antioxide

Just wanted to say that that your journey sounds really awesome, congratulations for sailing there and back!

It's a fair question, but I would be surprised if denver-mom returns to the post after getting messages like 'go fuck yourself' from others :/

You're guaranteed to encounter many, many assholes on the internet. It's a fact that the American economic system is broken for those on the bottom rungs - you work full time, and struggle in fear to survive. That's wrong. And it's not your fault. You should talk to your family more, not for pity, but because there may be ways they can improve your life that you can't even imagine. You could encounter the aggressive reactions you find here, but if you don't seek something, you won't find it.

Your struggles shouldn't be taboo. Here's what Kurt Vonnegut wrote way back in the 60s:

America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, “It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.” It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: “if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?” There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register.

Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say Napoleonic times. Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves.