Does this man know what it's like to have to decide whether to pay the light bill to keep the heat on, or buy food to keep from starving to death?
Has he ever had to allow a dog or other animal companion die of a treatable illness because there was no money for a veterinarian's trip, and he was too chickenshit to put her out of her misery himself, so all he could do is sit there beside her and wait for her to die? Has he ever had to give up a beloved cat or dog or horse because he no longer had the money to take care of them (thank you, TJ)?
For that matter, has he ever had to sit in a hospital ER with a mother with four broken ribs and a shitload of ruptured disks for more than eighteen hours, waiting for a chance to see a doctor because neither of you can afford insurance, with the staff treating you and everyone else in there without insurance as GOMERs? Or sat in one in mortal agony himself with a massive infection for the same reason, and finally left because after a day he was too exhausted to wait any longer, and they were no closer to seeing him? Or had to beg antibiotics and lifesaving meds from someone else because you couldn't get them yourself (Thank you, Holli)?
Has he ever had to bum rides because he had a car that he couldn't fix, because he didn't have the money? Has he ever had to schedule his entire life and go to work, school and to pay bills on someone else's insane, harried schedule until he had the money to replace whatever busted (thank you, Leland)?
Has he ever had to decide which of any number of essential goods--like basic fucking communication--and services to do without, because he only had the money for one of them at the most? Has he ever had to move out of a comfortable house he couldn't afford to keep and into an old, decrepit mobile home filled with dust from disintegrating fiberglass insulation that damaged his eyes, skin and lungs, sagging, crumbling floors and holes that he honestly didn't have the money to properly fix, located in a neighborhood where even the city water is barely fit to drink, where his nearest neighbors are meth dealers with a couple of completely random murders every week, because that was the ONLY place he could afford? Has he ever had to sell off precious, irreplaceable personal possessions to pay for food and heating/cooling?
Has he ever had to apply for public assistance just to keep food on the table and be treated like human garbage as a result and told that he needs to get a real fuckin' job, never mind the fact that he HAS a fulltime job (both he AND his spouse do) that he can't quit because there is literally nothing better nearby and anything better would require him to drop everything and move hundreds of miles away, he doesn't have the money to move in the first place and even if they DID it's STILL not a sure thing? Has he ever had to send his kids to eat at someone ELSE'S table because he honestly can't put enough food on his to feed his entire family (thank you, Linda)?
If he answered "no" to these questions, he can shut the fuck up. His idea of suffering is buying bargain salmon and selling a couple of motorcycles he can't even be bothered to ride anymore. He literally has no idea how other people are forced to live. Real life would fucking eat him.
