Hear an NPR story about the way this economy is impacting everyday people. It shows how brutal this economy can be.
American Capitalism can really rob people of their dignity and humanity. It can rip the spirit right out of you. A cruel system indeed.
I am becoming more and more hopeless everyday (and i'm employed full-time...although under-employed). I guess I should feel lucky...but my employment situation is becoming more precarious with each passing day. Bankruptcy was officially announced this week. I started working when I was 16. And I have been employed continuously... and full-time (except for 3 months) since I was about 19 years old. I'll be 36 pretty soon. The idea of not working is unthinkable to me.
But the hopelessness is real. I have the constant feeling that i'm falling face down from the top of the Sears Tower in super slow motion.... going down a little more everyday....knowing what is waiting for me at the bottom but not being able to stop it.
Showing posts with label Homelessness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homelessness. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Monday, January 07, 2008
St. Louis Woman Kills Children Then Herself - Felt Hopeless
Tragic story about someone being pushed to do the unthinkable. Of course she did the wrong thing, but I can see how the pressures of today's economy could give the feeling of hopelessness.
And some say that there are no "two Americas". But the people who usually say that are those who are in the top half, doing well, making a comfortable living, and they don't have to decide between their prescription drugs/healthcare, and food. People in the top half often either don't see those in the bottom half of America, or they simply choose to ignore that they exists.
____________________________
Report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Mom who killed girls, self felt hopeless
By Jeremy Kohler
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
JENNINGS — The woman who shot her two daughters and herself to death on New Year's Eve had been distraught because she felt she could not successfully raise a family, police said Wednesday.
The woman, LaRhonda N. Mason, 29, was homeless, jobless and in debt. She relied on friends for shelter, shuffling from house to house with Teleanna, 11, and Jazelyn, 3. She made sure they were fed and clothed and, by all accounts, did her best, said Jennings police Sgt. Shawn Lane.
Her car was towed just after Christmas and she felt all opportunity was lost with it, Lane said. She was inundated with bills. Without a car, she couldn't work. Without a job she couldn't provide a home.
Two days before the deaths, she penned a four-page suicide letter thanking everyone who had tried to help her, Lane said.
On Monday night, she packed her belongings into a plastic bag and set off with her daughters from the home of a friend who had given her shelter. The man was a friend whom she had known from a fast-food job.
The friend followed her in his car, talking to her out his window, urging her to come home, Lane said. When he pulled over to get out, she pulled out a revolver.
At 6:15, outside a wireless phone shop near West Florissant and Apricot avenues, she tossed the suicide note to the ground, shot each girl once in the head, and then herself.
Mason and Teleanna were pronounced dead at the scene. Jazelyn was taken to St. Louis Children's Hospital and died a short time later. Each had been hit by a single gunshot.
Inside the older girl's knapsack was a new journal, a Christmas present. It was signed: "A journal for my little girl."
Police at first believed the friend had been the shooter. He was partially clad and had been following Mason and her daughters. But then they found the suicide note and confirmed that the handwriting was hers.
Investigators learned later that the friend, whom they would not identify, had let Mason store her belongings in his home. They had stayed with him for a few days, and he was urging them to stay longer.
On Monday, Mason's sister Andrea, of St. Louis, published a memorial to her on the Web, featuring un-captioned photographs of a woman and two girls frolicking, laughing. But the family declined to be interviewed.
And some say that there are no "two Americas". But the people who usually say that are those who are in the top half, doing well, making a comfortable living, and they don't have to decide between their prescription drugs/healthcare, and food. People in the top half often either don't see those in the bottom half of America, or they simply choose to ignore that they exists.
____________________________
Report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Mom who killed girls, self felt hopeless
By Jeremy Kohler
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
JENNINGS — The woman who shot her two daughters and herself to death on New Year's Eve had been distraught because she felt she could not successfully raise a family, police said Wednesday.
The woman, LaRhonda N. Mason, 29, was homeless, jobless and in debt. She relied on friends for shelter, shuffling from house to house with Teleanna, 11, and Jazelyn, 3. She made sure they were fed and clothed and, by all accounts, did her best, said Jennings police Sgt. Shawn Lane.
Her car was towed just after Christmas and she felt all opportunity was lost with it, Lane said. She was inundated with bills. Without a car, she couldn't work. Without a job she couldn't provide a home.
Two days before the deaths, she penned a four-page suicide letter thanking everyone who had tried to help her, Lane said.
On Monday night, she packed her belongings into a plastic bag and set off with her daughters from the home of a friend who had given her shelter. The man was a friend whom she had known from a fast-food job.
The friend followed her in his car, talking to her out his window, urging her to come home, Lane said. When he pulled over to get out, she pulled out a revolver.
At 6:15, outside a wireless phone shop near West Florissant and Apricot avenues, she tossed the suicide note to the ground, shot each girl once in the head, and then herself.
Mason and Teleanna were pronounced dead at the scene. Jazelyn was taken to St. Louis Children's Hospital and died a short time later. Each had been hit by a single gunshot.
Inside the older girl's knapsack was a new journal, a Christmas present. It was signed: "A journal for my little girl."
Police at first believed the friend had been the shooter. He was partially clad and had been following Mason and her daughters. But then they found the suicide note and confirmed that the handwriting was hers.
Investigators learned later that the friend, whom they would not identify, had let Mason store her belongings in his home. They had stayed with him for a few days, and he was urging them to stay longer.
On Monday, Mason's sister Andrea, of St. Louis, published a memorial to her on the Web, featuring un-captioned photographs of a woman and two girls frolicking, laughing. But the family declined to be interviewed.
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