Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Over a third of people leaving prison have no place to go
Imagine for a moment you’re being released from prison after a 12-month sentence for theft. You’re clean, off drugs, it’s been tough, but you’re looking forward to starting a new life. You leave prison and head to the nearest probation service to find out where you’re going to live. Only to find out there’s nowhere…
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Winter Arrives Early
As I sit here writing, I realize that the temperature today, this Tuesday in November is supposed to slam down into the teens with a chill factor below 10 degrees. I remember what it was like to be homeless in weather like this and my heart goes out to my brothers and sisters on the…
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Drag becomes her: Meet Jinkx Monsoon
Jerick Hoffer, aka Jinkx Monsoon. Photo By Tim Harmon “We all have an alter ego, a superhero persona inside of us,” says Jerick Hoffer. “Drag shows us that it’s okay to have different facets of your personality and to want to explore those different sides of yourself.”Hoffer’s own alter ego is Jinkx Monsoon. Citing influences…
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‘Furnishing Hope’ helps families transition out of shelters
Providing homeless people with a place to live is a huge step on the road to helping them rebuild their lives, but once they’ve moved in they need to fill their new place with the necessities that make it livable and comfortable. Boston based organization Furnishing Hope is working to meet those needs by providing…
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Stealing the City From Under Our Feet
When I came to Boston 40 years ago the first place I stayed was at the old Harbor Lights shelter on Shawmut Ave in the South End. Back then the South End was one of the few neighborhoods in Boston where a young black man could feel safe. At the time Boston was still dealing…
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Austin expels homeless from under bridge, promises them giant tent
Austin, Texas – The City of Austin plans to erect a giant tent to accommodate roughly 300 homeless people who were evicted from their roadside homes as winter approaches. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the displacement of the City of Austin’s homeless population from their homes under bridges in the city, using the state’s ownership…
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Relapse Ruminations and a Trip in the Way-back Machine
While taking a short ride in my car yesterday I listened to an acapella group called Jersey Dream put out by Clifton Records. The lead singer is a friend of mine named Ron Trautz, and as I was enjoying his voice I thought about how much he has accomplished since we ran wild together back…
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Stand up to state sponsored kidnapping
The other night I had a conversation with a close friend and comrade in the movement I’m involved in. She was reasonably upset because her daughter, who is in foster care, was removed from her foster home and nobody told her. It’s an ongoing struggle for her, her husband and her children who were taken…
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Advocates, Legislators Rally for Rent Control to Protect tenants
Dozens gathered outside the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at a rally in support of legislation that would reinstate rent control in Massachusetts. The state eliminated rent control after Massachusetts residents voted to do so in 1994 by a very slim margin, with 49 percent in favor of keeping it, and 51 percent…
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Panama celebrates its black Christ, part of protest against colonialism and slavery
Panama’s ‘Festival del Cristo Negro’, the festival of the ‘Black Christ’, is an important religious holiday for local Catholics. It honours a dark, life-sized wooden statue of Jesus, ‘Cristo Negro’ – also known as ‘El Nazaraeno’, or ‘The Nazarene’. Throughout the year, pilgrims come to pay homage to this statue of Christ carrying a cross, in its…
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