Hard Times: May 2009 Archives

Like my AWEARNESS colleague David Alm I, too, am of mixed feelings about the idea of selling one's virginity. On the one hand, "Natalie Dylan," the aspiring California grad student selling her virginity, has ultimate ownership of her experience. Who are we to tell her no? Still, the fact that wealthy businessmen are always and invariably the ones with the means to purchase such an experience from a person in financial want should give one pause. Over and over again, this wealthy businessman-young woman dynamic is at play in this complex sexual situation and it is frankly, to this blogger, more than a little bit creepy. This ultimate act of capitalism -- and it is, make no mistake about it -- raises questions about the commodification of sex that are certainly discussion-worthy.

In the case of Natalie Dylan -- a pseudonym, by the way -- the reason for her selling her virginity has evaporated. Graduate school tuition was the stated reason for selling a sexual relationship at the Moonlite BunnyRanch. The anonymous millionaire, however, who offered six figures for the "deflowering" forfeited his non-refundable deposit -- no pun intended. He may have gotten cold feet, or, as it has been hinted, he has reconciled with an ex-wife. Whatever the case, Natalie has free money.

Here's where things get confusing. Natalie Dylan still wants to go through with the sale and is looking for more offers. Why? Minus the percentage of that $250,000 deposit going to the house, Dylan has more than enough to walk away and fund her graduate studies. Dylan could take her cut, call it a day, and thank her lucky stars. Why is she still up to selling her virginity to a kind of creepy stranger since she has already achieved her financial goal without having to -- pun intended -- go through the motions? We emailed BunnyRanch proprietor Dennis Hoff who responded, "She has a book documentary and movie that needs an ending."

[Image: The Improper]

Last week the president's new credit card legislation became law. Granted, reform of financial industries and especially credit card companies has a ways to go. That having been said, there is delicious schadenfreude in this video from FunnyorDie. It's sort of how one imagines credit card execs -- including one laughing with a mouth full of half-masticated steak -- reacting to the president's new rules.

Much has been written about soup kitchens -- particularly nowadays -- solving the immediacy of hunger, if only for a moment. There are other hungers more difficult to address. What about, for example, the human need to be seen and heard by others? What about the impulse to express oneself through the act of creation? Those are problems that cannot be solved by a bowl of soup.

Award-winning author and New Yorker contributor Ian Frazier resorted to higher mathematics when describing the 15 readers at the final installment of the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen Writer's Workshop on Wednesday night. "They come in as a point and after developing an interest in their writing they add another dimension and become a plane, to use a geometric metaphor." The occasion of Frazier's speech, at Holy Apostles Church in Chelsea in NYC, was the annual reading of the workshop. Soup kitchen participants will have spent three hours on Wednesdays in April and May expressing themselves through writing, building to this day -- a public reading of their work, being seen an heard by a large audience. The readings, which covered topics as varied as "What is love," to the nostalgic "1954," to one guests obsession with UFOs and another's dreams of moving to New Hampshire and drinking champagne (done via an alias), were unusually rich. Powerful. Perhaps it is the hard life experiences and the exhilaration of being listened to that made for such an interesting evening.

From Frazier's New Yorker account of the annual "afterparty":

"When the reading is over, everybody gets something to eat--there's a spread of sandwiches and soft drinks provided by the soup kitchen--and the writers and the audience mingle. The people who attend the reading may be Holy Apostles parishioners, soup-kitchen donors, editors, arts administrators, students from other writing programs, clergy of various kinds, curious passersby. Soup-kitchen alumni from workshops in past years sometimes show up and fill us in on where they are and what they're doing now. Sometimes we talk about people from past workshops whom we haven't seen for a while, or about the ones who came only a few times and then were never seen again--names like Lisa, Wayman, Smokey, White Mike, Coleman, Rashid, Blue, Luis, Rosa . . . The alchemy of writing gives everybody who's been in the workshop an extra dimension: along with possessing a name and a face, each is also the particular person who wrote whatever. Somehow, writing even a few lines makes the person who does it more substantial and real."

Or, in geometric terms, the difference between being a point and being a plane. An anthology of the writers' work is available here.

[Image: The New Yorker]

Based on your successes to date, what steps do you think the Obama Administration can or should take to help eradicate homelessness over the next four years?

President Obama should build on the vision he has of a holistic approach to programs for the poor, just as he has articulated a holistic approach to a failing economy. We cannot band-aid the divisions, the economic disparity of our country. It will require all of us to pull our will, our passion and compassion, and our power as a united community to bring about significant change. Similarly, we cannot solve the complex problems of homelessness in our lifetime without a comprehensive strategy to break cycles of dependency by addressing the total needs of individuals and families.

Maryland became the first state to include the homeless as a protected class under its hate crimes statutes on May 7. A person convicted of an attack on a homeless person in that state will be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison, in addition to other penalties related to that crime.

Maryland's new statute comes as documented attacks -- many lethal -- against the homeless have steadily risen nationwide. The trend of violence has been most acute in Florida, where more than one fifth of the country's homeless attacks took place in 2007, according to statistics compiled by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

The perpetrators of this violence are often teens and young adults. In Florida, where hate-crime protection for the homeless is also on the legislative agenda, the National Coalition for the Homeless teamed with AmeriCorps Vista to set up speakers' bureaus around the state. The goal of that program is to have people who are or who have been homeless share their experiences with young people so that their humanity, vulnerability and need for respect and safety will be recognized.

Other states that are considering hate-crime legislation for the homeless include Alaska, California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio and Texas. Two bills that sought revision of federal hate-crime laws, H.R. 2216 and H.R. 2217, were submitted but did not emerge from committee in the 110th Congress.

Representatives of advocacy groups have said that hate-crime legislation is needed and welcome, but their top priority remains the end of homelessness and the economic and social policies that contribute to it. That work seems more pressing now as families lose homes to foreclosure, encampments for the newly homeless appear in cities across the country, and existing services for the homeless come under greater strain.

[Image: Richard A. Lipski/The Washington Post]

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch, and if Mayor Bloomberg has his way, there'll no longer be any free beds either.

The City government quietly announced that it will begin charging residents of homeless shelters for their keep, as much as 50% of whatever income they have from minimum-wage and often unstable jobs. Those without any income at all? They'll still have a place, for now, if they can find one -- the city's shelters are overcrowded as it is, and if they start privileging those who can pay, it seems likely that those who can't will be turned away.

The law is actually more than a decade old, but has not been enforced until now.

Of course it hasn't: doesn't it seem rather counterintuitive to so heavily tax people who are just trying to get themselves back on their feet? If a fast-food cashier makes $800 per month and has to shell out nearly $400 to stay in a shelter, how will she ever get out of the shelter?

With only about $400 left, and the persistent need to eat and clothe herself, she won't. And in the long run, she'll be an even greater burden on the social services that are already stretched dangerously thin.

In a related story, one of New York's last remaining flophouses along the Bowery -- once a derelict street strewn with garbage and junkies, now home to high-end hotels and expensive boutiques -- is likely to be razed, turning out some elderly men who have lived there for decades.

The Whitehouse Hotel, which rebranded itself 10 years ago to attract backpackers and other young travelers, charges less than $10 per night and looks like something out of Jacob's Ladder. But at least it has a roof and running water -- amenities its year-round residents might not have in their future digs.

[Image: Librado Romero for the New York Times]

This image was taken in market streets adjacent to Lahore Fort, Lahore, Pakistan. I came across these gypsy kids sitting on a shop's pavement in front of a mosque, begging. The deserted setting really encouraged me to take some upclose portraits but the elder girl was reluctant and I had to move away to a dark spot to take this shot. These poor kids live their lives on the streets begging and their generations have lived in utmost dire conditions. Efforts need to be done to support them and their families so they can be a better part of the society.

Roughly 77% of all animals in shelters across America are killed each year. This is a startling statistic that I wish could be minimized. It may be true that one person alone cannot have a huge impact on societal change, but that one person can help advocate a cause. Which is what I aspire to do. As Americans are feeling the downturn of our economy not just people are paying the price, companion animals are too. About 68% of American households which translates to about 70 million homes have companion animals and due to human irresponsibility, over 10 million accidentally bred animals end up in shelters and rescues. Due to economic difficulties, real estate foreclosures, job losses and increased pet health bills, animal shelters have seen a 74% increase just this last quarter of turned in animals. Shelters across the country see anywhere from 10-20 animals being turned in and in Nashville, Tennessee, Animal Control euthanizes 60 dogs a day because of overcrowding.

In truth, when the economy goes down so does human happiness and hope. Economic uncertainty can foster depression, anxiety, restlessness, and lack of sleep among others for anyone experiencing hardship and psychiatrists have reported an increase in patients seeking help with depression and often times with worsening symptoms. The Suicide Prevention Hotline had also reported a 36% increase in calls from those seeking solace. That's about 545,851 calls.

Those are just some of the facts of what is going on today. However, in troubled times you wouldn't throw out your ill son or daughter just to save money, would you? The same should be an example for your companion pets. For every action there is a positive and negative reaction. I have stated the negative reactions but now I want to address the positives. Perhaps you know of someone suffering through depression; animals reduce depression and anxiety in people and bring a smile to everyone's face. While at an early age animals can also teach people about love, loyalty, responsibility, and help improve our own health as well as theirs. Having a companion animal helps lower blood pressure in humans and assists in balancing cholesterol levels. The Humane Society had also found that survival rates for victims of heart attack have increased if the person has a companion pet. Companion animals are even used as the hands, eyes, and ears of a special needs person that could have physical or mental disabilities, enabling that person to interact with everyone around them normally. Some animals are also mediums of animal-assisted therapy, helping patients in hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers develop and regain sensory and mobility aspects and improve physical health.

There are those, like me, for whom it isn't possible to adopt homeless animals. Many pet rescues have a foster care program, one can volunteer to take in a seized, turned in or abandoned animal and find a good home for it. By being a foster "parent" this minimizes the increasing numbers at shelters and lessens the likeliness of euthanasia due to overcrowding and the pet has a chance to live in a home rather than a cage. Although many pets in rescues are maltreated, they also need a temporary caregiver, a chance to get better before they are ready to be adopted. If you cannot be a foster mom or dad a few things you can do to help out are by donating mint-condition bed linens, towels, and blankets to shelters and pet rescues along with food, toys and clothing. For the crafty, hands-on helpers, sewing blankets and toys is also a welcomed gift. This maybe too much for some people as well, but even by offering a rescue to babysit foster animals while foster families are out, walking dogs (speed walking your dog everyday for 30 minutes promotes weight loss), taking needy animals to the veterinarian and back and even help find homes for animals by interviewing possible families that are willing to adopt.

Kenneth Cole put out an ad addressing social awareness to the homeless issue with a one-liner, "Have a heart give a sole," encouraging customers to donate gently worn shoes to the homeless. I would say, "Have a heart, adopt a soul" because animals also are part of the homeless too and no one, other than your significant other will love you unconditionally than your companion pet.

To find opportunities to help animals in your area, visit the Kenneth Cole Volunteer Now page.

[Image: Animal Care & Control of New York City]

The death knell is rung: The Boston Globe, the primary newspaper serving the Boston metro area, could cease to exist within 60 days if the paper's owner, the New York Times Co., can't reach an agreement on concessions from its largest union, the only remaining holdout. The prospect of shutting it down has seemed imminent for months. Still, many people in Boston have held out hope for their local rag.

I was in Boston two weeks ago, and I asked my hosts -- a married couple who've lived in Boston for 10 years -- about the word on the street regarding the Boston Globe. They both said that despite all the talk of shutting it down, neither of them believed it would happen -- and their view, they said, seemed to be the consensus among their friends and colleagues.

This is big news, of course, if not necessarily earth shaking. But what will happen if the wrecking ball continues to swing on the national newspaper industry, and other major papers like the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times itself are taken out in the near future?

True, like most people I get much of my news online -- but I also agree with Edouardo Porter's Op/Ed for the Times from a few months back, in which he provided some compelling evidence for why newspapers -- the kind on real paper with real ink -- are critical in the crusade for social justice. Without them, who will watch the watchmen?