2. I don't think many people, including those in power and those with wealth, realize how dire this situation is for so many Americans. The unemployment numbers don't even begin reflect the true horror of what so many are facing.
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1. I've never had a hard time sleeping. But the past three nights I have slept a total of 3 hours. I'm writing this so I can sleep. I am very angry. And I've realized during that having the space to be angry is a privilege because many people are too busy being terrified.
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3. My direct messages are open, my email and cell phone numbers are on my Twitter profile...so I'm used to hearing from people who need help. Whenever I do a GoFundMe or anything of that sort, I hear from more people. Nothing has been like the past few weeks.
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4. Today, I've tried my best to count the messages and I've received at least 40,000. People are hungry and running out of food. I am lucky that I have the skill/gift to not get consumed by messages but it doesn't mean that I don't get sad and angry. I am mostly angry.
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5. I hesitate to tell you about just one person I know because I don't want people think that I am new to understanding how we treat the working class (it's what I focused on policy wise in politics) and don't want to give the impression that I am fetishizing someone.
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6. But I think it's important that people understand how dire this situation is and a woman named Paula illustrates it in a very heartbreaking way. For years I've been going to the same place for breakfast off and on. When I'm there alone I like to work.
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7. I am a lot like the Jack Nicholson character in 'As Good As It Gets' I order the same thing every time & I like ordering from the same waitress (I am not mean). That waitress is Paula. I have ADHD and she got that I could get distracted easily. I always tipped well.
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8. After working for the same restaurant for 20 years, Paula is out of the job now and it's not like she can go get another job. There are no other jobs. She is a single mom and she takes care of her parents (She said I could share this as long as I don't use her last name)
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9. Paula now has no income and she told me she's becoming more terrified every day. Over the past 20 years she managed to save $46,000 while raising two kids and sending money to her parents.
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10. In August she gave her life savings, $46,000, to her daughter so she could attend her first year of college without loans and without the need to work full-time. Paula now has $1,100 to her name. She feels guilty about that given how her former colleagues are struggling
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11. After some gentle pressure, Paula admitted to me she's now down to one meal a day because she wants to save food/money for her kids and her parents. She told me it was a "big meal," but I know she was just trying to make me feel better.
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12. Paula has done everything right in her life by every definition...she's worked hard, she's paid taxes, and she's been kind to others. But she, along with tens of millions of other Americans, have abandoned people in such an astonishing way it makes me rageful.
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13. No one ever told Paula, or most any other American, that she should be scared of a viral pandemic. We've been told to be concerned about terrorists, about gun violence, and about natural disasters (Paula told me she was worried her kids getting hurt in an earthquake).
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14. Whenever I bring this fact up, people will link to news articles in publications like the Atlantic and say I'm wrong, people were warned. Great -- I'm glad reporting was done on this for years but guess what, people who work backbreaking jobs don't have the time or energy
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15. Poverty in America is our greatest crime but there are tens of millions of Americans who have been on the edge. Paula has never asked for help in her adult life. She, like many of the people messaging me, is too ashamed and doesn't even know how to or where to go.
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16. So when people yell at me for criticizing the government's response (one that will take weeks/months to help working people and with very little money) by saying "they can file for unemployment" I get very fucking angry.
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17. Folks don't seem to understand that people don't know how to file for unemployment. They don't know how to go about asking for help because they've never imagined the need to and they're now dealing with a pandemic that is keeping them in their homes.
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18. So Paula did everything right in her life. How have we paid her back? She's had everything snatched from her overnight. Nothing she planned for in her life involved losing her job and not being employable. Nothing. And there are tens of millions of Americans in the same spot
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19. Poor and working class folks don't expect much, or anything at all, from the system that is rigged to screw them. They don't expect to move forward but they don't expect the basic stuff they've killed themselves for to be taken away. In Paula's case, her job.
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20. Elected officials and the elite in our country (I am undoubtedly a member of the elite) have not only taken advantage of the Paula's of our country but they have destroyed every hope she's ever had during this crisis.
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21. Do people understand that millions of people are food insecure/hungry right now? This is on top of the millions of people who were already in this position before. Do you understand that your neighbor has $75 in their bank account left or -$321 because of overdraft fees?
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22. Do people understand how terrifying it is that Congress is only sending a single check for $1,200 to people. A check that will take weeks to arrive if the IRS has your bank info and up to 4 months to arrive if they don't.
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23. Look at the replies to this tweet to understand how scared and worried people are about their ability to find food. They don't need you to give them a loaf of bread, they need cash, money. And they need it today.https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1241565382986498050 …
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24. The approach to this has been much like the way people handle disaster relief. I can't begin to explain to you how horrifying that is. People don't have time to wait for a check. They can't wait for hours on the phone for unemployment, their phones are about to get cutoff
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25. And what have the elite (again, including myself) done? Congress is gone for weeks on recess. Wealthy people (including some of my friends) are largely sitting on their hands and thinking about what they want to do. This isn't about funding a museum...fucking write the check
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26. If you're going to sit on your hands figuring out where to send your millions/billions, give people cash. People are running out of money and food. They're too scared to go out and get food. Give people, give lots of people cash.https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1241742543458463744 …
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27. And while you're enjoying your bread making and all the other lovely things you're doing, please remember that there are millions of Americans, the people you rely on, people who have been kind to you, who consumed less than 1,000 calories today so their kids could eat
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28. Don't waste your time DMing me and asking me if I'm ok and I need self-care. I'm fine and I'll be fine. But lots of people won't be Spare your concern for me and go give some people some CASH. Start with the replies to this tweethttps://twitter.com/yashar/status/1241742543458463744 …
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29. And if you don't know who to give cash to, start out with hourly/tipped workers who have lost everything and been told to essentially fuck off by our government. This is a great shame our country will carry forever.https://www.gofundme.com/f/helphourlyworkers …
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30. And don't worry about Paula, as long as I am alive she will never want for anything. Please focus on other people who need help. People are hungry tonight. They can't wait for you to figure out what's right. People need cash right now. Please help them.
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31. Before this pandemic, tens of millions of Americans couldn't handle an unexpected expense of $400 or more. If you are in a position of privilege tonight, ask yourself how they can possibly handle losing everything overnight and not even having a job they can apply for
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