#KillerMartinis Linda Walther Tirado speaks in NYC for ICPHusa.org

In a Conference room full of people Linda Walther Tirado who is nearly an overnight success story after writing a blog about what it’s like to be working class in America entitled, Why I make Terrible Decisions, or, Poverty Thoughts, at an event put on by The Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness at the Crowne Plaza NYC last Thursday January 15 2016. Linda’s post went viral and was contacted by Penguin books to write a book called, Hand to Mouth, Living in Bootstrap America

In a conversation on Gawker with friends, Linda states, “I was supposed to be off work at 9pm at IHOP in Washington, Utah, the closing cook couldn’t make it in and I’m stuck at work until midnight”. When she arrived home and hopped online to chat with a woman she knew for a year who’s an upper middle class white lady who said “I’m not supposed to judge but, I saw an iphone and a snap card and someone remind me about why I’m not supposed to be angry about that?” Linda Tirado went on,, “I WOULD NOT BE STANDING ON THIS STAGE IF I WAS NOT YOUNG AND ABLE BODIED AND WHITE”. “THAT IS THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO BE REAL CLEAR ON GUYS, BECAUSE IF I WERE A BLACK WOMAN I WOULD HAVE BEEN WAY TOO DAM ANGRY”. I, Cat Watters would like to beg to differ because that’s the reason I always felt I would never get to be up there too because I’m way too dam angry and I’m not black! “IF I WAS IN A WHEELCHAIR NO ONE WOULD HAVE BELIEVED I WAS THAT HARD OF A WORKER”. “IF I WERE %) NO ONE WOULD HAVE BELIEVED I COULD WORK THE INTERNET” “I’M UP HERE BECAUSE I’M ONE OF THE MOST PRIVILEGED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD”. Linda invited people to publish on her BOOTSTRAPINDUSTRIES.com site “We’re here to make sure everyone has a voice, not just the young, cute, white girls”

Linda went on to explain about misconceptions about her and her writing being called a hoax in one article. One, being her picture with Obama, “I did meet him once in 2006″, how that turned into a satisfying career I’m not sure because I was working at IHOP at the time”, putting to rest any rumors that she worked at the White House. CNN called her a fraud. Linda said she had a “death threat folder”. “I said it sucked to be poor I don’t know how that is news and I’m not sure hwy it’s controversial”. “If it didn’t suck to be poor why would so many people be trying so hard not to be?” “Not everyone can be a CEO, someone is always going to clean up after us and have to clean the toilets and when did we decide in America that those jobs weren’t worth dignity?”.

“Anyone work with Military personnel? Military Families? How true is it that after 4 years you get a Military pension?” “Why would you have children? I’ve had people tell me that even if I had been raped I shouldn’t have aborted my beautiful children and then wondered why I wasn’t using protection. Well, I was. It turns out condoms are only 99.97% effective”.

Linda told the audience at the luncheon at the Crowne Plaza NYC that if they know of someone who needs a helping hand to “give them my email address. If there’s work I can be doing for your organizations you call me”. “turns out I’m good at walking into a room full of rich people and making them feel horribly guilty then getting $ for other organization”. “My life’s work, because I’m young and white and able bodied and privileged even when I was at the bottom I will be dammed if another person in this country stand up for themselves and get’s that”,, pointing to the CNN post on the screen about her being a fraud. “It’s your job”, speaking to the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness, “to protect your clients from this and make a safe space for us to talk about our own trauma without fear that we will be further brutalized”. “I GOT BALLS THE SIZE OF FLORIDA, MOST PEOPLE DON’T”

Linda Walther Tirado posing with a group of highschoolers who came to hear her speak.

“We could put in a minimum wage tied to a cost of living by zip code and make sure everybody could live”. “What we keep getting caught in is $15 or $10 or $12” “Just make it variable, we already do it, It’s just like single payer we can’t figure out single payer. We’ve been doing single payer since the New Deal. We’ve just only been doing it for the elderly”. “JUST EXPAND IT YO, IT’S NOT THAT HARD”

#KillerMartinis Linda Walther Tirado speaks in NYC for ICPHusa.org

Author: Cat April Watters

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