Health Care Reform is About People
Updates on Menstrual Poetry have pretty much come to a standstill over the past month. This has happened a few times over the past two years that I have been blogging here, but never quite to this degree. My life pretty much revolves around my online projects–and I have a lot of them–so while I try to spend as much time as possible online, treating my computer as more of a lifeline than anything else, even beating out coffee, that just has not been possible over this past month or so.
As some of you who speak to me on a frequent and personal level may know that I have a dental condition called Periodontal Disease that has given me a great deal of problems. Over the past few years however, my dental condition has worsened and of course, my wisdom teeth have decided that now would be the perfect time to sprout up. Apparently they did not receive the memo that I already have crowded teeth because my mouth has already produced too many teeth to fit so there is no way four additional, massive teeth are going to fit in there. But up they sprouted anyway. My wisdom teeth have been making their way into my mouth, desperate to be my best friends, for over two years now and throughout the entire time, I have spoken, saw, consulted with, and have downright pleaded with dentists to do something to help me, but to no avail. These past few years have been hell for me because my dental condition has continued to worsen, my teeth are beginning to decay regardless of how well I take care of them, and my wisdom teeth (that are coming in already pre-decayed for me) are causing me to be in constant, unrelenting pain. They are forcing pressure against all of the teeth in my mouth, causing my mouth and face to swell up and is also the source of a constant migraine headache. The pressure they are putting on my head has gotten so bad that I have woken up several times barely being able to hear and I woke up just this morning with what I am assuming is an ear infection from hell and a swollen throat.
I hardly get any good sleep where I actually wake up rested; often I wake up after 15 hours of sleeping and I am still tired. But I know that it is not me being tired, it is me being in so much pain that the only thing that my body will do is shut down.
So why, in over two years, have I not had these teeth pulled? Why am I blogging about mind-numbing pain instead of getting something done about it?
I don’t have insurance. No dental insurance, which would have helped with preventative dental work so I wouldn’t be in this position right now. No health insurance, which is what I am in need of now that my dental condition has become so bad that it is directly affecting my health. And because I don’t have insurance, I do not matter.
Dentists are only willing to do work if they know that they are getting paid, so when you call a dentist’s office to inquire about sliding scale fee options or payment plans and realize the kind of money you need in order to even get started on the process is more money than you have seen in quite a while–combined–well then you have a problem. When it comes to the uninsured, money is always the problem. Hell, money is quite often just a problem–to those who don’t have boatloads of it. While on my quest to get the dental work I need done, I have applied for medical assistance–and was promptly denied. I am still flabbergasted as to how I could be denied since my income is hilarious! Nevertheless, I have been wafting in a sea of denial and have realized that there is way too much wiggle room in the system for people, like me, who get denied for medical assistance yet can only dream of being able to afford private health insurance; especially if you work from home, like I do.
Everywhere you look in the media right now you are hearing about health care reform. Right wing extremists have dubbed it “Obamacare” and Republicans have been doing all they can to knock a public option for health care off the table. The message of their efforts is simple–All people do not deserve the right to a healthy life; just the privileged people who can afford it do. This belief has never sat very well with me. As Americans we are told that we must love our country; that we must stand by our country, fight for our country, and die for our country if we must–and we should be proud to do it. So why is it incomprehensible to think that our country should ensure that we are a healthy nation? The health care reform legislation is not trying to change anyone’s existent health insurance programs, it is merely giving people like me, who cannot afford private health insurance yet are denied for medical assistance by their state, a chance at a healthy life. It seems ludicrous to me to discriminate against people who are ill and who are low income, yet the government is allowing that discrimination to occur within the Republican and “Blue Dog” affiliations. This country will inevitably always be comprised of the have’s and the have not’s, but access to health care that people so desperately need should never be lumped into those categories. Health care reform is about people. It isn’t politics; it is something that will make it easier for people to get the care that they need in order to live. And I can attest first hand that living in pain and living with a condition that no one can or wants to help you with is not living, it is existing and barely at that.
As for me, I have finally found a sliding scale clinic that gave me a consultation for the dental work that I need done. They also gave me a referral to an oral surgeon who, of course, does not have a sliding scale option and I’m just going to assume, not very fond of the poor people. On August 25 I will go in for yet another consultation, this time with the oral surgeon to schedule getting five teeth extracted–all 4 wisdom teeth and another tooth that has pretty much decayed and that has been giving me many problems, including not being able to put anything remotely cold into my mouth because it makes it feel like my entire mouth is being attacked by super tiny ninjas with huge, sharp swords.
I am making a tremendous effort to stay up to date with all of my online projects and work that I do but if I go missing for a few days, you now know why. You can also follow me on Twitter because I tend to update that when I have a few seconds to spare and something witty to say or need to get something off my chest. Sometimes I’m entertaining.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
While I am not at all excited about the beginning of summer (I hate loathe despise hot, sweaty, absolutely disgusting weather that makes it hard to breathe and makes you feel like you woke up in the largest oven in the world,) I do happen to enjoy long weekends (now that I work for a company that recognizes weekends and national holidays.)
I hope everyone out there has a great time hanging out with their friends and family, enjoying refreshing cold beers (and other drinks of the higher alcohol content variety if that’s what you’re into,) and delicious food on the grill. Many other blogs I regularly read have already put up posts about the long weekend, canceling regularly scheduled blog-related events, and warned that posting will be limited due to the majority of people taking time away from the internet world and spending more time in you know, reality. However, posting on Menstrual Poetry will not only continue regularly throughout the weekend, but just may pick up a bit because as I mentioned previously, I have a job that recognizes weekends and national holidays, so I just may be a little bored and keep my mind busy with blogging. So for those of you who do not celebrate Memorial Day or have no plans for your long weekend, I highly recommend you frequent Menstrual Poetry and keep me company!
The Comments We Face
By starting a blog you automatically open yourself and your space up to people who may disagree with you. In some cases you may experience several comments from people who are not so nice in telling you why they disagree with a particular viewpoint you express on your blog. While most blogs will undoubtedly encounter the occasional irate comment, the feminist blogosphere is open to a completely different breed of troll infestations and Menstrual Poetry is no exception.
Most of the trolls that attack feminist spaces have a tendency to attack the people behind the blog using rash generalizations. Most of the trolls that attack feminist spaces are also men, although that is just a coincidence, right?
I received a comment on a post I wrote, about Glenn Sacks protesting domestic violence ads created by The Family Place back in December. The comment was deleted, but I think it is the best example of the type of comments to expect when simply speaking your mind and raising awareness about issues that affect women.
you fucking stupid cunt. how about you address the real cause of domestic violence– stupid cunts like you trying to run the country. you dumb cunt feminists always love to TALK about equality. but we both know you fucking morons are full of shit when the rubber meets the road.
women love to talk about how “strong and independent they are”.. yeah why don’t these fucking idiots pay their own way when they date then? exactly. because they CAN’T. they simply like to have their cake and eat it too.
why don’t these women pay for their own child support since they have special veto power over anything the man says regarding her pregnancy. women can defraud men and have them pay for someone else’s baby. women can have a baby even if a man doesn’t want her to have it. with power comes responsibility .but women are just power-hungry cunts who refuse to accept responsibility.
i look forward to more cunts like you getting beat the fuck up until you learn the message the hard way. you can only rob men of so many freedoms before they will start fighting back. and the female face looks like a good starting place.
you make men into criminals on your billboards before they are even born and then you have the fucking audacity to complain when men fulfill your requirements of them. comical.
Every feminist/womanist/humanist blogger I have ever spoken to about blogging has talked about the amount of obnoxious, sexist, and ridiculous comments they have received for simply speaking out about issues that need to be spoken out about and the comment above is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the comments we have to deal with go.
The first lesson you must learn when starting a blog where you point out the mass hypocrisy of patriarchal society and speak about the fundamental rights people, including people with a vagina, should have is develop a thick skin because there will undoubtedly be people, especially those who happen to be men, who disagree with you and in fact think that the patriarch should continue to rule over our lives.
Too Busy to Blog!?
Yes, it’s true. If you’ve been a semi-regular reader, you may have noticed that not only has my blogging slowed down, it has come to a rapid, unexpected, and very sad halt. I did, however, want to thank Renee of Womanist Musings for filling in the gaps here and there and contributing posts to Menstrual Poetry.
I know I have heard from a few regular readers regarding Renee’s posts and no matter how you feel about them, we can all agree that the topics Renee frequently posts about need to be posted about; we need discussion when it comes to any section of human rights that the majority of people may not fully understand or even give too much thought to. Not only am I grateful to Renee for sharing some of her posts with Menstrual Poetry, I am also grateful to the fact that (some) feminists can support each other for their activism. I have been a long-time reader of Womanist Musings and to have the woman who I have read the thoughts of and admired for quite some time sharing with me my space, is a fabulous, feminist moment that makes me think more about the sisterhood that feminism is supposed to be.
So my lack of blogging as of late is to be blamed on the fact that I got a new job. I am currently a web designer for one of the top internet technology companies in the country. Yes, leave it to me to get the best job I have ever had, doing something I love in the middle of an economic meltdown. So between the accounts I am working on daily in addition to my manager asking me to take even more accounts per day, I have had very little time for much else in my life.
I will continue to blog here when I can, of course, and am working towards waking up earlier so I can spend my early mornings focusing on blogging and keeping everything I’ve been working on myself up to date.
I am also working on another film. As I posted about last April, I have written a short film called No Trespassing so now I am working on something fictional, although it still deals with social issues. I’ll keep you all updated on the progress with that.
Where Did 2008 Go?
I have been blogging on Menstrual Poetry for this past entire year and looking back, I really have no clue where this past year has gone! Every New Years Eve I find myself reflecting on the year that has passed and where I stand as far as my personal goals go and think about the year ahead of me.
It has been a true pleasure blogging here and meeting the people I have met through and because of this website over time. Every single person I have had the luxury of meeting either on or because of this website has taught me something about the world, life and/or about myself and I am a better person because of it, always.
Love yourself this new year; have respect for yourself, your actions, the people you choose to surround yourself with and for your body. Love who you are, inside and out because after all the shit fades, you’re all you have. I started Menstrual Poetry because I know who I am. Because I got sick of being told that my beliefs didn’t matter or that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I will continue to blog on Menstrual Poetry for (hopefully) many years to come for those same reasons.
I hope everyone has a very happy new year celebration and an even happier 2009!
Token Negress Alert
Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Renee and my blog is Womanist Musings. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to blog here and share some of the ideas that I have with a new audience. I am not known to mince words, so if you find my style abrupt oh well, I will not be policed. WOC have had our voices silenced for far too long for me too worry about anyone’s delicate sensibilities.
I would like to discuss something that I have come to refer to as the token Negro, or in the case of feminism the token Negress. All social movements have one thing in common; they must present a diverse progressive image publicly even if the hierarchy of the organization does not actually reflect a fair distribution of power. Ironically it is the least oppressed group – whiteness, that has become the face of oppression. Whether it is gay rights, fat acceptance, disability rights or feminism, you can guarantee the closer you get to a leadership position the whiter the faces become.
Maintenance of the power structure requires a token Negress, unless you can call on a black person, or a POC to play the role of the “diversity being” the obviousness of the exclusion is difficult to hide. What we see over and over again is the same pet blacks who have learned to speak the language of submission repeatedly being created as experts and given the authority to speak on behalf of POC by white people. Think that about for a moment…permission to speak on behalf of POC by white people.
This puts WOC in an untenable position. On one hand working towards social justice does provide its own reward; however continually being devalued is a constant reminder of exactly how racist society is. We have become accustomed to having our ideas shot down only to have them rephrased by a white person and immediately praised. We must walk a delicate balance between maintaining the little power we have and hiding from view the truth of our emotions and thoughts. Even speaking bluntly is often enough to illicit the charge that we are angry. Whiteness only wants us to be present for long enough to make the coffee and smile pretty for the camera. Say cheese everyone.
Even as we are being used to promote an atmosphere of diversity, we are well aware, but the only other option available to WOC is to fade into oblivion. We work diligently muting our rage in the hopes that one day the world will recognize that we are women, and that we are human too. Feminism has much invested in maintaining the status quo. Though some white women step forward for their daily bit of self flagellation, and depreciating commentary, in truth few are willing to listen with an open heart. We hear the “I am a white woman but” commentary daily. There is always a proviso, some need to insert the word but, as though there is any form of legitimization for the current imbalance in power. Somehow they can understand what it means to be silenced by relating it to their experiences of privilege. Somehow they can imagine what it is like being asked to speak on behalf of your people and then told that what you have to say is not good enough.
We are expected to be happy playing the role of token Negress because on some level we are supposedly being heard. The ethnic representative role is just as binding as being created as invisible because on one hand something needs to be said to represent black woman,but what we are allowed to express in these spaces does not close to the reality of our experiences. It allows no room for truthfulness and no room to challenge the status quo. The token negress ends up performing her race and gender in the hopes that at some point truth will be allowed to reign supreme. This is a role that at some point most black women will be asked to play. It preserves whiteness as good and powerful while relegating us to a mouth piece for hire.
Happy Holidays from Menstrual Poetry!
Posting will be a little slow for the next few days due to the holiday. I will be enjoying time with my family and I hope that everyone out there has someone to enjoy the holiday with; if you celebrate it, that is.
I will be easing back into posting regularly, I know things have been a little slow around here lately and will hopefully be able to start posting as much as I usually do very soon.
Good wishes and a happy holiday to all of you and your families.
Menstrual Poetry is Kreativ & Loved (By Some, Anyway)
Menstrual Poetry has been very fortunate this past week in receiving two blog awards from two different Menstrual Poetry readers.
The Kreativ Blog award was given to Menstrual Poetry by Over Forty and Loving It and the I Love Your Blog Award was given by the amazing young adult author who I can say for sure is a gifted, dedicate and ultimately good woman, C. Leigh Purtill.
I am very honored to have received these awards and am immensely grateful that people see how much I put into Menstrual Poetry whenever I can and enjoy reading what’s on my mind.
I’m not following the rules when it comes to blog awards because I can’t pick a handful of my favorite blogs to give an award to and always feel bad for leaving someone out. I can, however, tell you that you should go pick up C. Leigh Purtill’s books that I reviewed on Woman Tribune; Love, Meg and All About Vee.
Thank you to both women who gave me these awards, I am so grateful.
Out of Town this Weekend!
First the holidays, and now I am out of town this weekend, hence the significant decrease in new posts here and at my other blog.
I am currently in Pittsburgh, PA for the weekend, hanging out with friends and generally having a relaxing, party-filled weekend. Luckily, unlike the last time I left town, I brought my entire computer with me this time, but computer time is limited, so don’t expect too much to be happening over here until Monday, December 1.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is having a great weekend. See you Monday!
I Think GenderAnalyzer was Created by a Man (100%)
While reading one of my favorite blogs, Womanist Musings, I came across a post of hers about this website, GenderAnalyzer, which tries to guess, basically, if your site is written by a man or a woman. Obviously, I was very interested in finding out if my site was written by a male or a female and apparently I am doing something right or very wrong because they got it right.
Now before you start saying that of course GenderAnalyzer said Menstrual Poetry was written by a woman; just look at the name! You would also conclude that Womanist Musings would have come up as written by a woman, given the fact that the word ‘woman’ is in the title, but no, it concluded that a man is behind that blog.
Perhaps it’s the amount of times I have used words such as vagina or abortion, although most of the people who have such a huge problem with that are oddly middle to eldery aged men, or maybe I really do just blog like a girl…
Get Social
Flickr
Out Campaign
The OUT Campaign allows individuals to let others know they are not alone. It can also be a nice way of opening a conversation and help to demolish the negative stereotypes of atheists. Let the world know that we are not about to go away and that we are not going to allow those that would condemn us to push us into the shadows.
