I’m angry. The recent coverage of the Puerto Rico rescue effort has shown once again that the macrocosm and the microcosm are the same. As above, so below.
What am I talking about? Puerto Rico had to rely on non-governmental organizations, companies, and charities for prompt(ish) response to the hurricane’s aftermath. Government response was slow, reluctant, and inadequate—primarily due to poor administration. Puerto Rico received the same message as individuals who need help—due to abuse, homelessness, disability, and other personal disasters. They’re told that the government will help you. That there are charities and programs to help anyone who needs it. In reality, this is a myth.
And it’s a myth that badly needs busting.
Because most Americans believe this myth, they turn away from those in distress. Friends who need help are fobbed off with platitudes in the belief “I don’t need to help because there’s plenty of help out there.” The myth fosters the attitude that people in trouble can get out if they really want to; which means, conversely, if you’re in terrible straights, you must want to be there or be too incompetent to help yourself.
I have been a victim of domestic violence and other abuse. I believed the myth, so I went to all the appropriate government agencies. They told me they didn’t have enough funds, so unless I reached a horrific level of abuse where my life was in obvious imminent danger, unless I was willing to go to a shelter or become homeless, they could not help me. Charities and programs for disabled adults between eighteen and sixty-four are few and far between, and gave me the same answer. I had come under the dark side of another myth: adults between eighteen and sixty-four are in the prime of life and are healthy, productive members of society who don’t need assistance.
Even though study after study shows that abusers become worse over time and it is important to act quickly at the first signs, even though all of my doctors had documented the ways in which the toll of daily “low level” abuse drastically worsened my disability, depression, and general health, I wasn’t eligible to receive assistance. My personal disaster just wasn’t bad enough. My abuser was elderly, so laws protected his right to remain in his own home and he could not be removed. So much for the rights of other family members to live free from fear and abuse. I could not leave for the streets or a shelter because of my fragile health, disability, and service dog. Most friends didn’t offer practical assistance, mostly because they believed the myth that help existed and was easily obtainable.
I’m strongly reminded of this article by the BBC in which a family has no recourse to remove an extremely violent and dangerous adopted child from their home. Instead, the parents must enter a program for abusive parents (which these were not) in order to get any kind of help from the government.
Trump is treating Puerto Rico similarly, declaring that their disaster isn’t really bad enough to merit government assistance. At the same time, Puerto Rico has been in dire economic straights for some time. They hadn’t reached the point that society thought their disaster was bad enough, they should receive help. I hope a positive outcome of the recent hurricanes is busting some of the myths that create barriers for the neediest.
Dear readers, please help me bust these myths and the realities that give rise to them wherever you encounter them.
Recommended Further Reading:
Honeycomb's Hive 