The Lack Thereof

Presented without commentary, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep: Except it’s a 30 year old conspiracy theory book

Disabled Person: YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER FOOL!

The United States Government:

In order for disabled people to receive any sort of financial assistant for their housing, food, bills, medical supplies, etc., they cannot ever have more than $2,000 of resources to their name. Ever.

It doesn’t matter what it’s for.

You’re saving up for a new wheelchair?

For college?

To put a downpayment on a house?

Hell man, you just happen to budget for once in your life so that you can have some extra money in case something bad happens?

Your benefits immediately get cut off if you’re a cent over $2,000.

And, even worse, you usually end up having to pay back every dollar the government gave you that month.

So say you get $400. If they find out you’re twenty dollars over the resource limit, you have to give them all $400 back and you undergo an investigation of your funds to see if you will continue getting money.

“What if I spend the money that day?”

Doesn’t matter. In fact, from what I can tell, people who do this are actually put under investigation for fraud.

before the movie came out, Marvel gave him an exclusive preview screening. SOme people were upset because they felt if Marvel was really wanted to thank mantlo, they should have donated money to Mantlo’s family.

Sometimes, at the end of the month, he has no idea what to do with his money because the whole month went by and he still has 400-ish bucks in his account, and he fucking panics because he doesn’t want to get anywhere near 2,000.

And here’s the funnest part of the story!

One day he did a huge commission on Second Life and wound up earning 1500 bucks off of it, and he told the guy to donate it 500 bucks at a time over 3 months. The guy didn’t want to, and just donated all 1500, which put my brother at 2,036 bucks.

The state IMMEDIATELY (I’m talking less than an hour) called him up to tell him over the phone that they were canceling his SSI, because they noticed he had gone over the 2,000 buck threshold. He had to tell them that someone had made a charitable donation to him and that this was not a common occurrence in any way shape or form, and upon not believing him, my mother had to call to talk to them as his legal caretaker and say basically the same thing until they called off the cancellation of his SSI money.

He also had to cancel his renter’s assistance because it put him to 1,062 a month, so if he went 30 days without spending any money they’d cancel his SSI altogether. Like, none of us in the family have any fucking clue why that regulation is in place and it’s the stupidest shit in human history.

I go to festivals in my area where lots of indigenous people (namely First Nations or Salish) are. A lot of their tents have the stereotypical fetishing native art incorporated into a product somehow and it makes me a little forlorn, but there isn’t much I can do but be sad. Now that’s a part of a bigger issue I can’t get into now, but you see the problem.

Art from all nations needs to be recognized.

I bought art from a creator named Harmony Hoss. She was so friendly and she sells her art at Pike’s Place in Seattle as a Tlingit woman. Tell me her formline isn’t absolutely gorgeous. But she goes so unrecognized because people are so unimpressed with her hard work.

Sa-Cinn - https://sa-cinn.com/ - Northwest Coastal-based native business that showcases different artists who make a variety of items such as prints, blankets, jewelry, and drums.

Dancing Blackbird - https://dancingblackbird.com/ - Native hat-band artist based in Arizona. (https://etsy.me/2ES5FDi)

Shotridge - https://shotridgenativeamericanart.com/ - Family-owned Tlingit art business. (https://etsy.me/2EOXXtt)

Harmony Hoss - http://harmonys-art.com/ - Tlingit traditional artist who sells prints online and in Pike’s Place, Seattle. (https://instagram.com/hoss.harmony?igshid=fmqf1v8fjpic)

Thunder Voice Hat co - https://www.thundervoicehatco.com/ - Non-mass produced Navajo-made hats. (https://instagram.com/thundervoicehatco?igshid=qee5nrj3sx0g)

Ahyoka Studio - https://etsy.me/2Zo9ucx - Oji-Cree creator of keychains, earrings, and stylized dreamcatchers. (https://instagram.com/ahyokastudio?igshid=mzkx8liuives)

Earth Maidens Emporium - https://etsy.me/399rAn7 - Jewelry and stylized dreamcatchers made by a Cherokee man and his partner.

Nipinet - https://instagram.com/nipinet?igshid=1f5o0z2i288bx - Anishinaabe Métis tattoo artist (& a mutual of mine. 🖤)

David Robert Boxley - http://davidrobertboxley.com/ - Tsimshian artist. (https://instagram.com/davidrobertboxley?igshid=jktg991on3tm)

Spiderstitch - https://instagram.com/spiderstich?igshid=1eehi5qj4qnds - Mexica-Wixárika artist who handmakes beaded earrings.

John Isaiah Pepion (Instagram link)- Blackfeet contemporary ledger artist who also has earrings, phone cases, and blankets on his site which is linked on his IG bio. My fave t-shirt is from one of his pieces back when he was first testing out merch and he ran some off. I’m still crossing my fingers and trying not to hit him up like “this would be dope on a shit” every time he posts a new piece

The Chief’s Daughter (Instagram link) - Karli Crow Shoe a Pikanii/Blackfoot/Nez Perce designer who focuses mainly on beadwork; she does a ton of custom works and is influenced heavily by Niitsitapi culture for sellable work

Bunky Echo-Hawk (Instagram link) - Pawnee/Yakima visual artist and visual performer. You’ve probably seen his work floating around Cyber NDN Country even if you’ve never heard of him; he’s the one who painted Yoda as a Pawnee that one time years and ages ago. He sells prints and stickers on his website where there’s a link in his IG bio; he’s pretty popular but Imma always feel like everybody needs to know Bunky’s work

Tumblr’s own resident Bear But Not Really That Kind, @baapi-makwa who’s Insta link is here. An Ojibwe artist working almost exclusively with ink and pens, there’s a link to his Patreon in his bio as well

Kiamichi who is on and off tumblr as @mahtheyzhawey and can be found on Instagram here and is an amazing beadwork artist from the Ponka and Chahta Nations. She made my sweet ass piece with the big ol coyote medallion got me lookin like my cousin on Tribal Council and shit

The Cauldron & The Crown (Instagram link with a link to the shop in the bio) - BlackNDN Tsalagi jewelry maker whomst is on here as well but tbh I can only remember their personal blog and not their arty blog which is my fault but to keep it a hunnid, @crouchingtiger-hiddennegro is funny as hell and I have no room in my heart for anything else

Needle Knot And Thread (Instagram link) - May’s a textile artist from the Tsalagi Nation and makes such dope lil embroidery samples, earrings, patches, and quilt squares n stuff! There’s a link to an etsy shop in the bio

Ali Watson (Instagram link) - an Oglala Lakota jewelry maker who’s also a cool person! My fave pair of earrings was made by Ali! The turquoise ones with the dentalium drops; there’s a link to a main website in the bio

Panda Moon (Instagram link) - Y’all remember that dope beaded moon pin I got not too long ago with the little bat dangle? The homie Jennifer made it! She’s Southern Cheyenne and beads jewelry and pins. She could REALLY use the capital right now as she’s in a financially dire situation having recently escaped a horrible situation. If you don’t want to buy anything from her which, why wouldn’t you but that’s none of my business; there’s a link to her GoFundMe on her bio too!

Project 562 (Instagram link) - Matika Wilbur from Swinomish and Tulalip Nations. Now, she’s a photographer so this isn’t strictly the kind of art that we’re discussing BUT I feel it’s super important to include her because Project 562 is about photographing Indigenous People BY an Indigenous Person FROM an Indigenous perspective. It’s about reclaiming imagery, narrative, direction, and power that was written for us by the Olde Timey white ethnographers like Edward S Curtis

JUSTIN, READING A QUESTION: I was getting my Munch Squad on at McDonald’s breakfast after work. When I sat down for my feast, a guy walked in the door, looked at me, and said, “Idiot can’t even make his own pancakes. How pathetic.”

JUSTIN STARTS LAUGHING

GRIFFIN, SERIOUS: Don’t laugh at that! 

JUSTIN LAUGHING

GRIFFIN: I mean, it’s - it’s a -

JUSTIN, STILL LAUGHING: Let me finish!

GRIFFIN: It’s a power play.

JUSTIN TRIES TO SPEAK BUT HE’S INCOHERENT.

JUSTIN, THROUGH HYSTERICS: He saw someone just eating breakfast at McDonald’s, and then - he sat down to eat, a guy walked in the door, looked at them, and said “idiot can’t make his own pancakes, how pathetic” and then WALKED BACK OUT! What is -?! What?!

SOMEBODY CLAPPING, TRAVIS AND GRIFFIN CRACKING UP IN THE BACKGROUND

JUSTIN, STILL THROUGH LAUGHTER: What is this - what is this fucking mysterious assassin? Um. “I tried to enjoy my meal, but all I could taste were dejection and tears. How can I track this guy down, explain how restaurants work, and project the image of a man who definitely understands the process of making pancakes to every stranger I encounter?” And that’s from Hobbs. 

JUSTIN DEVOLVES INTO MORE WORDLESS LAUGHTER

GRIFFIN: Here’s the thing. This thing this person did was… wrong, but also I think very funny maybe also?

JUSTIN TRIES TO INTERJECT.

GRIFFIN: Because, I mean, the alternative is that you walk into a Pizza Hut and you’re like, “All these fucking idiots don’t know how to make their own pizza. Bye!”

JUSTIN, LAUGHING: It’s very funny!

HE RECOVERS, THEN SAYS:

JUSTIN: I think a nicer - there’s a nicer way of doing this. Here’s the nicer, amazing way of doing this: walk into McDonald’s, see someone eating a stack of pancakes, hand them a recipe for pancakes, and then walk out the door.

GRIFFIN: Now doing - that’s a sweet way of doing - you’re right Justin, this is the MBMBaM way of doing this. 

JUSTIN: That’s the nice way to do it.

GRIFFIN: You walk in and you hand them a recipe for pancakes, and you say -

JUSTIN: So hilarious.

GRIFFIN: - And you say, “For next time”. 

JUSTIN: “For next time, try this! Go for it.”

GRIFFIN: “And it’s fun!”

JUSTIN: “Hey, it’s fun.”

TRAVIS: I wanna be -

JUSTIN: “And if you do it wrong, they’re crepes.”

GRIFFIN: “It’s fine.”

TRAVIS: I wanna be in the head of the person who’s walking by McDonald’s, sees someone eating a stack of flapjacks, and is like, “I gotta go in there and say something”. 

JUSTIN: “I gotta get ‘em. I gotta get ‘em.”

GRIFFIN: Fucking double parts.

TRAVIS: Just both of them, a lot of McDonald’s, rolls out -

JUSTIN, LOWERING HIS VOICE: “Hey, Victoria, just go around the block. I’m just gonna be a sec.”

[CROSSTALK]

TRAVIS: No, you don’t understand, you don’t get it, you don’t get it - I’m not getting anything in there.

JUSTIN: I think they went in wanting to buy something, and then they just had a -

[CROSSTALK]

JUSTIN: “They have pancakes here?! You can do this at home!” Listen, I know we try to keep it nice on this show, we try not to be mean… this is maybe the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. 

JUSTIN STARTS LAUGHING AGAIN

GRIFFIN: It’s the best.

JUSTIN: I’m trying so hard not to be entertained by this. 

GRIFFIN: It’s not funny that you got bullied, and it’s not funny that this person’s an ass - what’s funny is the idea of walking into a restaurant, just already pre-angry that people here are eating things that they can just as easily make at home. 

TRAVIS AND JUSTIN LAUGHING

TRAVIS, HIGH PITCHED: It’s just so good!

JUSTIN: It’s so good, though! [THROUGH TEARS] Oh, man. 

GRIFFIN: Do they walk into auto-body shops like “change your own oil! Idiots!”

TRAVIS: “Idiot doesn’t even know how to do a triple bypass!”

GRIFFIN: Oh, dumb.

JUSTIN SNIFFLING.

JUSTIN: Wow. It’s just very mean, but very funny.

TRAVIS: I mean, it’s real-life trolling. That’s exactly what it is. 

GRIFFIN: Yeah.

JUSTIN: Yeah!

GRIFFIN: Well, then I’m not - and now you’ve ruined it. Now I’m not for it anymore.