This is the last thing I needed to read today. I’m holding on by a thread.

There it is. It’s so easy to do nothing. You’re very much like “us”.

Get someone over here to give me a full time job. Or sponsor me to move wherever you are. Have a job ready for me when I get there. I got PMP, PMI-ACP, and PSM I certifications along with AWS certifications. I need either a source of income that can support me without firing me for protesting or a way out after I do whatever you want done.

I can lose my life. I can lose my health. I can lose my freedom. All those things could happen with a high chance of failure without anything changing. In fact I could make the situation worse. The failed assassination attempt on Trump boosted his poll numbers and contributed to his victory and his paranoia.

It’s very easy for people like you to tell me to sacrifice, but people like you will never help me.

Make a sacrifice for me first. Do anything to make my life tolerable. Put your money where your mouth is. Then we will discuss what I’m freed up to do to help the world.

My point is that we’re so inundated with terrible news and horrific policy we can’t start to mount an opposition to a specific change before the next horror arises. We had military occupations in our cities which have been forgotten because that was half a dozen scandals ago.

Personally I’ve been in panic mode for a year because I was a government contractor before Trump let Elon Musk lay me off. Due to the economy Trump is directly responsible for the only job I could find pays 1/4 of what I was making with no benefits.

Now there is a war. I’m going hungry.

I think something most of the outside world doesn’t understand about the USA, there are very few “us” unless you’re conservative. It’s a hyper individualistic society in an extremely large geographic area. The idea of collective anything is a foreign concept to me and I’m literally in a work union for the first time in my life for the worst job I’ve ever had. Unless my current Union is ok with the strike I can’t afford to skip work. If I didn’t have a union then the striking would be completely out of the question. I’ve been let go from jobs at the drop of a hat growing up in a “right to work state”. There isn’t a social safety net and my neighbors are completely ok with me becoming homeless. People who get to protest I’ve viewed as being privileged beyond my means. Community here is for the privileged and I’m scraping by to survive.

We don’t think the world sees us as the Avengers anymore. At this point things are so bad here we’ve stopped thinking (which is different than not caring) about how the world thinks of us. For fuck’s sake our president started a war when we weren’t looking. It’s like riding in a bus the size of a football field being driven by a drunk, that’s what living in America is like.

I used to make six figures designing and developing applications for the Federal Government. Trump won. I got laid off and everyone hiring has said I got replaced by AI. After almost a year without finding work I now shop online orders at my local grocery store. I got rejected for food stamps and my mortgage has gone up. I’m the son of a junkie and I don’t have a romantic partner so I don’t have access to a lot of family support.

It really wasn’t directed towards you specifically. If I was standing around at work and this was asked then this is how I would respond. Which has happened. There is an obsession with this topic that has empowered the dumbest element in my society (American) to take power in my society. Due to those elements (conservatives) I have lost my job (my current pays 1/4 of what I was making), livelihood, and now face an economic collapse. I absolutely don’t blame trans people for this, but recognize that their existence has led to my life becoming worse due to exploitation. Personally I just call people whatever pronoun out of politeness. They deserve equal rights under the law, but unfortunately the law doesn’t mean much these days.

Mine and people like me (the poor) opinion ultimately does not matter, so I don’t understand why the question keeps being asked. Would it change anything?

“How would you respond…”

Why are you asking me this question?

Why did you bring this up?

I’m in dire circumstances and need decent employment or I will not escape poverty. Are you going to do anything to help me?

Why are you thinking about this?

Do you even know or have met anyone trans?

Who are you?

I’ve been applying to entry level jobs for months. I was a frontend developer and designer with ten years experience. I now have a PMP, PMI-ACP, and PSM I certifications. I have a resume with a high ATS score. I’ve only been met with silence from jobs. The only work I’ve found is working for a grocery store part time. It’s not covering my bills.

I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’m hungry and I may be homeless soon. What’s the point of being moral if nobody will help me when I’m at rock bottom?

I’m feeling really old. It’s hard to keep trying and failing at my age. There are no jobs and I don’t have anyone to lean on for financial support.

I’m not in shape. I don’t think I could survive basic training. I’m running out of options.

I’m 40. I haven’t found full time work in a year. I might have to join. I don’t want to lose my house. Nobody will miss me if I die overseas.

I learned to hate myself. Focusing on my constant failures has led me to forget most people over decades.

I want a Tlatoani. I want to be assigned a house in a neighborhood in an Altepetl.

I hate the smacking sound he makes with his mouth. Finish eating.

I used to live in that area!

A pillar of fire would make the place look better.

What did you do?