In case you think I hadn't noticed how much it sucks to live in a place that sucks.
A comment in passing.
Someone in comments elsewhere remarked "I’m sick of [X state]. Why do women even live there if the whole state hates them?"
Because women there are stupid and therefore deserve what they get?
I mean, seriously, what answer does this person expect? Fuck. "Why don't you just leave?" That's basically what they're asking.
I live in Oklahoma because it is incredibly cheap to live here, and because I don't have the money to move away, or the spoons, or the social resources, or the medical support system necessary. There are so many reasons people stay in a state that "hates them." Being able to leave a state that "hates you" is a fucking privilege. Not all of us have it!
Everything that allows me to survive is here. My home, my friends, my doctor, my father. I could theoretically buy or create a support network elsewhere, if I had the money and the emotional and physical energy to do it, not to mention the emotional drain of leaving friends and home, but I have none of those things. I have fifty bucks in the bank, and a mental illness, and most days I am so fucked in the head I can't manage more than an hour or two of concentrated effort at anything. So show me the map to the pirate treasure you expect me to dig up to fund this little venture. Please! And show me the magic spell that will make me not-crazy enough to take advantage of it.
I think the solution is not people moving away from their homes and families and familiar places and things that they love. I think the solution is to fucking fix what is wrong. Call me crazy.
Besides, even if I had the resources, I'm not being chased out of my territory by assholes. If I go, it will be because I found someplace I want to live, not because I don't want to live here.
In short, STFU, whoever you are. I know that was probably flippant, I know you are probably not as much of a jerk as that makes you sound like and you were just trying to be funny, but it stops being funny when you consider, you know, the thousands of people who would love to follow your cute lil' suggestion and can't. We deserve a little more consideration from you than that.
Also, if you're "sick" of my state, fuck off. Just fuck off. I don't care what state it is. Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, New York, Alabama. If you have a problem with how shit is run someplace specifically because it is hurting people like you, you have an obligation to support the folks that live there by not, you know, being a fucking asshole.
I live here. I don't have the option of being "sick" of it, of ignoring news about it, of just switching away from what goes on here. Rejecting a bad place as irredeemable, and labeling all the people who live there as stupid hicks who obviously don't care about their rights, is not really helpful to the cause of promoting equality and justice.
It is a nice little dodge for having to give a shit or do anything to help, however.
X-posted from Dreamwidth. Comment count:
Someone in comments elsewhere remarked "I’m sick of [X state]. Why do women even live there if the whole state hates them?"
Because women there are stupid and therefore deserve what they get?
I mean, seriously, what answer does this person expect? Fuck. "Why don't you just leave?" That's basically what they're asking.
I live in Oklahoma because it is incredibly cheap to live here, and because I don't have the money to move away, or the spoons, or the social resources, or the medical support system necessary. There are so many reasons people stay in a state that "hates them." Being able to leave a state that "hates you" is a fucking privilege. Not all of us have it!
Everything that allows me to survive is here. My home, my friends, my doctor, my father. I could theoretically buy or create a support network elsewhere, if I had the money and the emotional and physical energy to do it, not to mention the emotional drain of leaving friends and home, but I have none of those things. I have fifty bucks in the bank, and a mental illness, and most days I am so fucked in the head I can't manage more than an hour or two of concentrated effort at anything. So show me the map to the pirate treasure you expect me to dig up to fund this little venture. Please! And show me the magic spell that will make me not-crazy enough to take advantage of it.
I think the solution is not people moving away from their homes and families and familiar places and things that they love. I think the solution is to fucking fix what is wrong. Call me crazy.
Besides, even if I had the resources, I'm not being chased out of my territory by assholes. If I go, it will be because I found someplace I want to live, not because I don't want to live here.
In short, STFU, whoever you are. I know that was probably flippant, I know you are probably not as much of a jerk as that makes you sound like and you were just trying to be funny, but it stops being funny when you consider, you know, the thousands of people who would love to follow your cute lil' suggestion and can't. We deserve a little more consideration from you than that.
Also, if you're "sick" of my state, fuck off. Just fuck off. I don't care what state it is. Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, New York, Alabama. If you have a problem with how shit is run someplace specifically because it is hurting people like you, you have an obligation to support the folks that live there by not, you know, being a fucking asshole.
I live here. I don't have the option of being "sick" of it, of ignoring news about it, of just switching away from what goes on here. Rejecting a bad place as irredeemable, and labeling all the people who live there as stupid hicks who obviously don't care about their rights, is not really helpful to the cause of promoting equality and justice.
It is a nice little dodge for having to give a shit or do anything to help, however.
X-posted from Dreamwidth. Comment count: