 |
| Photo by Bryan Derballa for the Wall Street Journal |
My friend says I have now been outed. Today's Wall Street Journal online features a slideshow on the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) demonstration in which I 'occupy' slide #4. It's a lovely shot and it features this blog address prominently. It also hits the point of the occupation square on the head. Why are able-minded people out of work? Hits here have gone over 500 today. But is it the kind of press I need to get a job? An old line says that any press is good press so I'm going to play it that way. I do indeed live in a homeless shelter and you don't get to be in the Wall Street Journal every day. But that's where the worry begins. Will my Back To Work program see it as a productive way to go about finding work (All of my social programs could be cut if any one of them takes issue with me for any reason - and reasons can always be manufactured)? Is street theatre the kind of job hunting that will pass the system's muster. I doubt it, but it's part of my arsenal as a creative business person and to not use it would be more of a crime than most of my roommates in the shelter have committed. (Continued...)
This blog. aHBiNYC is now available as an eBook. It covers the writer's homeless experiences in New York City from September 11, 2011 through January 2013 in 245 pages and 50 chapters. To order simply use the PayPal button in the sidebar, send $10, and include your email address in the PayPal memo form. Thank you.
Why are you homeless? It's a simple question with I'm sure not so simple an answer. How did you go from a healthy six figure income to where you are now? I skimmed Wild Wild East and the first 80+ pages didn't provide any insight.
ReplyDeleteWhat is meaningful work? Is this blog and supporting the protest meaningful work?
Reply to above. Your questions are all good ones. If you can find Wild Wild East,then you can find my email and ask me personally. Otherwise your questions come off as criticism and looking for blame within me, as I have seen society treat all homeless. "It's 'their' fault. Not mine. Not the system's". No accountability. Answers of course will come from a good study of the American economy over the last ten years, the meltdown of the advertising business. George W. Bush calling North Korea the "Axis of Evil" helped kill a business I owned in South Korea. Few business people know the difference between the two.
ReplyDeleteMeaningful work IS this blog. Meaningful work is not always measured in dollar quantities. Meaningful work generates work - which this and my protest at Zuccotti will do. Meaningful work helps one sleep well at night, which I did, albeit, in a shelter.
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI found your photo on Gothamist this morning and decided to check out your blog. I've found it very inspiring and well-written. I admire you for your perseverance and applaud you for doing meaningful work, even in what may otherwise be viewed as "down" time. Please keep updating, and I will keep reading. Very best of luck, and I really do hope OWS leads to positive change.
Thank you,
Jesse
Thanks Jesse. We all work together.
ReplyDeleteI am delighted to hear a person of power speak on homelessness.
ReplyDeleteJust your title brought me back to the emotions of homelessness. Homelessness is 90% caused by poverty. Only the social workers, writing papers do not consider that a cause. Its like saying the human body is not composed mostly of water and miracles.
We need workers pride to undo poverty. That is the front line workers exclaiming they are the most important cog in profit making so they must be paid the cost of living. And think tanks calculating the REAL cost of living. An income where they would feel human and can pay all their bills, repairs and buy gifts every month.
There is a JUne 30,2012 DC Poverty, One Class, March being planned. That might bring the mainstream media in on covering poverty. Be we need leaders to speak out today. In the 30 years I ran the Homeless Crisis informational Hotline I had not one family say- all my funds are tied up in stocks, and I am about to be evicted. I had them say I am out of money, and I cannot buy gas, to look for a job.
We seek voices like yours to give us a VOICE.
Spent a few nights on the street with you before arrest on the Brooklyn Bridge. Thank you for doing this. Your sign was one of the first things seen in the park. The picture's toward the top of this brain vomit:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.question-everything.org/2011/10/the-occupation-of-wall-street-and-the-brooklyn-bridge/
Keep up the work that needs to be done. Hopefully we'll make it back to the city soon. Just got back from Cleveland. The time has come.
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteFound your blog through a photo of one of your cardboard signs that had your blog on it on Hyperallergenic, an art blog that's been covering OWS. I live in Queens and have been down to OWS twice so far, hopefully I'll run into you the next time I'm there.
I really liked what you had to say about work - "meaningful work generates work - which this and my protest at Zuccotti will do." I wish I had thought to say that to the guy defending the current system of capitalism at washington square park yesterday who told me that capitalism "pays people what they are worth." Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
best,
katie
Your blog is fantastic. Insightful and beautifully written. I shared it with friends, and just found it posted on another of my favorite blogs: http://thisisnthappiness.com/post/11163457184/occupy-everything
ReplyDeleteThanks for lending you story and voice.
Why don't you move in with your family or friends?
ReplyDeleteTo above: My father is 82 and lives in Bella Vista, Arkansas with a second wife. I spent six months with him after mother died in 2002. There is no work for a writer and international marketing person in Bella Vista, AR. My two younger sisters both have families and live in very small towns in Illinois and Iowa. Similarly, a person of mt qualifications will not find meaningful work there. In 2002 I cooked at a truck stop and made minimum wage for less than 40 hours a week. It was not enough to pay for rent and a car, which is needed in America because our public transportation is so behind the times. So I come to New York, where I was born and may find an international job in the field to which I have dedicated 30+ years - or I might find work as a homeless blogger - you never know:)
ReplyDelete