Is life worth living or should I blast myself?

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Is Life Worth Living or Should I Blast Myself? This week’s piece Is Life Worth Living or Should I Blast Myself?, first appeared in the blog Poe Man’s Dreams which narrates some of the miseries and experiences of everyday life for people with few resources. This particular story is an account of being a juvenile delinquent and having to live with a family who had a multitude of issues. Check it out below. (In case you’ve missed it, we also posted Exhibit A from the same author a few weeks ago.)   Trigger warning: Accounts or discussion of suicide, sexual assault, self-harm, drug abuse and physical abuse Read More

Exhibit A

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Exhibit A   This week’s piece Exhibit A, first appeared in the relatively new blog called Poe Man’s Dreams which narrates the miseries and experiences of everyday life for people with few resources. Check out the story below. Introduction to Poe Man’s Dreams, a blog about experiencing ‘the struggle‘ in the American Midwest. It’s like I’m trapped in a maze walk around in a daze I won’t rest ’til I’m paid or I’m down in my grave I wanna look tough, but my sneakers is scuffed Everyday pants in the week is enough I had a little money, but it came and it went Now its either pay the rent or stay in a tent And it don’t make sense how the shit is intense And all you got up in your pocket is lint, you get the hint? I had a cigarette for breakfast, just for beginners Pride for my lunch and sleep for dinner I tried to go to church, priest called me a sinner He called me everything, except for a winner I’m walking in the rain wishing things would change It ain’t a game, man I pawned all the rings and chains Emotionally scarred from losing my job Pass the nod nigga, times is hard –G. Dep “Everyday” (featuring Faith Evans & Meelah) Read More

Being a Woman Organizer Isn’t Easy

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A mural image showing (left) A member of the IWW or “Wobblies” trying to organize the Maine woodsmen and The Textile Workers and a mural image depicting (right) Young women were often sent to the mills by their families, who could not, or would not support them. REUTERS/Judy Taylor/Handout March was International Women’s Day and the IWW celebrated it with a special issue of the Industrial Worker. It’s worth reading the whole thing via the Industrial Worker here and you can get a subscription via this link if you want to support it and see more writings like that. Much of the time discussions around organizing center on what keeps us from winning or building the union up to those fights. There’s less discussion around things that prevent workers from becoming their own radical agents, particularly in gendered terms. The article we’re running today comes from Miami, Florida and was published in the Industrial Worker. It’s a personal account of one organizer’s journey to becoming a committed IWW, and how she has seen race and gender play a role in her life. Though only one snapshot of these big issues, contributions like this give us a window into deep forces at play in our work and neighborhood lives, and are things we hope IWWs can continue thinking around and fighting for an alternative.  from Luz Sierra This past year I became politically active. I went from being completely unaware of the existence of radical politics to doing organizing work in Miami with an anarchist perspective. It has been both a rewarding and difficult journey, yet gender seems to haunt me wherever I go. I am probably not the first woman to experience this, but I believe that I should demonstrate how this is a real issue and provide my personal insight for other women to have a reference point for their own struggles. Read More