I Am Not Ashamed but Maybe You Should Be, Part 4

For the original "I Am Not Ashamed" post, click here. For Part 2 and Part 3 ... well, you get it. 

I am breaking my Lenten discipline of not doing any politically-oriented posts, which tend to raise my blood pressure, during this holy period. Shoot.

I recently discovered zazzle.com, a website that's a lot like cafepress.com and I'm sure plenty of other sites, where you can order the same theme in multiple forms. For example, if you want to promote the notion of "Save the Earth" you can get t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, magnets, bumper stickers, etc. I eventually linked to the site from something on Pinterest, and I have ordered a birthday present for David (a cartoon drawing of a stitched-up heart and the motto "Chicks dig scars") and a couple of packs of Down syndrome yellow/blue butterfly stickers to hand out to Simon's class when David and I do our presentation on WDSD. 

I don't blame the site, per se, for also selling these; freedom of speech and everything. But I really wish I had not come across this onesie while looking in the "Kids" section for a possible gift for Simon.

Holy crap. On.a.baby. Nice.

They also had these (and a million more, if you want to see, click here). I did not cancel my order, because (a) I need a cheap, quickly-delivered giveaway for 3/21, and (b) the heart surgery shirt is really freaking cool. But perhaps I will forward this post and the other "I Am Not Ashamed"s to them.

My message about the following images is the same as the other posts: If you know someone (a specific person) who is defrauding the government by having forged identification or other documents to obtain "welfare" benefits, please forward their name and address to your county Department of Social Services or DYFS or whatever it might be in your state. If you wish to change the program guidelines in order to "make""These People""work," I suggest that you write to your state and national congresspeople, who are the ones who would be in a better position to help change everything to exactly the way you feel it should be. And may God have mercy on your soul and bless you always and forever, such that you will never lose a job and run through your savings or lose your health insurance or experience a natural disaster or any of those other things that happen to ... people. And if you pull yourself through all these issues without a dime of government assistance, then God bless you as well. Congratulations on your iron will and work ethic. But please remember that does not do one single thing for you in God's eyes? Remember how Jesus commanded his disciples to take everything they had and give it to the poor, and I have yet to read anywhere in the Gospels that he put a lot of stipulations on which poor people would get it. Remember the admonition to be humble.

And if you are frustrated, that's okay. I get it. I just ask that if you are angry because you feel your hard-earned dollars are being given to people whom you perceive to be able to work to support themselves, the for the love of God, SAY THAT INSTEAD. Thank you. 

This has been an exceptionally frustrating process for me, but I continue to bump up against it (this time while ordering a t-shirt celebrating my son's successful open-heart surgery, mind you), and I can't let it go. I just want folks to ... not be mean. Is that so hard? I personally would rather hang out all day with an auditorium full of "welfare" and "Food Stamp" recipients, convicted criminals, undocumented workers, etc., than spend ten minutes with a mean asshole that finds stuff like this hilarious. 

Oh, the self-satisfaction. Whoever you are, can you please
give me one of your business cards so that each month when I get
"my check" (you know it's not a check anymore, right?)
I can write you a personal letter of appreciation?

Oh wait, I don't get a check. My kids get Medicaid and WIC.
But that's not the point.

(FYI: the terms "welfare" and "Food Stamps" are technically dead.
For many years now, the actual terms are TANF, Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families, and SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
If you're going to hate something at least call it the right thing)

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This one has been another big one on facebook.
There is a concept out there which lots of folks do not
seem to be acquainted with, the notion that
"Two things sometimes appear to be the same thing,
but if you take about 2 seconds to look closely
you find out they are not in fact the same thing."
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Again, thanks to you, Almighty American Worker, savior of the world
(oh wait, that was Jesus), let me humbly prostrate myself
before you and give you personalized, individual thanks for all
your efforts on behalf of my children and me. 
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 This is the most decidedly un-Christian sentiment I have heard in quite some time. Good luck, dude or dudette that considers this amusing; hope you are never alone and scared
 and you know, poor, in a foreign country that does not utilize your language of origin.
My tip would be to be born in America and say a lot of prayers anytime
you step foot outside the country. Otherwise I guess you are screwed. 
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Ah, pregnant adolescents. Aren't you proud of yourself 

for this, distancing yourself from ... children ?  

And as a self-appointed member of the

Punctuation Squad, I'm calling you out

on the "mom's" thing. 

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If you are also a fan of the WWJD bumper stickers,
 I would suggest pasting one of those over this. ******************************************

You can guess my issue with this one, right?
While the delightful phrase "baby daddy"
has unfortunately become ubiquitous 
across cultures, to me this is pretty
explicitly racist. 
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Ah, compulsory sterilization.
That's always a step forward.
Nice.