May Just Posts

Holly and I are pleased to share the May Just Posts, the latest installment of the social justice blogging roundtable. This month’s collection of posts cover a range topics. Poverty. Racism. Sexism. Marriage equality. There are also several posts about the impact of health concerns and health care.

Each month, I’ve been sharing a song that speaks to topics of social justice. The song I’ve chosen this month is “Dust Bowl” by 10,000 Maniacs, a title fitting for these lean times being dubbed the “Great Recession.” Natalie Merchant gives voice to a mother struggling to make ends meet for her family. The illness of her daughter leads to additional hardship due to loss of work time and medical costs:

My youngest girl has bad fever, sure. All night with alcohol to cool and rub her down. Ruby, I’m tired, try and get some sleep. I’m adding doctor’s fees to remedies with the cost of three day’s work lost.

I try and try but I can’t save. Pennies, nickels, dollars slip away. I’ve tried and tried but I can’t save. The hole in my pocketbook is growing.

Sadly, many families can’t afford adequate healthcare for their children. SCHIP programs exist to provide insurance to children in low income families. However, many families still fall through the cracks, as they neither qualify for those programs, nor can they afford other insurance options. (For a very personal and eloquent account of these issues, please go read Kyla’s recent post.)

(The sound quality isn’t great in that video. Someone has posted the studio version, as well. )

Please go pay a visit to the blogs below, and encourage the bloggers to keep speaking out (well, keep writing out) for social justice. Let them know that their voices matter to you.

The May Just Posts:

• Becky at I‘m Just Sayin with Racism? Really?
• Claudia at The Bottom of Heaven with Creative Freedoms and the Not Now Book
• Erika at Be Gay About It with Fingerprints make a family and day of decision
• Girlgriot at If you want kin, you must plant kin with Roundup and Please tell me
• Her Bad Mother with Humanity I Love You
• Holly at Cold Spaghetti with You don’t want to meet the new boy in town and Pondering Fate
• jen at One Plus Two with Everyday Piscasso and school daze and at Blogher with Bird by Bird
• Julie Pippert at Using My Words with Women with Big Dogs (and infertility)
• kittenpie at Life of ‘Pie with No Less
• Matt at Matt, Liz, and Madeline with yesterday…
• Mouse at The Mouse’s Nest with A pre-Blogging for LGBT Families Day rant
• Neil at Citizen of the Month with Proposition 8 and the California Supreme Court
• Paul Newnham at Give a damn about poverty? with Fairtrade fortnight begins and What is going on in Canberra?
• Skye at Heroine Content with On Anachronisms, Sexism, and Reality
• thordora at Spin Me I Pulsate with I’m sorry, is The Mother’s Act trying to help women? My bad…
• wrekehavoc with Guilty Pleasure Monday: Goodnight Saigon Billy Joel
• Zack Ford at Zack Ford Blogs with Why the Prop 8 Decision Inhibits Equality
• Zoom at Knitnut with Warts, wars, and the language of cancer

readers:

de
girlgriot
jen
painted maypole
alejna
Holly

Please also drop by to see what Holly has to say this month.
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