It's Temporary

I recently removed someone from my Facebook friends list because he made a racist remark.  I don't draw anymore lines to be crossed for racists.  If you're racist you're out of my circle.

But what led to that remark was a photo he posted of his shopping cart while he was in line at the supermarket.  I commented that I also liked Grape Nuts.  What I didn't realize until some comments following mine was that his photo was not meant to capture what was in his cart, but what he assumed about the people in line ahead of him.

In the photo caption he remarked he was glad he worked and was able to pay for his own food.  The comments conversation evolved into a discussion about the people ahead of him, who he and the other commentors assumed were purchasing their food through welfare.  I argued with him that sometimes people find themselves in situations they aren't prepared to be in, and he commented that if he had to shovel shit at the kennel he would because he was better than any person that took government handouts.

Okay.  He is entitled to that opinion.  He and I obviously don't see eye to eye.  I didn't like his stance on the subject, but I can't agree with everyone, and I usually agree with very few in this state.  Then he likened what he saw to an episode of Good Times and that's when I unchecked the "friends" box.

Well, I'm glad he is no longer a Facebook friend, or real friend for that matter, since I now find myself relying on government assistance to make ends meet.  Yes, it's nice when you find yourself in a situation where you need employment immediately and you can hop right into another job because you don't have to arrange for daycare, or because you can accept any shift because you're not responsible to minors in the evening when child care centers are closed.  It's nice when your children are grown and you are responsible for no one but yourself, because you have a lot more freedom to choose.  It's nice when you're a man and there are an abundance of manufacturing jobs available to you, and because of your physique there are more opportunities period.  I don't have all of those luxuries.  My opportunities are less than half of that, but I'm trying.

I'm not proud of my situation.  In fact, I'm a little ashamed.  But I'm also ashamed of how I got here even if the fault is not my own.  I don't offer information on my situation to anyone but my family.  I've been in this situation for going on a month now but I feel like work is on the horizon.  I have some good leads and good people who are rooting for me.  I just have to have patience.