When the Shinola hits the fan...

[heatherrose]

...and society no longer has the time or resources for frivolity.
How much will our assertions that we were born with the wrong genitalia matter,
while we are picking through the landfill for our basic human necessities.?

[tekla]

That stuff has already hit the fan, you just don't realize that your covered in it yet.  An economist friend of mine is fond of saying 'you've already bought your last new car, you just don't know it yet.'  Alex C, here on these boards says something similar when he states 'you've already worked your last job.'

Currently, there are six people out of work, for ever job that is opening up.  I saw yesterday that the City of Detroit can't afford to bury people, so the corpses are stacking up in the morgue.

Major corporations, ones with long histories of success, have gone down the tubes in the last couple of years now.  The places were I work are off about 15% in the number of shows they are doing, and those shows are not selling like they used to.  Workers for the State of California have been given (forced) to take every other Friday off w/o pay, the equivalent of losing a month's salary every year, something that is very hard for most people to do.

On a personal level - one that will appeal to you also - tours that a few years ago would have gone on the road with two semis worth of equipment have cut it down to one truck.  The one semi shows have cut it down to a trailer pulled behind the tour bus.  I was talking to a driver not too long ago who worked for RoadShow, one of the big touring companies who told me they don't have half the drivers they did a few years ago.

And at that, the shows are not selling like they used to.

And I don't see where all that many people are concerned about GID persons anyway, that small, slim, slight number will only go down. 

[Julie Marie]

Well let's see...  We have the third anti-christ who may or may not already have started ascending to power.  We have 12/21/2012, the Mayan Calendar, Nostradamus, the Bible Code and throw in Edgar Casey for fun.  Then there's the factual issues such as the deterioration of the Earth's magnetic field, global warming, overpopulation, terrorists, etc.  I don't think a man in a dress is gonna bother too many people.

[tekla]

I don't think it's about who is going to care about a man in a dress, its more about who is going to care about your rights when they are worried about being homeless paycheck to paycheck, or who is going to get on a bandwagon to fund your surgeries and drugs when they don't have basic health care, how many people who can't find a job, any job, are going to give a flying fark if you've been discriminated against?

[Julie Marie]

When people are fighting over food and other basic needs no one cares about civil rights.

As for prejudice and discrimination, it's alive and well and living under the guise of morality.

[tekla]

Back about a decade and half ago, when the academic job situation was getting very rough, I was at a conference and this guy, a very nice guy, one who I really liked, just up and dropped dead of a heart attack in the lobby of the hotel.  Were people saying "oh my, what a shame"?  No, they were saying "Hey, there is a new job opening at the University of ______". In hard times, (and they are going to get much harder) when someone loses a job because of discrimination are they going to worry about the implications of that, or are they going to say "Hey, there is a job open at _______ now"?  Bet on the second.

[heatherrose]

I've been smelling it for some time now, over the course of the last
two years over 100,000 trucking companies have gone under.

And I don't see where all that many people are concerned about GID persons anyway, that small, slim, slight number will only go down. 

I agree and what concerns me is, as history dictates, as things deteriorate
the fringe groups invariably bare the brunt of societies blame for their woe.

[tekla]

I don't even think it's blame as much as its easy to further marginalize people who are already on the margins.

[heatherrose]

As pointed out by a friend of mine, at the turn of the century several
marginalized segments of society, including homosexual/transgenders were
tolerated until a charismatic leader convinced the Fatherland that the
deviants were the reason for their miserable state.

[Julie Marie]

I was in my broker's office in the late 90's.  He showed me a graph overlay and said that several studies had shown people in the 44-46 year age group spend more than any other age group.  And money spent in the economy bolsters it.  He then showed me a graph of the S&P 500 since its inception.  Over it he laid a graph of the 44-46 year age group showing their numbers.  It was virtually identical to the S&P until the S&P graph ended.  From there the graph for the 44-46 year olds continued to rise until somewhere in the year 2004.  After that it fell and fell and fell.

Of course it couldn't predict corporate pilfering, 9/11 or things like that but it did predict gloom and doom for a long time to come.

[Janet_Girl]

As pointed out by a friend of mine, at the turn of the century several
marginalized segments of society, including homosexual/transgenders were
tolerated until a charismatic leader convinced the Fatherland that the
deviants were the reason for their miserable state.

And it basically lasted for the next twenty years through out the world till the civil rights movement began.  And now we are at the beginnings of yet another great depression  which could mean that we are headed for yet another World War, and I am not talking about the war on terrorism.  But the world will overlook the fringe for awhile, because they will be worried about the war.

JHMO,

Janet

[heatherrose]

...till the civil rights movement began.

We delude ourselves if we truly believe that it ever stopped and
the best we can hope for is to be left alone as things get worse.

[lisagurl]

As the best our leader can do is spend his time trying to catch a fish for his corporate buddies.  He might try to dismantle corporate charters and promote small business.

[heatherrose]

The puppet seldom back stabs the puppet master.

[Ellieka]

Ahh, come on people your deflating my happy balloon. With unemployment running out for me on the first of next month and also facing a deadline to be out of the house I'm in by the first... I need a bright spot somewhere.

[lisagurl]

I need a bright spot somewhere.

Try
http://www.americorps.gov/
Let the government fix your problems.

[Ellieka]

Thanks for the link Lisa. Sadly it looks like I'm too old for the programs available by about ten years

[lisagurl]

Thanks for the link Lisa. Sadly it looks like I'm too old for the programs available by about ten years

Eligibility for AmeriCorps State and National: AmeriCorps State and National programs are open to U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent resident aliens age 17 and older. Members may serve full- or part-time over a period not to exceed 12 months.

After successful completion of their term of service, AmeriCorps members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award that can be used to pay for college or graduate school at Title IV schools, or to repay qualified student loans. Fulltime AmeriCorps members also receive a modest living allowance, health care benefits, and child care assistance.

[fluffy jorgen]

It won't matter in the end and so I make the most of it now.

[aubrey]

Oh let's all gather round and talk about the good old days when everything was so much easier than it is now, and how much worse things have gotten and are going to get. There's plenty of proof too, really. You guys are hilarious. Have fun at the doomsday party.