable.

Just being means there will be days, weeks, months, and yes, occasionally, years where the most you can do is lay on the couch and read a book or watch Law & Order reruns.

That’s okay. Sometimes just being is enough. You know why? Because tomorrow is another day.

On Rolling Stone’s Sexist, Ableist Profile of Michele Bachmann

danineAdmin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:06:00 +0000

I dislike Michele Bachman very much. I find her personally annoying and think her political beliefs are despicable. But I am thrilled she is running for president.

Unlike Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann has real political experience, first serving in the Minnesota State Sate and now the U.S. House of Representatives. She is playing presidential politics according to longstanding rules, courting voters in Iowa and New Hampshire and actually showing up to the first major debate for GOP presidential contenders. Thanks to Victoria Woodhull, Margaret Smith Chase, Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Rodham Clinton and yes, Sarah Palin, we have finally arrived to see the day when an ambitious woman is no longer automatically disqualified from running due to her gender.

Or have we? In his blistering, hatchet-job of a profile for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi skewers Congresswoman Bachmann as a Botoxed, lying, homophobic religious zealot. In fact, Taibbi lists Bachmann’s greatest quality as “her gigantic set of burnished titanium Terminator-testicles swinging under her skirt”. And there you have it. She’s just too damn ambitious. So how do you get rid of a little lady who has gotten too big for her bloomers? Call her looney tunes. Or, in this case, “batshit crazy”.

Calling a woman hysterical, looney tunes or “batshit crazy” has long been a fool-proof method for keeping women submissive to men. After all, it’s very hard to challenge a man’s authority when you’re drugged and locked up in a mental institution.

Too many women have been dismissed as “batshit crazy”. Michele Bachmann has a legitimate right to run for the Republican nomination for president. The press has a responsibility to ask serious questions about her political record, inconsistencies in her public statements, religious beliefs and so much more. But Matt Taibbi did not ask those questions. He did not let the facts, which were pretty startling, speak for themselves. Instead, he did a hell of a lot of sexist, ableist mudslinging.

The Incomplete List of Feminist Memoirs

danineAdmin — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:00:04 +0000

So I’m prepping to get started on my memoir in January and reading as many memoirs as possible to get a feel for different styles and such. The weird thing is, there doesn’t seem to be a list of “feminist” memoirs anywhere. Sure, there’s great reading lists like the Feminist Summer Reading List and the Best Feminist Young Adult Books, but there’s nada, zippo, zilch for feminist memoirs.

I want to change that. Let’s get a list started, shall we? Here are a few titles I’ve come up with. Please feel free to add your own in the comments!

Marjane Satrapi – The Complete Persepolis
Maya Angelou – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Allison Bechdel – Fun Home
Maxine Hong Kingston – The Woman Warrior: Memoir of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
Barbara Ehrenreich – Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Susan Brownmiller: In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution and Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape (via @gabrielleld on Twitter)
Wilma Mankiller – Mankiller: A Chief and Her People
Erica Jong – Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life
bell hooks – Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood
Zora Neale Hurston – Dust Tracks on a Road
Audre Lorde – Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
Azar Nafisi – Reading Lolita in Tehran
Temple Grandin – Thinking in Pictures**
Helen Keller – The Story of My Life**
Terry Galloway – Mean Little deaf Queer**
Harriet McBryde Johnson – Too Late to Die Young**

**feminists with disabilities

What do you think of this list? What books should be added? Leave a note in the comments!

Book Review: “No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power” by Gloria Feldt

Danine — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:00:42 +0000

Win a free copy of No Excuses – see details below!!

Reading Gloria Feldt’s fab new book No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power is like sinking into a book-length letter of inspiration from a much-needed mentor. Feldt, a veteran of the second-wave fight for reproductive justice, reminds us of how many battles the women’s rights movement has already won and implores us to forge ahead with feminism’s “half-finished revolution”.

But Feldt isn’t saying that the second wave has worked their butts off and now it’s time for the younger generations to pick up the slack alone. No. Instead, “No Excuses” is a book of mentorship. Feldt shares the lessons she’s learned throughout her career as well as concrete steps each of us can take to create an even stronger feminist movement. I was particularly struck by her belief that we are each capable of changing the world – and not just in little ways, like voting for progressive candidates, either. (Although that’s very important, too!) Feldt profiles women like Michelle Robson, who founded the women’s health information portal, EmpowHER, and Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish, who started a successful campaign to get Brita to recycle their water filters.

Reading this book encourages you to think big. What are you passionate about? What are you ticked off about? What can be done about it? What can you do? Feldt makes the case that if we band together with other women (and males allies), anything is possible. We just need a lot of hard work and even more persistence.

This is a must-read for feminists, male allies and other progressives (who should call themselves feminists – ahem!). Get your copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or IndieBound.

Win a copy of No Excuses!
I have one copy of the book to give away – yay! To enter, ust drop me an email (danine@danine.net) or leave a note in the comments, and tell me how you are changing the world right now. Hurry, don’t delay! Contest ends this Friday, Nov. 19, at 5 PM CST.

Talking About Chronic Pain Is a Feminist Act? You Betcha

Danine — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:00:10 +0000

What do you write about when your neck hurts so bad that all you want to do is lay your head down on a pillow and make love to a bottle of Darvocet?

What do you write about when you’re so tired after a weekend trip away for your cousin’s wedding, you don’t even have energy to read a book or watch TV?

What do you write about when you get a flu-like virus with the sore throat and cough thing and you’re scared to death you’ll get bronchitis, which’ll go into pneumonia and almost kill you like it has twice before?

What do you write about when the aforementioned flu turns into a stomach bug and you can’t get rid of it because your spinal cord injury has trashed your GI tract?

This has been my life for the past several months. Well, to be more accurate, it’s been my life for the past five and a half years but the last few months have been especially hard. My pain level has been really, really high whether it’s been migraines or neck pain. I have yet to figure out alternative methods for dealing with this chronic pain so I’m stuck with pain pills and muscle relaxants. My fatigue level is about the same as it always is – moderately high, and even though my immune system is pretty healthy, it took me about ten days to fight off that stupid virus.

But here’s the thing: when I’m in a lot of pain or really tired or really sick, I don’t know what to write about. Does the world want to hear about how miserable I am? Is there value in that? On the one hand, no, the world doesn’t need to hear me complain.

On the other hand, I believe it is an act of feminism for women who live with chronic illness and pain to share our stories. The world wants us to suffer in silence. It wants us to believe our pain and illness are our fault. It wants us to think that pain and illness are shameful and that we, in turn, should feel ashamed for having these conditions. Illness and weakness is associated with being feminine. Men in patriarchal societies have used our pain and illness against us for centuries. If women talk about living with chronic conditions, if we bring the “shameful”, nasty details of our daily lives with sickness and pain out of the shadows and into the light, we can help each other. We become stronger with each story. We become less alone as we recognize ourselves in each other. We can tell each other, “Yes, I’ve experienced that” and “I know what that feels like” and help ourselves and others feel just a little bit less alone.

There is value in my story. I have to remember that. I have to stop doubting myself and just keep writing. Writing about living with chronic pain and illness is a feminist act. I can do it.

Book Review: The Chloe Pink™ Doodle & Dream Coloring Book

Danine — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:10:52 +0000

The Chloe Pink™ Doodle & Dream Coloring Book is a fantastic coloring and activity book that doubles as a journal and sketchbook for girls of all ages. From the very first page, Chloe Pink™, the cartoon character created by Sharna Fulton, inspires you to pick up a pencil, crayon or marker and make the book your own. You can color the pages, draw and sketch on the many “Dream… and Doodle” pages, and journal. On other pages, Chloe Pink™ asks girls to tell her about friends, school, hobbies and of course, dreams, with words, pictures and mini-games.

The entire book is designed to encourage self-esteem and creativity and to help girls realize they are special. Just flipping through the book makes me feel happy and I can’t wait to fill it out. I let my mom, who is 64 years old, look it over and she said the same thing, so Chloe Pink™ truly is the spokesperson for girls 3-103.

One last thing: The Chloe Pink™ Doodle & Dream Coloring Book is a must-buy for all the girls and women on your Christmas list but I would be just as likely to give it to my three-year-old and five-year-old nephews as I would my nine-year-old niece. Older boys who have “outgrown” coloring might turn their nose at Chloe Pink’s masterpiece. Still, Chloe Pink’s message of building self-esteem and encouraging creativity will be a great gift for all the girls and boys in your life.

The Chloe Pink™ Doodle & Dream Coloring Book is a must-buy. Head over to Amazon.com and pick up a copy for everyone on your Christmas list!

**Disclaimer: Review copy provided by the author. No other compensation received.