But I Don’t Wanna Quit Twitter

I mean quitting twitter isn’t what it was. Twitter isn’t what it was, but it’s still my base. (Aside from this blog, this is my base but Twitter is where I am most of the time). Quitting Twitter is a luxury, moving to another site with different people different rules. Or most of the same people, but less pesky arguments. Though it does seem like a bit of an auspol wankfest and there’s barely any mention of Palestine on Bluesky and other places. Might be because there’s still a lot of Palestinians using X to share that they’re still alive and their fundraisers and they don’t have that reach on any other site.

Maybe.

Don’t look away. If you are going to make your way to a new site, find the Palestinian voices there and amplify their stories and pictures and make sure they’re not forgotten because you want to be someplace nicer.

Ned Kelly / Hamas poster
Not sure where I got this, trying to find the artist

This week has been quiet, trying to rest, trying to just potter around the house, do my little chore, scream about my usual things online. Played some sims. Rolled some marbles. Read some news.

Trying to figure out my routine, keep my lil community.

 

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You know some things just make you wanna scream but you’re tired?

CW Suicide and self harm etc

People are doing amazing work out there. The Antipoverty Centre filed their submission to the national Suicide Prevention Strategy. And it’s good. And you’ll read it and nod your head at the content and shake your head at the lack of action from governments and lip service from supposed support organisations. It’s here. There’s facts and stats and stories and it’s all there, screaming to governments to Rise the Rate of Welfare and build public housing and get rid of partner income tests to help people to get out of abusive situations and have independence within relationships. Agency is important and people are feeling helpless and are driven to despair. And suicide is certainly a more appealing option for some that continuing in a punitive welfare situation.

Thankyou for putting that together. And for acknowledging the frustration that people are experiencing with telling their stories over and over and pleading for the dignity of being listened to, when 2.5 years into government, they decide not to respond to the DSP inquiry since it’s been so damned long since the recommendations were made, which is certainly not one of the principles of TREATING PEOPLE WITH RESPECT that was recommended.

meanwhile, apparently social security debts from the seventies are fair game, even though 6 years was said to be plenty long back to expect people to defend debts. But you know, why respect the recommendations from millions of dollars and thousands or hours of paid and unpaid work by experts and lawyers and people on the ground. Fuck us, right?

It’s more than two years since that qanda episode where I got to ask about our dear Treasurer when things might get better, and really nothing has changed. Rent keeps going up, as does every other cost, including out of pocket GP expenses and more. But yeah. Go red team?

I’ve had to put some boundaries in place to help manage my sanity, I’m going to respect my bedtime and meds times more, even if that means other people have to do more for themselves.

 

Do you find my posts interesting? Please share them and consider supporting my efforts with a one-off or monthly dono.

Social media is “Real”

Twitter, where I live. I also work there. Crafting my posts for private and business accounts, 240 characters at a time, because I’m not paying for more, not under the current regime.

My friends live there too. Friends like Veronica, whose house burned down last night. A house I’ve been to. Met her children (including the youngest who wasn’t born quite yet), was picked up from the airport by her mum, and generally grew from young adulthood into with who we are today.

I didn’t have the internet til year 12, but that’s okay. We had forums then, and Neopets and other ways to socialise with other teens on proto-social media. The main forum I was in was run by a 13 year old girl from the Philippines. With people from all around the world. I experienced 9/11 through the eyes of my US Neopets friends, not quite grasping their grief. Hell, I made most of my Sydney friends through Ok Cupid – as potential dates and ongoing friends and colleagues.

I was bullied and was terrible to others well before social media was a thing. I went through eating disorder and self harm without the “bad influence” of the internet and the misfit teen I was would probably have loved to have found more friends and support through a Tik Tok or whatever in the 90s.

The kids figure it out. There’s not a need for a ban, they just need guidance and support like everything else.

And you know they’ll find a way around it Granpa.

 

The smell of an oily rag – lived experience advocacy in Australia

If I never have to smell wheel bearing grease again I would be very happy. Vile stuff, with a distinct smell. But with the dramas of repairing the Corolla, I’ve gotta whiff of it, or worse had to touch it, every couple of weeks while my partner solves the problem of whatever that noise is now in the car.

I’ve managed to get around to the things I’ve prioritised – paid HSC supervision, a couple of groups, but it’s been great to have it back – though there’s always just one more thing, and CV joints may be next.

After the Brereton crap this week, my post about the burden placed on the vulnerable to repeatedly share their trauma for no outcome was shared again, and I’m out of ideas on how to make it better for people, but money always helps. Making sure your talent‘s costs are covered and then their time and expertise is also compensated for. Would you pay another expert for their time? or is someone else covering their time – say if they’re already employed to do that work and be that voice of experience? That doesn’t usually happen for lived experience advocates. If they’re currently living the experience, then they’re likely to  be casually employed and/or on welfare.  They’ll have caring responsibilities – to themselves and to others – so the time you need them there will involve having to shuffle those responsibilities if that’s at all possible. How helpful is a carer’s week lunch for a full-time carer without support to make that time off happen? They may also appear unreliable having to cancel or running in late, or having to attend to family during a zoom meeting. They may have a panic attack and have to leave early, or seem unfocussed for whatever reason. But that’s the reality of lived and living experience. It’s messy. But it’s still valuable and raw and while it won’t give you a neat answer to your question, it’s worth figuring out how to incorporate into your work. Nothing about us without us is not just a slogan it’s essential for delivering services and support and changing policy and creating legislation and anything that involves real people and not just theoretical economics.

Pingers is running for parliament. He has the best of intentions and is using it to amplify his current work – calling out dodgy real estate agents and land lords. It’s a hard decision to make to participate in the system that is so messed up. He’s been critised from all angles – selling out and going for parliament, fundraising to cover his personal and promotional costs, having legal qualifications and his own property. But the tshirts are cool, subversive and a great way to support him if you can afford to.

The two organisations I work with – the Australian Unemployed Workers Union and the Antipoverty Centre – both use donations and grants to support unemployed and otherwise marginalised activists in their work. This can look like providing money to cover food, petrol  or transport or parking costs to be able to be involved in activism and actions. They pay the people with lived experience for their time and expertise as speaker or to contribute to the never ending parliamentary enquiries. They both also pay people in poverty to write articles reasonably regularly for the Power to Persuade blog.

For me, money above my DSP goes to things like buying EveryPlate meal boxes so that I don’t have to use my brain power too much to plan and make meals that are still pretty healthy and yum. If I head out to an event, I’m usually written off for the rest of the day, so money for takeaway and to keep my stash of instant cup noodles and so forth helps because “fed is best” also applies to your local antipoverty campaigners.

I’ve also get to buy things like better monitors for my PC so I can have more windows and tabs open and my new monitors allow split screens very easily with is great for having documents open while working on the social media side of things – either crafting a tweet for Nobody Deserves Poverty (I’m employed 3 hours a week to do that thanks to grants and donations to AUWU) or my personal twitter and blog.

My current phone is a hand-me-down off an amazing tweep so I cold give my last phone to my step-son-in-law or wherever he fits in so he could be contactable for his bub and for the thrill of engaging with Centrelink. Though it may not work after the 3g shutdown, I’m yet to hear.

So yeah, if you read a post that resonates with you, share the hell out of it. If you can afford to, track down the author’s tip jar or paypal and chuck them money for a drink or a meal. It’ll always be appreciated. My support page is here.

Everyplate. Buy me dinner

 

Born to receive a teeny tiny silver spoon from Ozharvest

Oh how lovely, the King and Queen are here. Yeah, much excitement. They made it all the way out rural Parramatta today to meet the RFS and CWA… Yes, they may have still been rural when Victoria was queen, but certainly not now.

OzHarvest awards Camilla with ‘most prestigious’ order of the teaspoon

Earlier on Tuesday, a delighted Queen Camilla accepted “the most prestigious order” ever bestowed by Australian food rescue charity OzHarvest – the order of the teaspoon – at its restaurant in Surry Hills this morning.

Pool reporters following the royals have described how the silver gift – a small brooch with a crown at the end of a tiny teaspoon – was presented to the Queen when she sat down for lunch at OzHarvest’s Refettorio restaurant with regular patrons who come for a free vegetarian lunch made from rescued foods.

When OzHarvest’s founder Ronni Kahn opened the box to show the brooch to the table, and travelling media, and present the “most prestigious order” – everyone in the small dining room oohed and aahed, loudly.

“I shall wear it with pride,” the queen said, smiling.

Camilla made her way to have a vegetarian lunch with OzHarvest, since they say it was made from the usual daily cookup of rescued food does that mean someone missed out? Where in the budget does the tiny silver spoon go? is it paid for by the labour of the Sydney Street Choir performing for $150/ticket which they will not see? I did ask on Twitter whether they were paying the choir members or whether they were just using them. Pay your fucking talent, especially if you’re exploiting their story and goodwill for your charity. Or will they get a tshirt and have to go back to the foodbank queue in the morning?

A photo of Lidia Thorpe in a Keffiyeh
Queen