MULTIPLE PERILS: COVID-19 AND INEVITABLE/HARMFUL EVICTIONS

A series of essays....

BEING EVICTED FROM YOUR HOME WILL
LEAVE LIFELONG SCARS ON YOUR MIND, HEART & SOUL!

Courtesy John Moore/Getty Images

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

During a conversation with one of Kalamazoo’s City Commissioners last Thursday, while discussing a grave problem that has plagued our vital, little neighborhood for months now and isn’t going away, soon...I was taken aback by a simple statement he made: “Our offices are going to become quite busy in the coming months as we address the real concerns of those who might (will) be evicted from their homes.”

Instantly, my breath was stifled under my black, triple-filtered mask...more so than usual. I realized that in my attempt to help correct one problem, I’d completely ignored another; a calamity brought about by the inevitable onslaught of a seemingly uncontrollable virus that has given birth to a domino effect that haunts each of us, one way or another.

This ‘Trump Show’ began in earnest back on January 20, 2017, when good men such as Congressman John Lewis understood and refused to personally advance it by calling Trump an “illegitimate president” and declined to attend his inauguration and, subsequently, his State of the Union Address.

PORTRAIT OF JOHN LEWIS AND BARACK OBAMA BY DAN LACEY

Trump, a vindictive and illiterate man, has lied his way into our lives. Unexpectedly finding himself in the White House, his priorities soon became clear: benefit himself financially by any means possible; lie, cheat, and cahoot with anyone, including foreign dictators, in order to serve his own cause; turn against and demean anybody who fails to agree with or challenges him privately or publicly; use his status to breakdown a democratic system that past presidents have rightfully preserved as the backbone of this great nation, and, finally, to quench his desire to totally discredit and wipe-out any good deed, law, or benefit to the people that was initiated or brought to fruition by our previous president, Barack Obama. 

Completely oblivious to any form of code of conduct and lacking a moral compass, this man blighted us with, not only, an apparent lack of education when it comes to basic, high school level, U.S. Government knowledge, but subsequently displayed his unwillingness to learn it as a sitting president. 

Due to this cavalier attitude, we the people have suffered enormous wrongs, which include: minimizing clean air and water quality; drilling for oil and gold and hunting wildlife within our National Parks; the discovery that Putin had placed bounties on the heads of American troops; the incarceration of children along our southern border; the denial of a worldwide deadly virus and failure to appropriately issue assistance via PPE, testing, and sound virus strategies as the virus spread from state to state, as well as the unconscionable price we have paid for his failures in the midst of this pandemic including the closure of small businesses, loss of jobs, the enabling of personal mental health instability, and the unnecessary loss of so many American lives.

And, this is strictly a ‘short list.’

Congress approved a bill to provide $600-per-week towards unemployment insurance for those losing their jobs due to the pandemic which has, ultimately, kept the economy stronger than anyone had the right to hope for. The unemployed have been able to pay their rent and/or house payment, purchase food for their family, and pay their bills.

And now, as this important ‘virus relief’ has officially expired and has not been renewed, the talks slog on with millions of people still out of work. Employment, especially minimum wage jobs, are unavailable due to the consequences of the pandemic and financial futures remain unprotected and frightening. 

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH DURING A PANDEMIC?

Courtesy of FIT

Progress is slow as the urgency grows on virus relief talks. If the weak Republican proposal is signed and benefits are downgraded to $200-per-week, the compensation will not be enough to keep these families in good stead towards running even a minimal life style or provide protection from banks and landlords who hold jurisdiction over retaining a roof over their heads. 

We’ve been here before and not so very long ago. The extreme struggles many of us were made to endure in 2008 are now lurking around the corner, again. The psychological ramifications from having no control over your life is tantamount to having a battering ram threaten to smash in your skull every minute of the day. You can never stop thinking about it and it is certain to take its physical toll on you in due time.

So, when our friend from the City of Kalamazoo reminded us of the inevitable outcome initiated by the government dragging its feet and allowing for hardworking people to lose their homes, my heart skipped a beat. He explained how he, as a City Commissioner, will be one member of our local government who must appropriately handle the calls and text messages filled with emotional complaints and desperate pleas made by desperate citizens living in our area of the State of Michigan in the next few months. Tears fill my eyes as I can already hear these frantic voices cry out and employ any means possible in order to cling to their dreams; cling to the American Dream they have strived for, secured (for the most part) and now stand to lose.

I have labeled one consequence of this sad, repetitive situation as ‘inevitable evictions’ for a reason. The current administration has been notorious for breaking down the little guy, the middle class, the working poor, for nearly four years by way of taking away any means possible towards making life more viable, healthy, and profitable for them. For now, the pandemic has afforded this administration the means to justify their actions. 

The protection of fundamental human rights should be the primary objective for supporting democracy and its principles. As our government and all of its elected participants continue talks on virus relief this week, we can only hope that a timely and suitable outcome is achieved before people find themselves living out of their automobiles or stretching the fabric of health and wellbeing by having to move into a relative’s home. I do not see evictions as a feasible, emergency plan for riding out this financial storm during a deadly pandemic.

EVICTING FAMILIES FROM THEIR HOMES IN THE MIDDLE OF A
PANDEMIC IS CRUEL AND DANGEROUS.

Courtesy Getty Images

How does one conform to the plausible advice of our public health officials and governors who call for ‘staying home practices’ during this health crisis if people have no place to call home anymore?

We the people need to get a grip on how much we have lost and how much more we stand to lose. In a time when coronavirus heroes, nurses and all healthcare workers, are getting tossed from their homes by landlords who fear they may bring the coronavirus home with them, there is much to fear on both sides of our current situation. I pray we find some common ground when handling our lives and dealing with others from here on out by means of common sense and intelligence thinking, if nothing else.

Reality is that ‘The Heroes Act,’ proposed almost three months ago and immediately passed by the Congress, has waited all this time to gain a reaction from the Upper Chamber led by Mitch McConnell who continues to drag his feet and delay forward momentum. If this non-action continues, it will surely be considered a formula for further disaster.

IF YOU CAN’T PAY YOUR HOUSE PAYMENT OR RENT DURING THE
CORONAVIRUS CATASTROPHE, LET’S HOPE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
WILL HAVE YOUR BACK...

Courtesy Flickr

Stay safe. Stay healthy. If you are not already, please register to vote. VOTE IN NOVEMBER! OUR LIVES DEPEND ON IT!

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

          

I HEAR SOMETHING BUBBLING OUT THERE!!!

I will be the first to tell you that when I see Evil winning over Good, it's time to do something about it before it's too late. It may be in the form of a bully, a person getting away with murder, hurting another through lies and innuendo, or blatantly cheating others in order to get their way. When all of these aspects are combined in one group or individual and they are getting away with it, the ramifications are staggering and hurtful.

When the Trump/Pence ticket succeeded in our Presidential election in November, I was mortified to the point that it was difficult to perform the basic functions of breathing, eating, and sleeping. My faith in the meaning of all that is good was shattered. Fear for the future consumed me. The disappointment in my fellow man was unpalatable. Something quite evil was taking place and hiding under the covers like a small child could save me from it.

Well, of course, as a functioning adult this was simply nonsense. Even so, the dark shadow shrouding me from the light increased in size every day and I felt helpless and alone. The day I discovered that I was not alone saved my life. I understood that women from all walks of life were planning to march together in large, strong numbers in Washington D.C. on January 21 and that my own daughter would be marching among them. I heard that a strong-spoken, action taking Congressman had enough guts to tell the truth to the American people. I heard of a 'working guide' that created countermeasures to thwart the evil brewing within this new administration.

No, I am not alone, but for a very long time I felt like it and, it's a miserable feeling. Things are happening and footsteps are falling heavy along the path of Hope. We must work together to make our voices heard. We must stay strong and vigilant as we pull back on the evil shadow that attempts to blind us from all of the good that we know truly exists. If we try hard enough, we will win!

~~~J. Hughes

 A series of essays.....

WOMEN'S MARCH ON WASHINGTON ~ 2017
graphic by Liza Donovan

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

You might remember cracking open the large, multi-faceted shell of a golden walnut with a silver instrument that resembled a crude dental device that might have been used to extract a tooth in the wild, wild west of the 1800's. I certainly do. 

It was always during Christmastime when my Mother would place a wooden bowl of mixed nuts out for family and guests to crack open and excavate. This excavation, by the way, was achieved by inserting a lethal-looking metal pick into the particular fruit/légume and relieving the tasty meat from its stubborn shell. Any sibling retaliation was always observed and noted while these archaic instruments existed in our living room. 

Occasionally, after all that hard work and anticipation, the reward was a bite of luscious seed that sometimes tasted as metallic as the pick being used to work it free. It was a hit-or-miss, messy, kind of an operation that had its benefits more often than not.

Life's philosophy of hard work, hoping for the best, and receiving occasional benefits from it all has always been one of my sound reasons for waking up in the morning. Since early November of last year, somehow, the pure joy of hard work and accomplishment has diminished for me.  Oh, I still go through the motions of the day and dirty clothes don't wash themselves, that's for sure. And, having Family stay for the holidays helped to occupy my mind and heart in a good way.

My very approach to life has been changed, altered, rearranged, reconfigured.....call it what you will, since November 8, 2016. And, I will be brutally honest with myself when I say that it has not been for the best. Coping techniques have become the norm. Now, toss in a pinch of disappointment in my fellow man; a smidgen of embarrassment for the embracement of pure greed and narcissism; a dollop of confusion about future chaos that's as plain as the nose on my face......and, you have a frightening recipe for disaster that will haunt (not nourish) us for many years to come. It will change our lives completely and set the stage for vulnerability, the likes of which we have not witnessed for many years.

When that 'future chaos' includes the praising of ideas and blatant collaboration with a madman from Russia, appointing the super-rich to some of the highest offices within our government, ignoring the health and welfare of millions of American citizens, depriving women of their right to monitor their bodies and protect themselves through Planned Parenthood, and, now...working diligently to swiftly weaken the programs set-up to assist all of us as we age, Medicare and Social Security, you and I both realize that there is a premeditated plan behind all of this!!

That is, of course, if we, truly, care about ourselves, as we should about every other living soul around us.

You do realize that pure greed is the sounding board by which those now in power (especially Congress) wish to conduct life and, the November 2016 elections have assured them of that power for a period of time that could break apart the backbone of this country, spewing it out in a million shattered pieces. Pure greed and their, seemingly, total disgust for our middle-class, our poor, our disabled, the homeless, women in general, minorities, education, health, and anyone or anything that serves to eliminate the chances of lining their own pockets with gold. You do realize this by now, right?

Maybe you thought that being able to hold-on to your precious weapons (guns) was the most important thing you had to fight for. Now, many of you are beginning to realize that it might be your health insurance that takes priority. The ridiculous notion that your precious guns would be taken away from you was only the fear driven into you over and over again by the NRA and anyone who wanted you to believe it for their own political advancement. You know that now, don't you? 

Let me be the first to tell you that this new regime that is infiltrating Washington D.C. and beyond will be a very tough nut to crack. Unlike the walnut that might be crushed under pressure but its seed relinquishes its hold, exposing the trickery and disparagement of human rights brought on by the so-called 'entitled in government' will be likened to the Brazil nut. These seeds will be much more difficult to extract from their shell and we will have to 'pick' our way through to the meat of our problems with intelligence, precision, and honest determination.

I hear it. I feel it. There's something bubbling out there and it is definitely not the sound of complacency!

The wisdom of Doctor Martin Luther King is ringing loud and clear through the windswept hillsides, metropolitan landscapes, golden meadows, and 'small town' America alike: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." 

I, ashamedly, admit to becoming silent when it came to the one instrument that I knew I could utilize to its greatest advantage, my writing. I sat back and cowered in my own small world of 'doom and gloom' without realizing that I had, overnight, become silent about things that really mattered to me. Guilty as charged. 

What had changed all of us who, deep down, knew better? Again, it was the bubbling sound of solidarity; the wisdom of realizing that we were not alone in this and that we could do something about what we knew was wrong and paralyzing to our well being.....if we did it together. As Congressman and Civil Rights leader, John Lewis, preaches from his heart and past experiences: "If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it. Get out there and push, and stand up, and speak out, and get in the way the same that my generation got in the way. Get in trouble. Good trouble. Necessary trouble."

Saturday, January 21, 2017, thousands of women and men will be marching in protest of the new administration and their agenda of stripping the American people of their rights to, and hopes for, a brighter, healthier future. The day after the inauguration, thousands of women have organized to march on Washington D.C. in support of women's rights and affordable health care. 'Sister' marches are planned for all 50 states and in 32 countries around the world. That's pretty powerful and should prove to all of us that we are not alone in this movement to stop something that is not right. Our voices will be heard. Our presence will be seen. Our numbers will be noted. 

According to USA TODAY NETWORK, "It means the rally is a starting point. For the women coming as far away as California and Hawaii, there’s concern that women’s rights could be rolled back by Congress and the new Republican White House. These include some of the causes women fought for dating to the suffragette convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls, N.Y. — such as affordable health care.

It's unclear how much impact the rally will have on the agenda of the incoming administration. Organizers hope the significance of the march, bringing together more than 100 different interest groups including Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, NAACP and MoveOn.org, will be a web of activism spun in its aftermath."

Something is bubbling out there and its intensity is astounding!

Another anti-Republican White House movement made up of regular citizens resisting the new administration's greedy agenda is called "Indivisible." 

Co-authored by many ex-Congressional pages, such as Mr. Ezra Levin, high school students who applied for the opportunity to provide supplemental support to House operations in a variety of capacities, "Indivisible" is a free guide that can be used however any person or group sees fit. 

So far, hundreds of groups have been formed all over the United States utilizing the knowledge written within this guide and website. Every single person who worked on it is a volunteer who is doing this in his/her free time without coordination or support from their employers. Their only goal is to help the real leaders on the ground who are resisting the Republican White House agenda on their home turf.

Mr. Levin explains that this guide recognizes the 'stages of grief' millions of us have gone through after this election. How many of us live in despair over the potential harm this administration has over so many of this country's good citizens. He and his fellow volunteers have firsthand knowledge of how Congress works and expertise in being able to dissect the Tea Party's tactical success. Their hope is to help you say, as a citizen: "This behavior is not acceptable!"

Go to indivisibleguide.com to acquire your copy of this helpful guide and learn for yourself how these former congressional staffers reveal their best practises for making Congress listen. And please, please spread the word! Only folks who know this exists will use it. Good luck. We will win.

Times are changing. We are feeling the power of solidarity and the desire to be a part of that sisterhood/brotherhood of change. I have often mentioned that being a product of the '60's has illustrated to me and my generation that coming together for a good cause does matter. It does work. 

Being a writer, I recognize the scenario of "good vs. evil" and how these opposite forces create a power struggle that is woven throughout every fiber of our history. Good is a thing which will not hurt anyone but evil does do damage. For example, ignorance, by definition is evil, while being educated in all current matters is just and good. 

Why would anyone consciously promote the downfall or decline of a group or groups of people? What benefit would that serve anyone? Is history, sadly, repeating itself? These questions I hope to tackle in the near future. But, until then please remember that it's okay to....  

"Get in trouble. Good trouble. Necessary trouble." And, make your voice be heard!

Copyright © 2017 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved