my blessed thanksgiving ..

it's ' black friday '
and it is a black friday
seeing humans unhuman ourselves
behaving in the most animistic ways
threatening maligning injuring each other
for the sake of that Almighty $
that god
of which Jesus said
" you can't serve 2 masters at the same time
God
and Mammon "
   the demon of covetousness ..

the love of wealth is the root of all kinds of evil ..

... . . . . . . . . .     .

i was privileged
i sat at 2 well-laid tables
enjoyed delicious foods
communed with other humans ..
while theunhumans prepped for assault

the privilege derives from knowing there are 3,500+ homeless people in this county alone
although some had food
some didn't
and found it hard to find a place to lay their head ..
maybe under some bridge
or in bushes
or in an alley where they figured the authorities wouldn't find them ..
trying to stay warm

and there are over 600,000 of them in this country
and many many many many more around our world ...

i'd say i was highly privileged yesterday ..

and then i got to commune with some of them
around the table
listening to them touch on some of their history
my insides turning
my soul churning
as i heard of life in the bushes
fear of being killed by a husband
   every night ..
the mammoth injustice of a lawyer stealing 90% of an award
made to an officer of the law
after he was run over and dragged hundreds of feet
suffering severe injury
and near loss of his leg ..
one person's 20-medication diet
1 of which costs approx $600 a month
with an income of $1,100 ..
a homeless vet
who lost half of his insides to a bayonet thrust
now barely making it
...
and on and on and on ..
.....  . ..  . .   .

i consider my self highly privileged
to have spent my evening in the presence of such fine human beings
who are in the midst of dragging around their huge burdens

while the unhumans pushed and shoved and cursed and assaulted and ranover each other
for a tv
or an xbox
or whatthehellever
... . .. . .

i intend to put their stories out there
for all the world to see
and hear
and ruminate on

because we treat our fellowhumans like animals
and argue over whether they deserve to eat and drink and be clothed and warm
whether they should be able to live and move and have their being
like everybody else

we are ill
we have been indoctrinated
propagandized
by the moneyed and the media behind the capitalistic mindset
   that chases moremoremoremoremore

we have lost our soul

shame shame
shame

.. especially
particularly
most-of-all-ly
us who dare to label ourselves ' christians '
.. shame