https://youtu.be/M0lQ1XM30MY
Naomi Karavani in the above video covers some recent mainstream media stories that glorify the suffering of the poor. Why would any empathetic person think this is a good idea?
The following further drives Naomi's point home:
Jon Sobrino, from Spirituality of Liberation: Toward Political Holiness--
The reality posed by the poor, then, is no rhetorical question. Precisely as sin, this reality tends to conceal itself, to be relativized, to pass itself off as something secondary and provisional in the larger picture of human achievements. It is a reality that calls men and women not only to recognize and acknowledge it, but to take a primary, basic position regarding it. Outwardly, this reality demands that it be stated for what it is, and denounced....But inwardly, this same reality is a question for human beings as themselves participants in the sin of humankind....the poor of the world are not the causal products of human history. No, poverty results from the actions of other human beings.
The Actions of Other Human Beings
by C.A. Matthews
From an early
age we learn about the consequences of our actions. Or at least in theory we
should. You grab the squeaky toy from
the toddler sitting next to you on the blanket, and she'll whack you hard and
make you cry. You peek into your sister's diary--she's going to snitch on you
to Mom. You cheat on a math quiz, and
you'll find yourself in the principal's office.
For every
action there is an opposite and equal reaction we hear in physics class. If
this is true, what action other than a handful hoarding extreme amounts of
wealth could explain the growing number of poor in the world?
The concept
that the state of poverty was created to serve a purpose--to bolster the wealth of
the elites--doesn't come naturally to most Americans. We want to believe that
the poor deserve their lowly state. They're ignorant. They're lazy. They made
bad decisions with their money and choice of profession. They're drunks and/or
drug addicts. But to simply state the rich are "better" or
"smarter" or more deserving of praise than the poor is to deny the
reality of the Donald J. Trumps of the world and the harshness of life in 21st century America.
Poverty is a
weapon. It is wielded by those in power to control access to resources. The land,
air and water of the masses aren't theirs as long as there are greedy men
coveting these necessities of life. Your tiny house is on land they want to build a factory on? Eminent
Domain is their tool. Their factory poisons your air and water? A well-placed
lobbyist makes sure the laws are in their favor.
By preventing
universal health care for all Americans, poverty is inflicted by the
one-percent through the means of life and death itself. It's no surprise that
the majority of bankruptcies in the US are due to medical bills. It's what the
system was designed to do.
The gun lobby tells our elected officials that daily mass shootings are necessary to protect our Constitutional rights. What's another dead body when there are gun sales to be made? A permanent underclass makes for many targets and much in profits.
The time has come to end the suffering of the poor and attack the selfishness of the elites. Choose your side. Choose wisely. Raising taxes on the wealthy never killed (or particularly inconvenienced) a rich person. Your neighbor living on Social Security, however, needs every single penny of it to keep the heat on in the winter.
The actions of other human beings are the source of all misery in this world. It's high time we took action against the misery bringers. It's time to build a new social order--one that doesn't allow the actions of the few to dictate the health, safety and happiness of the many.
If I define my neighbor as the one I must go out to look for, on the highways and byways, in the factories and slums, on the farms and in the mines--then my world changes. This is what is happening with the "option for the poor," for in the gospel it is the poor person who is the neighbor par excellence....These quotes come from a book worth reading:
But the poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent. The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. They are marginalized by our social and cultural world. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity. Hence the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.
Pathologies of Power, Dr. Paul Farmer, University of California Press, 2005.
www.ucpress.edu
***
Enlist Today!
Poor People's Army
We are building a force of our own to battle the rich and powerful. They have their armies and police, we need our own troops.
(Our side needs just as much training, education, experience, and discipline to fight for justice for poor and working people, though with different, emancipatory tactics.)
We are part of an international movement challenging poverty and capitalism.
Learn More/contact: ppehrcorg@gmail.com
215-869-4753
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Is Trying to Silence People Whose Communities Are Polluted. Stop This Now!
| Sign Now |
It's apparently time to rename the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the "Environmental Destruction Agency."
Their new mission, under the deliriously corrupt Trump administration,
seems to be to utterly wreck the planet as fast as they can.
The EPA currently issues "pollution permits" that entitles power plants
and factories to emit specified levels of pollution into the nearby
towns and natural environment. This means that the air or water that
whole neighborhoods rely upon could end up contaminated.
For the past 25 years, though, members of the community have at least
had some form of recourse. Individuals or advocates were able to appeal
these pollution permits to a board of judges. Now they will not even
have that small way of speaking out. Yet, of course, fossil fuel corporations still get a huge voice.
Everyday people are the ones who suffer directly from increased
pollution. Meanwhile, these companies profit off of their suffering,
with absolutely no interest in or regard for these individuals' imperiled health.
We cannot let the very agency meant to protect the environment actually work to completely destroy it.
We have so little time to address climate change. We must be moving in
the right direction — not hurting people while moving away from climate
solutions. Sign the petition to ask the EPA not to silence the very people who will suffer from increased pollution!
Thank you for all that you do,
P.S. The U.S. government wants to let corporations poison communities
with more pollution, and then silence the very people who are affected. Sign the petition to tell the EPA not to pursue this terrifying policy!
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***
Your voice is needed. For though the
resistance at Standing Rock has been forcibly paused and oil now flows
through the Dakota Access pipeline, the struggle to protect the health
and safety of the tribe and people downstream isn’t over. Quickly and
quietly, Energy Transfer Partners is planning to more than double the
amount of oil DAPL carries, to more than a million barrels a day. And
they’re doing this — once more — without the consent of the people.
It’s time to stand again with Standing Rock. We interviewed leaders from Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, Pine Ridge, and Rosebud — and together we’re demanding transparency and input through a public hearing. Will you take a moment now to join us? You can use our form to send an email telling North Dakota’s Public Service Commission that the people must be heard!
Lakota
leaders (clockwise from top left: Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney
M. Bordeaux, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier, Phyllis
Young of LPLP and Standing Rock, and Oglala Sioux Tribe President
Julian Bear Runner) have come together to call for a public hearing on a
proposed expansion to the Dakota Access pipeline.
Big Oil assures us that increasing oil flow
through pipelines isn’t dangerous, but U.S. regulators say their
information doesn’t back that claim. And tar sands crude — the type of
oil DAPL carries — is a special threat: corrosive to infrastructure, it
caused a million-gallon spill into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan not
long ago. The United States suffers hundreds of liquid pipeline
incidents every year. Why should we trust Big Oil’s word?
Between now and the deadline for input on
Aug. 9, we will do everything we can to ensure a public hearing — the
first step in stopping DAPL from becoming twice as dangerous. The Black
Snake’s presence must not be allowed to fester and grow without pushback
from every corner of Turtle Island. Will you stand with us once again
to ensure the safety of our people and our sacred land and water?
Chase Iron Eyes
Lead Counsel
The Lakota People's Law Project
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