the unwashed masses

For the sake of maintaining status quo in a representative democracy, especially in times such as these in which the possibility of direct democracy is entirely technologically feasible, it behooves the state to maintain and propagate the meme of the general public being ignorant, incapable, and generally offensive. A term such as the unwashed masses is an important weapon in such a memetic assault on the collective consciousness of the nation.

Even for people who have homes, there is still the digital divide; those who have difficulty meeting rent, and affording basic telephone connections, will not use computers.

Don't get me wrong, I am an advocate of democracy, but I am aware of the transformations television, and even radio have wrought on democracy, not all of them for the better.

It is the oligarchy, more than the government, which is its creature, that has manipulated this meme, and others, to frighten and bribe us into subscribing to another meme, among others, that we MUST accept technological solutions to problems that lie at 90 degrees to technology, and are the province, rather, of political economy--but who has ever heard of political economy.

I don't have any of them as patients. The unwashed masses. All of my patients are smart.

There aren't any unwashed masses.

I have a gentleman who is overweight, obese, diabetes. He is not stupid. He is not unwashed. He is not exercising or controlling his blood sugar right now because the temperature is below freezing. He has a hole in his trailer floor and no heat. So he huddles under the electric blanket.

I have a gentlewoman, also diabetic. She too is not stupid. She is not unwashed. She lost her husband to cancer and then everything else and then was homeless for a period. She has a small house but she has no heat. She stays in bed to stay warm. Her contractor quit before he put in the furnace and he's gone bankrupt. She is cold.

I have veterans. They are not stupid. They are not unwashed. One was homeless for a long period and pooled his resources with another to rent a section 8 house. I am so proud of them. They are having trouble living together, each would rather live alone. Only sometimes they would rather not be alone. It is hard.

I have a massage therapist. She started to train as a counselor. To be a counselor, she needs a certain number of supervised hours and was getting this through the county mental health. "I didn't know." she says. "It is taking twice as long as I thought because half the time they don't show up. They don't show up because they don't have gas, they don't have food, they have been evicted, their son is in jail, they are in jail. I had no idea. My massage clientele is so different, they pay. I thought poverty was in third world countries, but it is here, in my county. I didn't know."

I know the people who live in the woods. A schizophrenic who comes once a month for his shot. He was losing weight. "Why are you losing weight?" I demand. "I am only eating once a day." he says. I nag him to go to the community meals. He is shy, he is afraid of people and he is hungry. He is not stupid. He is not unwashed.

I have opiate addicts. Six years ago one expressed concern. He is 6 foot 5 and big. "I am afraid of some of the other people. You shouldn't be doing this! It's too scary and dangerous!" My opiate addicts are not stupid. My opiate addicts are not unwashed. Sometimes they relapse. Sometimes they die, in their 50s, 40s, 30s, 20s.

One in six people in the US is below the poverty level. They are not stupid. They are not unwashed.

And when someone talks about the masses, the people, the stupid people, most people are stupid, the sheep....

....I am beyond angry....

....my heart hurts....

Details are changed for hipaa, but at any one time I can list people by name that I am worried about and worried for and poverty is such an enormous part of it.
Poverty in the US: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-tps153.html