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My Name Is Not "Those People"

By Julia Dinsmore

My name is not "Problem and Case to Be Managed."
I am a capable human being and citizen, not a client.
The social service system can never replace the compassion
and concern of loving Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Fathers,
Cousins, Community - all the bonded people who need to be

but are not present to bring children forward to their potential.

My name is not "Lazy, Dependent Welfare Mother."

If the unwaged work of parenting, homemaking and community building was factored into the Gross National Product, my work would have untold value. And I wonder why my middle-class sisters whose husbands support them to raise their children are glorified - and they don't get called lazy and dependent.

My name is not "Ignorant, Dumb or Uneducated."
I live with an income of $621 with $169 in food stamps.

Rent is $585. that leaves $36 a month to live on. I am such a genius at surviving that I could balance the state budget in an hour.