I am really glad that this poster came back and found that their remarks had been turned into a short piece about the student lending crisis. Here is why we must work on outreach, so that people know that they are not alone, and that we must band together to fight back.
Here's what they just wrote:
Today was an especially low day for me; I spent it pacing and panicking. My dark thoughts came back into my mind again and they're really starting to scare me. One of my loans is coming out of deferment this month and I'm terrified. Through my tears, I decided to come back to the blog to see if there was anything new, and I found my story posted. Thank you, Cryn. I feel touched and in a strange way, loved by a fellow human being. Thank you to those of you who responded. I've seen so many negative comments online (in opposition to student loan relief) from people who just don't understand, so I was surprised to see some support. I still feel rotten, but it feels as if someone has lit a candle in my dark room - so that's good at least.
I think we need the support group. If there's a way to open it up to good people who won't say abusive things to those who are already down, I think we should go for it. It might give us all some peace. Maybe we can find a way to band together somehow and fight back like you said in the post, Cryn.
If there's something I can do to help with that, please let me know. I don't exactly have a job anyway and it might help me divert my energy toward something positive.
And to the person living south of the border: it'd be great to learn more details regarding how to go about doing that (if you're willing to share). Exile seems to be my only living option.
The negative and nasty comments can be emotionally draining. So refocusing one's energy on the work that people are doing to raise awareness about the crisis and also provide solutions is a smart move. We need to be reminded that there are a lot of compassionate people out there who care about our mental health. We're in this together, and we'll get out of it together.
Listen to me discuss the student lending crisis and suicidal notes I receive with Rose Aguilar (@roseaguilar) on May 7th.
4 comments:
I'm glad the SD did not give up. I have thought about it too, It Is NOT Worth IT! Don't let those b**tards get you down. I know it's hard. I'm afraid I am stuck being in a shitty job, being alone for the rest of my life because of the pressure and the debt. Big Hugs to you! Stay with us and fight! Fight them and get the word out. We are all with you and feel your pain. We are the indentured class and we are loud! We will be heard! We will be proud!
I found the feelings of isolation and personal failure to be the worst aspects of living with the my quadrupled debt.
It was when I discovered the scamblogs and Cryn's work about a year and a half ago that I realized that I wasn't the only one, and that other's understood what I had been going through with my debt, which had caused great despair and dark and even suicidal thoughts about all the different ways to do it for over a decade.
Cryn, you have done great work to highlight the financial hell that is known as student debt. When coupled with anemic job prospects or unemployment, this can be crippling.
It is past time that something is done, to correct the problem. Since I do not see a (meaningful) legislative or judicial solution anytime soon, we need to continue to publish our findings.
The fact that students read this blogs is uplifting. It also has an impact, in making students aware of the job market - and hopefully to eschew additional debt. In the end, we live in a hypercapitalist nation - and the corporations still care about their perception.
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