There is a story featuring my Mother and her epic quest for a job on the front page of a pretty major on-line news site. Even when I knew it was going to be there it still took my breath away to see her face, holding W, under such a powerful headline.
My Mother is brave in a million ways. A million ways that I could never even begin to describe. But she just allowed her face, her name, to be THE face, THE name to the epidemic of jobless Americans. It is one of the bravest things I can imagine.
The cruel comments started almost instantly. The typical ones. The ones that go right for the place of hurt. But almost just as instantly a small choir of voices piped in with support. For every asshole that left a comment to try and tear my Mother down three other people responded with kindness and ideas.
Most of the ideas offered are not applicable and many are not even legal, but the “let’s get together and help this woman and her family” attitude that so many expressed was a pretty huge swirl to be within yesterday.
I have linked to the article in my twitter stream if you want to read it. Doing so basically eliminates the facade of a fourth wall here and after all that we have been through together I am ok with that. I will always remain Calliope on this site and just to keep things a few clicks away I am not linking to the article from here. Obviously it is not because I am not proud of my Mother, but because I do not want to make a clear portal.
We are not sure what to expect, if anything from this article. A job would be nice.
EDITED TO ADD: I wanted to take just a moment to mention that there were a few mistakes in the article. This happens and obviously was not anything that we had any control over as we had no final say or input in the work. Mother was interviewed over the phone in a very rushed interview (all while babysitting W, I might add) and some points were not captured correctly. While we would prefer the literal truth (because, damn, it’s some truth) the point of the article was not to write Mother’s biography but to spotlight a not often considered segment of the unemployed.
So, for instance, when the article mentions a daughter having surgery last year, there was a disconnect in the time frame. Long time readers would probably have guessed that the surgery that nearly wiped out our savings was this one which I allude to here.
Another blurred point was the inference that Mother has not had any interviews. Well ya’ll know that isn’t quite true. Granted she can literally count on one hand the number of interviews she has had (& this is including meetings with temp agencies- so do we really count those anyway??) but she has been called, she has donned an interview suit, she has sat down and talked with people and walked away feeling like a connection was made. And she was wrong.
There are probably a few others, but the reporter’s intentions were good and for that we thank her for her kind ear and the opportunity to have a brief moment to be heard.
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
So freakin proud of your Mom.
Wow. Wow wow wow. Your mom is so incredibly brave. It sickens me that someone as amazing and talented as she is is having such trouble. Not. Fair.
I will be crossing my fingers that this exposure finally tilts the scales in her favor.
I am proud of your mom! *crosses fingers for a job!
*it sucks for us that do not have twitter.
*high 5′s around*
I’m guessing this is huge. And I hope the exposure brings great things for the three of you.
http://agency.governmentjobs.com/illinois/default.cfm?action=jobs&sortBy=CLASSIFICATION&sortByASC=ASC&bHideSearchBox=1&PROMOTIONALJOBS=0&SEARCHAPPLIED=0&TRANSFER=0
Here’s a lead (Job # 21-002 and 21-003) – I know it’s not DC, and requires licensing in another state, and the state is theoretically broke, but we have damn good benefits. I’ll keep looking…
Also, I read the article…and all the negative comments were directed at politicians in the 5 or so pages I read. I think everyone there is with you.
https://www.hiretrue.com/hiretrue/showJobBoardPositions.do?jobBoardPK=32
They’re looking for associates too, so maybe you could be their Art Director/Manager, your mom could be an associate and W could be the office mascot?
But also, they have a secretarial position in DC
I am so proud of both of you. You don’t even know. ♥
I think it’s brave of you AND it’s very brave of your mum. I thought the article was well done, but I couldn’t even start looking at the comments. That’s usually my feelings on these big sites that have a lot of people commenting on situations they’re seeing for the very first time.
I hope that something good comes of the article and her bravery…and people are such dumbasses…ignore them. They are ignorant and cranky and self-righteous.
So brave of your mother. It is so easy for Job’s Comforter’s to kick you while you’re down. YOU are the person with bad luck, therefore there must be something secretly wrong with YOU. The truth is, there just aren’t that many job to go around. When I graduated nursing school 5 years ago, I was recruited mercilessly by every major hospital in my area. I would be called in for an interview within 24 hours of giving my resume, and I was a new grad with zero experience. Now, with specialty certification and several years Level I ICU experience, there are ZERO jobs available anywhere- and I have to stay in this job where I am not being paid for overtime. I know so many new grad nurses that have ZERO job prospects, and nursing is supposed to be recession-proof.
It is so tough out there. I hope so much this proves fruitful for your family.
I thought the article was very well done. I’m not surprised at the negative comments, and I think there’s a lot of sympathetic comments there too.
We’re all pulling for you guys.
Very brave! I so hope this leads to a great job offer. It’s so obvious your mom is a smart, conscientious, hard worker. She would be such an asset to any company/firm that hired her.
I must be a masochist, ’cause I’m wading through the comments.
I read a lot of the comments. I couldn’t find a single mean one that was right. I mean, they were saying things about your mom that weren’t true because they were stupid and bigoted, or because they were missing information.
I was proud of your mom when I read the article. The fact that she hasn’t found a job yet is one of the most perplexing things I have ever run across.
I think it’s amazing that your mom was brave enough to be the face of so many others. When I read the article, I too thought that this might be your chance at a job. A really good chance because this article showed just how amazingly qualified your mama is for a job and how deserving she is. I am keeping my fingers crossed on the west coast for you.
You guys are wonderful and brave people. I hope the mean comments don’t get you down – as you say, for each mean comment there are 3 good ones. And the mean commenters just come across as crazy anyway.
I hope this is the start of amazing things, and that the exposure will be MORE than worth it.
Love to you all.
I linked to the article on my FB page. I have a few lawyer friends and figured the more exposure the better. Praying for you all!
I’m so proud of both of you gals, it’s gonna be one amazing book, when you write it.
I thought your mom had had some really good interviews – that is a good sign at least. I hope the article got that part wrong.
What a woman she is. Congrats to all 3 of you.
(BTW — stupid Bloglines has not been updating your feeds, which is why I haven’t stopped by forever! UGH!!!)
Just read the article, I so hope your mom finds something soon! It’s mind boggling — I wish I was in a position to hire her, she sounds like an excellent employee.
a job would be nice, indeed.
so amazing to allow herself to be THE face, is right. incredible!
I got through one page of comments and left one of my own in response to an asinine one, and instantly had a few fans.
just hoping for the best possible outcome for you all, and soon!
I saw the article online yesterday. I recognized your mother and son’s picture. great article. I didn’t realize you had surgery last year…I hope she finds a job soon. I bet the article will lead to something.
Hey
Long time reader here. Also a recent law graduate who regularly reads a major law gossip blog (which shall not be named in the hopes that Google never brings the readership to your blog) that linked to the article featuring your mother. I recognized your family’s story right away and then checked in with the article on the more mainstream news website. As always, I am cheering for you, your Mom, and the little one. I also wanted to add something about the comments you’re seeing. As a rule, the comments on the law gossip site are rude, pretentious, and catty. Whenever the blog links to an outside article, the blog’s traffic (and negativity) follow. It doesn’t matter who, what, or where–the commenters on the law gossip blog are nasty as a rule and, often, without reason. All of us who blog try to have a thick skin when it comes to comments, but, when it comes to the law gossip blog’s readership, it is often best to disregard the commentary entirely. Hope the article brings your mom’s talents to the attention of an employer somewhere out there. Hugs!
Heading over the the article now and I will not even peek at the comments. But before I go, just a quiet moment of awe and admiration for you and your mom. Damn, girl. You are both amazing.
i read the top articles from that news site every night and was blown away when i saw her picture with W there. i really felt like i new you guys personally and was totally rooting for her (all 3 of you) in every way possible. i didn’t see the comment stream or would have had some choice words for the haters, what idiots. i mean really, what’s the point? anyway, sooooo hoping that something good comes from all the publicity.
Wow there are almost 2000 comments on the article so far. Out of all of those people, maybe just maybe someone has a job for her?
Kudos to you all, brave family.
You and your mother are incredible. I am so freakin’ proud to have you as a friend. Lots of love coming and praying she finds a job through this.
I read the article and was so impressed that your mom did this! I work for the state employment agency and hear stories like your mom’s all the time. I don’t work directly with the unemployed, but I still try to talk with people when they are waiting and some days it breaks my heart. I was there after having my son. It isn’t fun to be unemployed. My job is to work with employers/businesses to help them with the services we offer them and to encourage them to use us when they have hiring needsm the hard part is there aren’t many jobs and even few professional career positions out there.
I am hoping with everything I have that something good comes her way soon!
Wow. Very cool. I hope something great comes from it.