Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
-
Can homelessness happen to anyone? Don’t believe the hype
Suzanne Fitzpatrick speaks to delegates at the 2018 INSP Global Street Paper Summit Credit: Jack Donaghy It’s a well-worn trope: we are all “two pay cheques away from becoming homeless”. The evidence to back up such claims is thin, says Suzanne Fitzpatrick, the keynote speaker on day three of the 2018 INSP Global Street Paper…
-
UN Report a Blistering Indictment of Myanmar’s Crimes Against Rohingya
It is estimated that 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are housed in Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh. Credit: Mojibur Rahaman Rana/IPS At 12, Mohammed* is an orphan. He watched his parents being killed by Myanmar government soldiers a year ago. And he is one of an estimated half a million Rohingya children who have survived…
-
Respect: Saying Goodbye to the Queen of Soul
Aretha Franklin (Courtesy of Atlantic Records) “All I’m askin’ for, is a little respect,” sings Aretha Franklin in what would become her signature tune. But by dint of her swaggering, sweltering, church-wrought performance, she’s not just asking for respect: she’s demanding it. And she got it, on an unparalleled level, winning 18 Grammys, a lifetime…
-
Boston Area Prisoners Join National Hunger Strike
Prisoners throughout New England joined a national rolling hunger strike last week, protesting the United States government’s failure to reunite separated migrant families despite a court ordered July 26 deadline to do so. The hunger strike — formulated by members of Hungry4Justice — started on July 30 in Oakland, California, and has since spread to…
-
Healthcare is a Human Right
By the time you read this, I will have had my second surgery to plant a fistula in my arm for my eventual dialysis treatment. But that is not what I want to talk about today. After all, I’m fine, and I’m reasonably healthy because I have been lucky. I have great healthcare, and I’m…
-
Bookstore Employing Youth Opens Its Doors, Warehouse in the South End
A new South End bookstore has been open for less than a week, but already has had an impact on formerly homeless youth and high school dropouts looking for opportunities to better themselves while gaining job skills. The More Than Words (MTW) Liberty Bookstore on East Berkeley Street had its debut on Monday, September 10th.…
-
Parents Who Had Kids Torn From Them File Class Action Lawsuit
A group of parents who had their children taken from them by the United States government announced on Thursday, Sept. 6, that they are filing a class action lawsuit against numerous individuals and agencies that have helped facilitate this crisis. At the law firm Todd & Weld LLP in downtown Boston, three parents got…
-
Union members march in solidarity with hotel workers on September holiday
Photo: Jack Adams. Union workers took to the streets on Labor Day evening in support of hotel workers who are advocating for contract negotiations with Marriott employers. The workers picketed in front of The Westin Copley Place, Boston hotel entrance on Huntington Avenue and were joined by dozens of other union workers from different job…
-
A running diary of suboxone withdrawal
August 12, 2018 I’m in the third day of my Suboxone withdrawal and starting to feel it. I have night sweats, my appetite is diminishing and I’m only sleeping five hours at night. I’ve gone from three Suboxone a day down to one-half of a Suboxone a day. It’s a familiar feeling because I used…
-
Pine Street Inn Regular Recognized for Shelter Garden
The Pine Street Inn was recognized as the first-place winner for the “Storefront, Organization, or Main Street District” category of Mayor Martin Walsh’s 2018 Garden Contest in Boston. Pine Street Inn staff also recognized their tenant AJ for his hard work in tending to the garden for many years. “AJ has managed the garden for…
Got any book recommendations?