Winter, Cars, Jackasses, and Bumper Stickers

I only agree about 10% with people that say that "Winter and snow is so pretty." It's not. It's a pain in the neck, and I would swear on my life that it makes people stupid. It is only pretty if you don't need to leave your home, and you can sit inside at your window and gaze at it, or if your kids are old enough to send them outside to play in it while you stay inside and watch them.

My 30-40 minute drive to and from work has been taking me an hour or more, and by the end of that drive I am mentally and physically exhausted. Not from the bad road conditions, but instead from the incredible amount of defensive driving one has to do. People are such idiots. IDIOTS I say. If you see an accident happen right in front of you, why would you proceed to pass by the incident and then speed up and drive even more recklessly than that person. How can people driving on the highway pass no less than 12 cars in ditches, medians, or smash-ups, and then continue to drive as if it were summer?

So, then I get to my parking garage--which is a story in itself, **shudder**. This garage is about a quarter- to a half-mile from my work building, and it is connected to the city of Rochester's municpal buildings (court, police station, etc.). Cops park their personal cars here, so you'd think it would be fairly safe. Well, it's not. It is dark, filthy, and is home to several homeless people that beg for money by sneaking up to you when you get in your car, and then knocking on your window. They use the walls of the garage as their bathroom. It is such an awful way to begin the day.

And then, one day on my way to the outside, I walked by the gated area in the garage (where the judges and DA's get to park), and I see this bumper sticker on a car (a Lexus SUV, to be precise):

If you can't feed 'em, don't breed 'em.

At first glance, I thought it was an ASPCA bumper sticker, you know, promoting spaying and neutering your pets. But no, this sticker has stick figures drawn on it, so now I'm sure it is regarding people. I felt a huge surge of anger well up inside me. So you need to pass a solvency test to have kids?! That is such an elitist, ignorant attitude.

You'd better check out the poverty level and then the median income for families, because according to New York State figures, I earn above poverty level and I still qualify for state aid to "feed 'em [my kids]." And state aid to provide them with health insurance. And my oldest child isn't even counted in those figures! I understand the need for reasonable moderation, for example, if someone is unemployed I, too, don't think they should have 8 children and continue to get pregnant. However, it is wrong, wrong, wrong to deny a law-abiding but poor adult the right to have a child. Let's face it, the child very well may be the only good thing in their life. If they take care of the child physically, mentally, and emotionally, then all is good. Even if others' tax money is handed to them in the form of welfare or WIC checks. That's called being a decent human being.

Ack, sometimes I just get so mad about the state of this country. I don't choose to be "poor," receive state aid, or to live in a mobile home. In fact, I did everything "right" so it wouldn't happen to me: I got good grades, went to college, got my Master's Degree, did my extra-curricular activities, and have a great work record. But there's not enough jobs here that pay a true living wage so that I wouldn't qualify for aid. If I waited to have kids until the day I earned "enough," I could very well end up being past child-bearing age.

Ok, I'm all done for now. Be kind to other people, please.