AFFLUENZIA: A made up "mental illness" first described by the
blogger, Mark Raymond Ganzer. This illness occurs and manifests itself
in the upper-middle income class, the top 20% of money makers. The
illness is characterized by the holding as cherished and unshakeable
beliefs the following:
That poverty is contagious
That homelessness is contagious
That mental illness is contagious
As
a result of those beliefs, those people suffering from AFFLUENZIA spend
much of their time in the role of "gate-keeper," and while they may
generously support those who advocate and work for people living in
poverty (and frequently do), and while they may generously support those
who advocate for and work for homeless people (and frequently do), and
while they may generously support those who advocate for and work for
people who have been labeled "mentally ill" (and frequently do), under
no circumstances whatsoever would they EVER consider
Feeding a person (or persons) living in poverty a meal, served in the home of the AFFLUENZIAC, or
Putting up for a night, or a week, or a month a homeless person (or persons) in the home of the AFFLUENZIAC, or
Visiting
a dear friend or relative who has been involuntarily committed to a
mental hospital in the mental hospital. The dear friend or relative,
upon being released from the mental hospital is unlikely to ever receive
an invitation to visit the AFFLUENZIAC's home.
In this
manner, do the AFFLUENZIACS protect their home and family from the
great trifecta of life's school of hard knocks: poverty, homelessness,
and mental illness.
AFFLUENZIACS also protect their
established institutions (churches, schools, neighborhoods) from the
presence of the impoverished (criminalizing those who have no money;
labeling them vagrants; having the police tell the homeless to "hit the
road") from the presence of the homeless (again, labeling them vagrants
and leaving it to the police to pass along the message "hit the road,
Jack, and don'tcha come back no mo, no mo, no mo, no mo), and to further
protect these institutions from the presence of the mentally ill, again
by calling the police, having an ambulance come to check out the vitals
of the mentally ill one, shipping the mentally ill one to a medical
hospital for evaluation, then involuntarily committing the mentally ill
one to a mental hospital where, IF the mentally ill one is fortunate
enough to also be impoverished and homeless, they are covered by the
State of Illinois Medicaid plan, and thus the state can house and feed
them for up to seven days (five "working days" plus a two-day weekend).
AFFLUENZIACS are so totally unprepared to deal with such life events as:
(a) the loss of a job
(b) the acquisition of a terminal disease
(c) the loss of health insurance
(d) the loss of their home
(e) the emergence of a mentally ill family member
(f) a marital infidelity
(g) the loss of accumulated savings which had been entrusted to "a guy" who for years
had returned to them a very consistent 10% (during which time "the market" remained
stagnant) because he had a secret formula!
That
in the event of two or more such examples occurring shortly after one
another, that they freak out, become clingy, whiny, titty babies, and
frequently do themselves (and the rest of us) a favor by committing
suicide.
Thanks, Lord, for small favors.
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