Hear me out.
What if all the evidence in the world doesn't matter to your legislative majority? What if study after study shows research, and it's purposely ignored to push through laws that further oppress minorities and poor, disproportionately?
Why else would ALEC-funded money pour into states with Republican majority? Why drug-test the poor, over and over, to get the same, ignored results? Who, exactly, would be benefitting from repeating this shit? Read the text of SB387 here
Who owns these drug-testing companies? Who gets to dole out federal TANF funds to the poor, and who gets drug tested and who does not? Do business owners receiving federal subsidies get tested to receive these? And again - who decides? And who pays for these costs for this testing, that is (likely) going into someone's pocket?
This whole set-up reminds me of my ole psychiatrist, Mark Agresti, from Florida. He spent some decent time in federal custody for running a racket exactly as it being proposed against the poor in West Virginia. Although ole Mark targeted substance abuse and rehab federal funds, those in charge get a little irritated when you're working their own racket and getting greedy. Read more about him here
What if the people tasked to care for and represent us are using us all as a money-making scheme to get themselves ahead? What if all the evidence presented on the planet won't change a national attitude of fucking over others, because getting ahead is more valuable to a chunk of the population? How do we eradicate this attitude, if this is behind what's keeping others from having medicare-for-all, $15/hr wage, affordable housing... true, genuine changes that could create tangible ability to rise out of poverty? Are they trying to help people get out of poverty or are they dreaming up ways to keep them there? What if the reason that meaningful legislation doesn't get past committee is because we have so few true "representatives" that give a single shit, that they're no longer pretending to care, and people are so scared of this possible reality, that they just keep repeating performative actions that make them feel busy and helpful "fighting" this actual oppression? Does this "hamster wheel feel" of being busy keep true grassroots organization from succeeding?
Read about failed drug testing in West Virginia in the past here .
Read about failed drug testing in Florida the past here .
I can list articles like this from across the nation, but I am smart enough now to know that posting it to legislators who aren't trying to hear me is a waste of my time. How do we fix this?
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