Trailer What?

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Friday September 11, 2015 · 11:30 AM PDT

2015/09/11 · 11:30

I am offended by the term, "trailer trash," and I am surprised by the number of times I have seen that term being used here, on Daily Kos.

I live in a trailer. No big deal. I lived in my car for awhile, when I was pregnant, so it's actually a step up for me. Many people live on the streets, under bridges, in homeless shelters across this country. Are they trash? Are people trash? I don't think so. It's a convenient way to sweep poverty-stricken Americans under a big rug of "you're not important to me," but if you want to get real about it, we're a large group of people, and you are, on average, a paycheck away from joining us.

According to the U.S. Catholic Bishops and their anti-poverty program, about 46.2 million Americans are living in poverty right now. That's 1 out of every 6 people. And 1.6 million American children lived in a homeless shelter at one point or another in the past year.

I wish they all had trailer parks in which to live. My neighbors are some of the nicest people you could ever meet. I'm talking about senior citizens, for the most part, three of whom loaned me their cars when mine broke down. My neighbor to the right is an ex-con who will help anyone, anytime. My neighbor to the left is a union laborer who has helped me a number of times with plumbing issues. Some of my neighbors are veterans, and, like me, they can't afford to buy a house, or would just prefer not to. Does that mean that we are less important?

To the 1%, most of us are peasants, whether we live in trailers, condos, houses or no place in particular, but I kind of expect that attitude from the obscenely wealthy. They can't relate to being powerless and poor. But from Liberals and Progressives, it's not too much to ask for a little respect, is it?

I read a diary today about Kim Davis, written by Jerry Nelson. I don't know Jerry or what his deal is with trailer parks. I don't know if Kim Davis even lives in a trailer park. Don't care, really, and I didn't hide-rate the diary, offensive as it was to me, because I am about as anti-censorship as a person can get. Controversial ideas and opinions don't scare me. I was raised by a racist, sexist, incestuous and ignorant father. I'm a survivor and I don't shrink in the face of opposition any more. I will, in fact, fight to the...point of being physically harmed...for another's right to speak.

It is, however, within my rights to speak back to this type of verbal oppression and the vilification of my people, and so I will.

Fuck off, haters.

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