My brief experience with the foster care system.
When I was about 8 years old my mom got into her second DUI and my brother and I were sent to foster care.
I still vividly remember a social worker asking us how old we were and then saying "Oh you won't even remember this when you're older." as if the trauma would somehow entirely wash away with adult-hood. Though my memory sucks, the pain remains.
I remember pulling out of my school because the janitor was yelling at me to pull the keys out of the ignition but when I looked to my mother she told me not to pull them. I remember being scared and confused but ultimately listening to my mother, as most children would. I didn't pull the keys. My mom began to drive us home and smashed head on into another car, taking off the front end. She somehow got charged with "death of a child" even though I was very much alive and not even physically hurt. She later got this asponged.
We got put into multiple homes before finding a perma(ish) home.
I am not sure why it was decided that my brother and I should stay in this final home, it was the worst of several. The previous 2 homes were simply uncaring but the home they decided we should settle in was neglectful and abusive. The parents would intentionally lie when our parents called and tell us we got no calls. I remember sobbing into my pillow, 8 years old, wondering why my mom hadn't called. Turned out she did, every single day. She took 3 buses to see us and she turned her entire life around to get us back. She was told she would be lucky to get us by the time we were 18 but she got us in about a year.
I felt so out of place in this new school with these foster "siblings" that treated me like crap. They were not nice to us and didn't like us and neither did anyone in the school. I was scared and I didn't know how to act or what to do. I tried to keep to myself while getting through the school day. I felt out of place but I did nothing to make myself stand out more than I already did as the foster kid.
My mother got their license taken away after hearing of their abuse.
I was lucky to not be horribly physically or sexually abused in foster care but I was psychologically abused and neglected. The foster parents used to force us to eat leftovers from the week that they would spread on a hoagie with peanut butter, just gross random old food all mushed together with peanut butter, it was stomach-turning. It would have been easier to just give us leftovers, they purposely made it very unpleasant. They would lock us in a room at the end of the week while they took their biological kids out to eat at a nice place and we ate the leftover concoction. This was a a clear case of a couple taking money for foster kids and profiting. They locked us in a room and took the money while not providing us with basic care. It wasn't just my brother and I, they had many kids.
They would make us all get dressed up and train us on what to say on the days when social workers came to check in. We did what we were told, because we were young, traumatized, and scared, scared of being put in yet another home, or being abused worse than we had been.
It was a very traumatic situation to live with adults that were telling us constantly that our parents didn't want us. We believed them because we were so young and we were taught to listen to adults. So for the year I lived in foster care I was pulled back and forth. My mom would visit and say how much she loved me and give me toys and my foster parents would throw the toys away and tell us how our mom didn't even want custody of us again. It was confusing and scary. The only good memory I have from foster care was corn that was sold from the trunk of a car. We were in a kinda ghetto Mexican neighborhood. It was such awesome corn. Buttery, and all different flavors. Usually they wouldn't let us get any but once or twice, they did. I still try to recreate that corn on the cob.
They not only neglected us and lied to us about our mother calling, I remember the mother telling me while I cried that my mother simply didn't care and wasn't coming back for me., but they also stole our belongings. Including some really sentimental things. My mom ended up taking it to court and getting their license taken away. As much as I have to be upset and disappointed for when it comes to my mom, I am really proud of her for doing that and for working so hard to get us back so quickly. She told me that the foster parents glared at her in the court room. I wasn't present.
I will always remember that janitor screaming at me to pull the keys from the ignition and I will always feel somewhat responsible for not stopping the crash. No people were seriously injured in the wreck. My mom did get serious jail time and fines that lead our family into extreme poverty. I still miss some of the things they stole from me, mainly the marionette clown that my mom's best friend gave me before she was murdered.
Photos:
Child alone:
https://pixabay.com/en/boy-child-playing-happy-kid-477013/
Heart wrenching story. I hope you have been able to get the help you need to lead a normal life. All the best to you and your family.
Well., my family was toxic and abusive but I am learning to live my life healthily. Thank you. <3
The Disease of Political Correctness (Featuring @kyriacos as author)
8 hours ago by dragonslayer10967 in anarchy
Defining Hypocrisy
Political Correctness is the way we treat each other in order to avoid being offensive. The term fails since being offensive is something subjective that depends on one’s culture, ethics and personal experiences. Nonetheless many people are drawn towards this form of behaviour. Learning how to speak and act properly in order to be accepted comes hand in hand with ideas of positive thinking, positive energy and other self worshipping illusions. No wonder “The Secret” was such a hit of a book. The comfiness of modern life has soften our character. Even if we are going through so-called ‘economic crises’, here in the west we have a place to sleep, food to eat and water to drink—something that billions cannot enjoy on a daily basis. Most people on this planet struggle in terms of life or death in order to survive. I wonder how many “positive energy” individuals have the balls to preach to a starving child in Africa that his situation is such because he attracts “negative energy”. This is not only bullshit but downright inhumane.
Self Destruction
We have managed to incorporate this politically correct mantra in our relationships and managed to reinforce it through cosmopolitan level articles that urge us to detox our social life from all this negativity or what it comes to be—reality itself. The trend is sculpting people who are way too sensitive with everything that goes on with their lives. We are nourishing our inner Paris Hilton so others can cater to out “positivism”. I wonder, why after so much positivism we are still popping up pills like M&M’s?
The News and Social Media have changed their rules of conduct, removing all “negative commentary”. We demand this new lingo so much that our friends, coworkers and even politicians and leaders have become liars, hypocrites and crooks. The average perception craves political correctness and this is exactly what we are getting.
It has become a symbol, a flag. There is surge of group creation across all domains. People are demanding “rights” as if one group suffers more than the other. One group ends ups We end up stripping the freedoms from another for the sake of security, imprisoning each other under the shackles of governmental control. Why do you think humans suffer so much from loneliness even if we are connected than ever? Why do you think we visit therapists to talk about identity crisis or our problems with the rest of the world? We wear so many politically correct masks that we have lost track with reality. “Positive Energy” as if life is the green valley with my little pony. We have become spoiled brats accusing the world for “patriarchy” “sexism” “human rights” “corruption” “fat shaming” turning all the arguments against one another since everybody carries their own ideology. What a circus. Nobody can take any offense anymore.
Wake Up Call
I understand that we have always wore some kind of mask and behaved in some kind of politically correct way more or less. Nobody denies this. As humans living in complex societies this is rather a necessity. Today though the phenomenon has turned people against their own self. We might see for example a group of 5 people sitting in a coffee shop sunked in their mobile screens liking each others’ posts as if all that takes place in another dimension. Turn your head some degrees left and you witness a girl taking 500 selfies on her balcony so that she can choose the best one; gathering the maximum amount of likes-even if she knows that she doesn’t look like that in real life. And then we wonder why we pop pills and complain why people cannot see “who we truly are”. We are committing personality suicides. We sacrifice our identity in order to become accepted. We sacrifice our freedom of expression for the sake of safety. We demand only positive things, shoving reality under the carpet whether that is the TV, social media and magic pills. The very profession of the psychologist exists because we cannot be real with any other. Therapists are friends on payroll. We wouldn’t want to cause any “negativity” in our friend circle or show any form of “weakness”. right? We have become an avatar, a by-product of political correctness. One can either be real and suffer the social consequences or forever absorbed into the this ocean of absurdity.
@kyriacos
https://steemit.com/anarchy/@dragonslayer109/the-disease-of-political-correctness-featuring-kyriacos-as-author
I knew a girl who was in and out of foster care from a young age. Her mum was a heroin addict and used to get her to do runs for her. She was a really nice person though. I think sometimes hardships can make one a stronger, better person.
Yeah I vividly remember my mom doing meth with me in the house when I was four and taking me to try to get crack when I was 12. More stuff I plan to write about. <3
wow its crazy what can happen in life
It is but I am realizing I have a unique perspective worth writing about. :)
The Disease of Political Correctness (Featuring @kyriacos as author)
8 hours ago by dragonslayer10967 in anarchy
Defining Hypocrisy
Political Correctness is the way we treat each other in order to avoid being offensive. The term fails since being offensive is something subjective that depends on one’s culture, ethics and personal experiences. Nonetheless many people are drawn towards this form of behaviour. Learning how to speak and act properly in order to be accepted comes hand in hand with ideas of positive thinking, positive energy and other self worshipping illusions. No wonder “The Secret” was such a hit of a book. The comfiness of modern life has soften our character. Even if we are going through so-called ‘economic crises’, here in the west we have a place to sleep, food to eat and water to drink—something that billions cannot enjoy on a daily basis. Most people on this planet struggle in terms of life or death in order to survive. I wonder how many “positive energy” individuals have the balls to preach to a starving child in Africa that his situation is such because he attracts “negative energy”. This is not only bullshit but downright inhumane.
Self Destruction
We have managed to incorporate this politically correct mantra in our relationships and managed to reinforce it through cosmopolitan level articles that urge us to detox our social life from all this negativity or what it comes to be—reality itself. The trend is sculpting people who are way too sensitive with everything that goes on with their lives. We are nourishing our inner Paris Hilton so others can cater to out “positivism”. I wonder, why after so much positivism we are still popping up pills like M&M’s?
The News and Social Media have changed their rules of conduct, removing all “negative commentary”. We demand this new lingo so much that our friends, coworkers and even politicians and leaders have become liars, hypocrites and crooks. The average perception craves political correctness and this is exactly what we are getting.
It has become a symbol, a flag. There is surge of group creation across all domains. People are demanding “rights” as if one group suffers more than the other. One group ends ups We end up stripping the freedoms from another for the sake of security, imprisoning each other under the shackles of governmental control. Why do you think humans suffer so much from loneliness even if we are connected than ever? Why do you think we visit therapists to talk about identity crisis or our problems with the rest of the world? We wear so many politically correct masks that we have lost track with reality. “Positive Energy” as if life is the green valley with my little pony. We have become spoiled brats accusing the world for “patriarchy” “sexism” “human rights” “corruption” “fat shaming” turning all the arguments against one another since everybody carries their own ideology. What a circus. Nobody can take any offense anymore.
Wake Up Call
I understand that we have always wore some kind of mask and behaved in some kind of politically correct way more or less. Nobody denies this. As humans living in complex societies this is rather a necessity. Today though the phenomenon has turned people against their own self. We might see for example a group of 5 people sitting in a coffee shop sunked in their mobile screens liking each others’ posts as if all that takes place in another dimension. Turn your head some degrees left and you witness a girl taking 500 selfies on her balcony so that she can choose the best one; gathering the maximum amount of likes-even if she knows that she doesn’t look like that in real life. And then we wonder why we pop pills and complain why people cannot see “who we truly are”. We are committing personality suicides. We sacrifice our identity in order to become accepted. We sacrifice our freedom of expression for the sake of safety. We demand only positive things, shoving reality under the carpet whether that is the TV, social media and magic pills. The very profession of the psychologist exists because we cannot be real with any other. Therapists are friends on payroll. We wouldn’t want to cause any “negativity” in our friend circle or show any form of “weakness”. right? We have become an avatar, a by-product of political correctness. One can either be real and suffer the social consequences or forever absorbed into the this ocean of absurdity.
@kyriacos
https://steemit.com/anarchy/@dragonslayer109/the-disease-of-political-correctness-featuring-kyriacos-as-author
My heart breaks for your little girl self. Hugs to her, and to you.
Thank you. <3 (hugs) My heart breaks for her sometimes too. I almost look back on my little self as a mother, wanting to offer her comfort.
The Disease of Political Correctness (Featuring @kyriacos as author)
8 hours ago by dragonslayer10967 in anarchy
Defining Hypocrisy
Political Correctness is the way we treat each other in order to avoid being offensive. The term fails since being offensive is something subjective that depends on one’s culture, ethics and personal experiences. Nonetheless many people are drawn towards this form of behaviour. Learning how to speak and act properly in order to be accepted comes hand in hand with ideas of positive thinking, positive energy and other self worshipping illusions. No wonder “The Secret” was such a hit of a book. The comfiness of modern life has soften our character. Even if we are going through so-called ‘economic crises’, here in the west we have a place to sleep, food to eat and water to drink—something that billions cannot enjoy on a daily basis. Most people on this planet struggle in terms of life or death in order to survive. I wonder how many “positive energy” individuals have the balls to preach to a starving child in Africa that his situation is such because he attracts “negative energy”. This is not only bullshit but downright inhumane.
Self Destruction
We have managed to incorporate this politically correct mantra in our relationships and managed to reinforce it through cosmopolitan level articles that urge us to detox our social life from all this negativity or what it comes to be—reality itself. The trend is sculpting people who are way too sensitive with everything that goes on with their lives. We are nourishing our inner Paris Hilton so others can cater to out “positivism”. I wonder, why after so much positivism we are still popping up pills like M&M’s?
The News and Social Media have changed their rules of conduct, removing all “negative commentary”. We demand this new lingo so much that our friends, coworkers and even politicians and leaders have become liars, hypocrites and crooks. The average perception craves political correctness and this is exactly what we are getting.
It has become a symbol, a flag. There is surge of group creation across all domains. People are demanding “rights” as if one group suffers more than the other. One group ends ups We end up stripping the freedoms from another for the sake of security, imprisoning each other under the shackles of governmental control. Why do you think humans suffer so much from loneliness even if we are connected than ever? Why do you think we visit therapists to talk about identity crisis or our problems with the rest of the world? We wear so many politically correct masks that we have lost track with reality. “Positive Energy” as if life is the green valley with my little pony. We have become spoiled brats accusing the world for “patriarchy” “sexism” “human rights” “corruption” “fat shaming” turning all the arguments against one another since everybody carries their own ideology. What a circus. Nobody can take any offense anymore.
Wake Up Call
I understand that we have always wore some kind of mask and behaved in some kind of politically correct way more or less. Nobody denies this. As humans living in complex societies this is rather a necessity. Today though the phenomenon has turned people against their own self. We might see for example a group of 5 people sitting in a coffee shop sunked in their mobile screens liking each others’ posts as if all that takes place in another dimension. Turn your head some degrees left and you witness a girl taking 500 selfies on her balcony so that she can choose the best one; gathering the maximum amount of likes-even if she knows that she doesn’t look like that in real life. And then we wonder why we pop pills and complain why people cannot see “who we truly are”. We are committing personality suicides. We sacrifice our identity in order to become accepted. We sacrifice our freedom of expression for the sake of safety. We demand only positive things, shoving reality under the carpet whether that is the TV, social media and magic pills. The very profession of the psychologist exists because we cannot be real with any other. Therapists are friends on payroll. We wouldn’t want to cause any “negativity” in our friend circle or show any form of “weakness”. right? We have become an avatar, a by-product of political correctness. One can either be real and suffer the social consequences or forever absorbed into the this ocean of absurdity.
@kyriacos
https://steemit.com/anarchy/@dragonslayer109/the-disease-of-political-correctness-featuring-kyriacos-as-author
"I still try to recreate that corn on the cob." ... No words.
I just want to unpack that last bit about the clown marionette, the only thing worse than marionettes, are clowns. the only thing worse than clowns are marionette clowns. yet this was your prized possession. I'm sorry I am not qualified to unpack that. Did the clown have voodoo on it or something to get it's previous owner murdered? I'm sorry that was inappropriate, I'll shut up now.
hahahaha It's okay. I actually collect clowns and wonder if it's all linked to losing that one as a kid. :)
This is a blockbuster that just keeps writing itself. Not to make a spectacle of your hardships but you could probably make a very successful horror movie about all this.
Marionette Clown Horror Part II: The Collection
"All we wanted was to bring mum corn like when she was a child-besides, it was for their own good!"
I like the horror movie idea, I will try to pitch it. But.. who should direct it?
No idea. I don't know many horror directors. I just hope they make the clowns cute and sweet but they don't bat an eye when they kill. They could even try to save someone that they didn't intend to kill but then they just make things worse by using a sewing machine and sawdust stuffing which would be reasonable cause that's how they get fixed when they break.
LMAO, brilliant!!
yeah, I agree with you that the money quote of the post is:
"mainly the marionette clown that my mom's best friend gave me before she was murdered."
The Disease of Political Correctness (Featuring @kyriacos as author)
8 hours ago by dragonslayer10967 in anarchy
Defining Hypocrisy
Political Correctness is the way we treat each other in order to avoid being offensive. The term fails since being offensive is something subjective that depends on one’s culture, ethics and personal experiences. Nonetheless many people are drawn towards this form of behaviour. Learning how to speak and act properly in order to be accepted comes hand in hand with ideas of positive thinking, positive energy and other self worshipping illusions. No wonder “The Secret” was such a hit of a book. The comfiness of modern life has soften our character. Even if we are going through so-called ‘economic crises’, here in the west we have a place to sleep, food to eat and water to drink—something that billions cannot enjoy on a daily basis. Most people on this planet struggle in terms of life or death in order to survive. I wonder how many “positive energy” individuals have the balls to preach to a starving child in Africa that his situation is such because he attracts “negative energy”. This is not only bullshit but downright inhumane.
Self Destruction
We have managed to incorporate this politically correct mantra in our relationships and managed to reinforce it through cosmopolitan level articles that urge us to detox our social life from all this negativity or what it comes to be—reality itself. The trend is sculpting people who are way too sensitive with everything that goes on with their lives. We are nourishing our inner Paris Hilton so others can cater to out “positivism”. I wonder, why after so much positivism we are still popping up pills like M&M’s?
The News and Social Media have changed their rules of conduct, removing all “negative commentary”. We demand this new lingo so much that our friends, coworkers and even politicians and leaders have become liars, hypocrites and crooks. The average perception craves political correctness and this is exactly what we are getting.
It has become a symbol, a flag. There is surge of group creation across all domains. People are demanding “rights” as if one group suffers more than the other. One group ends ups We end up stripping the freedoms from another for the sake of security, imprisoning each other under the shackles of governmental control. Why do you think humans suffer so much from loneliness even if we are connected than ever? Why do you think we visit therapists to talk about identity crisis or our problems with the rest of the world? We wear so many politically correct masks that we have lost track with reality. “Positive Energy” as if life is the green valley with my little pony. We have become spoiled brats accusing the world for “patriarchy” “sexism” “human rights” “corruption” “fat shaming” turning all the arguments against one another since everybody carries their own ideology. What a circus. Nobody can take any offense anymore.
Wake Up Call
I understand that we have always wore some kind of mask and behaved in some kind of politically correct way more or less. Nobody denies this. As humans living in complex societies this is rather a necessity. Today though the phenomenon has turned people against their own self. We might see for example a group of 5 people sitting in a coffee shop sunked in their mobile screens liking each others’ posts as if all that takes place in another dimension. Turn your head some degrees left and you witness a girl taking 500 selfies on her balcony so that she can choose the best one; gathering the maximum amount of likes-even if she knows that she doesn’t look like that in real life. And then we wonder why we pop pills and complain why people cannot see “who we truly are”. We are committing personality suicides. We sacrifice our identity in order to become accepted. We sacrifice our freedom of expression for the sake of safety. We demand only positive things, shoving reality under the carpet whether that is the TV, social media and magic pills. The very profession of the psychologist exists because we cannot be real with any other. Therapists are friends on payroll. We wouldn’t want to cause any “negativity” in our friend circle or show any form of “weakness”. right? We have become an avatar, a by-product of political correctness. One can either be real and suffer the social consequences or forever absorbed into the this ocean of absurdity.
@kyriacos
https://steemit.com/anarchy/@dragonslayer109/the-disease-of-political-correctness-featuring-kyriacos-as-author
The Disease of Political Correctness (Featuring @kyriacos as author)
8 hours ago by dragonslayer10967 in anarchy
Defining Hypocrisy
Political Correctness is the way we treat each other in order to avoid being offensive. The term fails since being offensive is something subjective that depends on one’s culture, ethics and personal experiences. Nonetheless many people are drawn towards this form of behaviour. Learning how to speak and act properly in order to be accepted comes hand in hand with ideas of positive thinking, positive energy and other self worshipping illusions. No wonder “The Secret” was such a hit of a book. The comfiness of modern life has soften our character. Even if we are going through so-called ‘economic crises’, here in the west we have a place to sleep, food to eat and water to drink—something that billions cannot enjoy on a daily basis. Most people on this planet struggle in terms of life or death in order to survive. I wonder how many “positive energy” individuals have the balls to preach to a starving child in Africa that his situation is such because he attracts “negative energy”. This is not only bullshit but downright inhumane.
Self Destruction
We have managed to incorporate this politically correct mantra in our relationships and managed to reinforce it through cosmopolitan level articles that urge us to detox our social life from all this negativity or what it comes to be—reality itself. The trend is sculpting people who are way too sensitive with everything that goes on with their lives. We are nourishing our inner Paris Hilton so others can cater to out “positivism”. I wonder, why after so much positivism we are still popping up pills like M&M’s?
The News and Social Media have changed their rules of conduct, removing all “negative commentary”. We demand this new lingo so much that our friends, coworkers and even politicians and leaders have become liars, hypocrites and crooks. The average perception craves political correctness and this is exactly what we are getting.
It has become a symbol, a flag. There is surge of group creation across all domains. People are demanding “rights” as if one group suffers more than the other. One group ends ups We end up stripping the freedoms from another for the sake of security, imprisoning each other under the shackles of governmental control. Why do you think humans suffer so much from loneliness even if we are connected than ever? Why do you think we visit therapists to talk about identity crisis or our problems with the rest of the world? We wear so many politically correct masks that we have lost track with reality. “Positive Energy” as if life is the green valley with my little pony. We have become spoiled brats accusing the world for “patriarchy” “sexism” “human rights” “corruption” “fat shaming” turning all the arguments against one another since everybody carries their own ideology. What a circus. Nobody can take any offense anymore.
Wake Up Call
I understand that we have always wore some kind of mask and behaved in some kind of politically correct way more or less. Nobody denies this. As humans living in complex societies this is rather a necessity. Today though the phenomenon has turned people against their own self. We might see for example a group of 5 people sitting in a coffee shop sunked in their mobile screens liking each others’ posts as if all that takes place in another dimension. Turn your head some degrees left and you witness a girl taking 500 selfies on her balcony so that she can choose the best one; gathering the maximum amount of likes-even if she knows that she doesn’t look like that in real life. And then we wonder why we pop pills and complain why people cannot see “who we truly are”. We are committing personality suicides. We sacrifice our identity in order to become accepted. We sacrifice our freedom of expression for the sake of safety. We demand only positive things, shoving reality under the carpet whether that is the TV, social media and magic pills. The very profession of the psychologist exists because we cannot be real with any other. Therapists are friends on payroll. We wouldn’t want to cause any “negativity” in our friend circle or show any form of “weakness”. right? We have become an avatar, a by-product of political correctness. One can either be real and suffer the social consequences or forever absorbed into the this ocean of absurdity.
@kyriacos
https://steemit.com/anarchy/@dragonslayer109/the-disease-of-political-correctness-featuring-kyriacos-as-author