I always wonder why people think that people that can't hold a job and or have a stable job because of disabilities and/or disorders are happy getting 'free' money.
I haven't met a person that's content with the way they are and what they make/get. It always baffles me a little, like where do they get this 'information' from. I'm pretty sure that in a lot of countries getting benefits doesn't mean you'll have a great life...

Wow what, people who fought for your country (regardless whether it was the right thing to do) shouldn't just be left in the cold. Especially not after what they have been through, what they have seen. I never quite understand that people suddenly become so heartless. Whether you agree with wars or invasions or whatever, people tend to forget that there are actual people involved who put their life on the line so others don't have too.

It sucks that people will only look at it from their point of view and see it as taking the easy way.

Which makes the people that do care, listen and help all the more great.

Republicans no longer have the numbers to win national elections. They hold onto power at the federal and state level by gerrymandering their districts to get the most amount of swing areas and isolate Democratic-leaning populations into one district--so you end up with most of the districts being red, but most of the people being int the one blue district. That's part of what happened in North Carolina.

Once they have their districts secure, it then benefits the Republicans to keep their constituents as miserable as possible so that they can encourage anti-Washington sentiment. So far, people who are furious with DC for not working have been very happy to blame the amorphous "establishment." Whatever that means anymore.

But yeah...if Republicans can keep their people too desperate to fight back and maintain district control at the state level, they can do whatever they want to make their donors happy. And that means treating the elderly and the disabled as expendable. After all, Trump (and now the Republican party as a whole) has a nationalist capitalist world-view. That's a toxic combination, historically referred to as fascism. In that system, bodies that cannot work to support the corporations are considered expendable--or worse, a burden on society.

It's a hard road with anyone who is labelled disabled... I have been for almost two years now. The first diagnoses was Major Depression and Social Anxiety. In October of 2015 I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder with anxiety. I have SSI, so I don't have to worry about my income as much, but it's still a struggle to make ends meet.

I look fine to other people, but that's because I hide from everyone while I'm down. I have had some minor euphoric bipolar episodes that have helped me communicate so much more with my family, but almost nothing is worth having Bipolar Disorder.
I have euphoric mania, angry mania, and depressed episodes. I feel like I'm flying while euphoric, but I do stupid things like make bad decisions and am dangerous to myself. Anger is anger. Depression is after euphoria or anger. I feel like I've crashed down to Earth, and I'm completely exhausted. I can hardly move. And most of the time (now that I'm fairly stable) I'm having a depressed episode. It's not as bad as after euphoria or anger mania, but I feel completely exhausted and demotivated to do much or anythings.

One of my longtime friends has talked about how she gets judged by people as well. She was with her husband, he was helping her walk. They had parked in the Handy-Cap spot. A rude man gave them a hard time because he didn't take the time to ask what was wrong. I understand his Mother needed a spot and that other people have taken advantage of the disabled plaques, but we shouldn't assume.

I was reminded last night that isolation is also a huge part of being disabled. I live in a rural area, and even though I know plenty of people who are disabled we don't really have an organized disabled community to engage with because there aren't any real services or organizations in our area to serve as a central place for community building. So even though there are plenty of disabled people, we're all isolated from each other. This becomes a problem. I think we can all understand why a community of disabled people is important emotionally--think how amazing it is/can be to be with a group of people who don't ignore you or talk down to you because of your disability, who understand your access needs, who can commiserate and share tips for getting better access...
But also, if we have community we can have a voice to advocate for ourselves. So when we don't have community, our needs go unaddressed and our lives as disabled people become invisible. This is the danger of isolation.

It was a heartbreaking realization, but I felt it was worth mentioning.

My son is considered disabled and he may never be able to live on his own or have a job. I also have a sister who has a severe medical condition that prevents her from being in warm weather, stressful situations, or even drive but it's not considered a "disability" without undergoing a test that could kill her to prove it. She's stuck relying on her parents care without being about to provide any of her own support.