Looking for people willing to share their hard luck stories.

[frankowen7]

I’m going to be compiling stories of people hit by today’s economy, i.e., loss of job or home, etc. People that have fought against corporations, being frustrated and generally putting a face on the quoted statistics.

All personal information will be kept confidential, per agreement and will only be used for verification. The storytellers, for all stories picked for publication, will decide the degree of anonymity.

I’m recruiting on DU because there are good people here. Better odds of finding honest people than off other sites.

Please drop me a message if you are serious and would like your story told.

.

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Kick and rec for attention. n/t

[frankowen7]

2. Thank you!

[norepubsin08]

3. I've got one about not having health insurance

it started in 1992 and is still a part of my life today...does it fit with your criteria?

[20score]

9. Meant to reply to the OP, Good luck.

[frankowen7]

10. It certainly does. Anyone who's serious can start by dropping a line in my mailbox.

Thank you.

[Juche]

4. Do we post here or email

[frankowen7]

12. Drop a line in my inbox, then I'll give you my private email address.

[question everything]

5. I dunno. With both Obama and McCain raising records amount of donations

with DU moving toward $125K for Obama, with $600K flowing into Tinklenberg in 48 hours - I have to wonder whether people are really suffering.

I have stopped making political contributions. If I do find extra $25, or so, it goes to the local food bank and homeless shelters and the Red Cross.

[Juche]

6. Americans spend more on gum than political donations

Almost $200,000,000 a month on gum. Obama, in his greatest fundraising month ever ($151 million in september) that will shatter how money plays a role in our democracy, raised $50 million less than we spent on gum in September.



Here is another fun fact. We spend about $100 billion/year on beer. So we spend more in a month on beer in this country than we spent in the entire 2008 election cycle on all sides and all levels (federal, state, local, GOP, democrat, green, libertarian, primaries, general election).

Priorities.

[galileoreloaded]

19. Yes, but beer help me to forget the constant barrage of election coverage. n/t

[Cerridwen]

42. "I have to wonder whether people are really suffering."

You're kidding, right?

Let me guess, you can take 49 people making $5/hr and one person making $1000/hr and average that out to "hey, it's okay, the average wage is $24.90/hr" and actually believe that's indicative of the "average" wage earners' wages.

[Robbien]

7. There have been threads by people who lost their jobs, but many don't post anymore

Their last posting is usually saying goodbye because they can no longer pay internet fees.

So be aware that your story of online posters may be a bit skewed because those who have fallen on real tough times are no longer online.

[TooRaLoo]

8. The thought of them no longer being here is so sad.

:( I wasn't expecting that.

[frankowen7]

11. That really sucks! I hate to hear that.

[NNN0LHI]

13. Yep the poor really have no voice. Not even on the Internet

They never have.

Don

[daggahead]

14. Go to Bernie Sanders' website for downloadable book ...

THE COLLAPSE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/files/middle-class-booklet%20.pdf

[frankowen7]

15. Have to keep kicking.

In order for this to work. Sorry if that's bad form, but it's a different type of post.

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. ...

:kick:

[frankowen7]

17. kick

[frankowen7]

18. Kick again.

[KG]

20. laid-off 2 months ago.

I work(ed) in the resdiential building world. credit dried up and people that wanted work done couldnt get a loan. and part of the problem was the owner was a close-minded greedy idiot.

I noticed that the office is down to the owner and secretary and have moved their office.

[frankowen7]

21. Addendum. I'm going to have a chapter on health-care problems.

Thanks to all who respond. I feel that personalizing and bringing out into the open the problems people are facing, is the first step in solving those problems. These things can and do happen to anybody.

Thanks,

John

[frankowen7]

22. kick

[pacalo]

23. What will you be doing with the stories, once compiled? A book?

[frankowen7]

25. Yes, exactly.

[JNelson6563]

24. K&R for a refreshing change!

Someone looking to shine a light on others! A nice change from all the needy, attention seeking personal posts littering up GD currently.

Good luck with your project.

Julie

[frankowen7]

26. Thank you.

[Greyhound]

27. Kicking... n/t

[frankowen7]

29. Thanks!

[frankowen7]

30. And another kick.

[undeterred]

28. I will pm you.

[frankowen7]

31. So far there have been a couple of responses, and I was right.

I can tell these people are legit. I came to the right place. I will probably still have to go to Craigslist, but the people here will be much more trustworthy as a group.

[frankowen7]

32. Kick.

[King Coal]

33. kick

[Robbien]

34. Perhaps you could go over to DU's poverty forum and try there

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=230

The few responses you have gotten is not surprising as I can see this as something in which few people would want to participate. Talking about it somehow makes it more real.

[suede1]

35. I'll kick it.

[frankowen7]

36. Thanks.

[frankowen7]

46. Kick

[DangerDave921]

37. What are you saying about DU?

That they are a bunch of poor people trampled by life? Why specifcally come to DU to find hard luck stories?

[frankowen7]

38. Did you read the post? Here's a quote from it:

"I’m recruiting on DU because there are good people here. Better odds of finding honest people than off other sites."

I'm also going to Craigslist and I'm sure to get more hits from that site, but there will also be more people that aren't being honest, which means un-necessary work for me. So, I came here for quality, not quantity. And people are hurting everywhere, I don't understand how someone can be insulted.
But also, this is my favorite site. I have another alias, with a lot of OP's, so I didn't want everything I've ever said, that may not have been Republican friendly, so to speak, distracting from the book.

Also, no one will know where I found the people who will be in the book. (Besides myself and the person with the story.)

[frankowen7]

39. Anyway, there is absolutely no reason to take

offense; it is actually the highest compliment I could pay by coming here first.

[Cerridwen]

41. Um, do you realize that what you said and how you said it

sounded as though "poor people trampled by life" is an insult?

Did you mean to imply that?

[DangerDave921]

47. What insult?

[AngryAmish]

40. My wife, she died. In a field...

[Cerridwen]

43. Hi Frank.

I'll kick this up again. Maybe you can get more responses.

:kick:

[frankowen7]

44. Thanks! Very much appreciated.

[frankowen7]

45. Kick