Okay, I think I got the little pest calmed down long enough to rewrite the post I started about "anger" and maybe this will be the condensed version as the longer one wouldn't stick but...

Speakin' stricky from my own obseravtions during my years as social worker I found that folks would come in with all kinds of humanistic and idealistic feeelings and after 5 years woule be pared down into two categories:

1. Those who still felt deeply that that could make a difference and were openly "angry" and...

2. Those who had thrown in the towel, stuffed their idealism in their tummies and were just going thru the motions...

I wish there was a 3 category but this is purdy much waht I saw... There wer 6 of us in my Adult Services unit and Ginny Dize and I were the only 2 of the 6 that fit in that first category... The other 4 fell very much into that 2nd category... No, I'm not saying that these 4 did absolutley nuthin' but danged close... They had become paper pushers and weren't trying to put together comprhensive plans for their clients but the bare minimum...

Hey, first of all, given the lack of real resources we were dealing with, I'm not making an judgement on these four... Heck, they had learned how to get along... Ginny and I hadn't...

The point here is that these are folks on the front lines (think "Support the Troops" here) of our waelth nation's efforts to deal with the large percenttage of folks who live in poverty...

It is my premise that this war (which it isn't) on poverty is being waged by folks who either no longer give a danged or go home angry every night...

This is ***not*** a formula for success... It's bad enough that under Reagan and again under Clinton our nation sent an undeniable message to the poor that they aren't a priority but when you have folks who are angry who are left puttin' out the fires it is a sad state of affairs...

And for the folks who become the get along socail workers all is well... These folks have made the supreme consesssion... They have sold their soles to the devil for a pay check and some security and a pension and have willed themselves to just ***do the time***... Many of my friends who fell into this category, including one of my best friends, have now been going thru the motions for some 40 years and roundin' retirement age and, hey, I'm okay with that...

But for folks like me who never quit and I suspect that Jnaie falls into this category, mnay burned the slam out...

I did...

I'm kinda gald that the much longer post I wrote that ended up in the ozone ended up there 'cause it went thru some every personal details of my own burn out and what happens to socail workers when they burn the slam out... It ain't purdy and if it's allright with everyone (except the usual pest) I'd rather not go into it...

I will, however, thru into this discussion that this war (which it isn't) is being fought by some angry folks who have individually statked out the manner in which they will continuie the fight while being angry...

It ain't purdy... Janie knows of what I speak...

So, bottom line, when we talk about poverty in this country, it serves us well to know something about the grunts in the trenches...

Like I said, it ain't too purdy no matter how they individually deal with the anger of not having the resources or support to win too many of the battles...

And I know that things haven't changed much because many of my oldest and dearest friends are still at it...

Bobert