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e1tq4w3ccm 5 days ago

I've had about six or seven months of temp work in the last four years. It's uncanny when people talk about having a couple months of unemployment being rough. The article points this out.

> Tell them you’re unemployed, what do you get? “Oh yeah I was unemployed one month ten years ago boy that sucked.” Yes, friend, yes it does suck right now six months in, and unlike your little story there I don’t know when or if it will ever stop.

This is on point, but then the author completely misses the mark a following paragraph.

> How often have you known somebody whose life was really, finally wrecked by unemployment?

I don't know anybody in my situation. The people I know send one job application, get an interview, and get an offer. I don't know how they do it. They don't know how they do it.

People look at me like I must not be trying very hard because it's trivial for them to get a job and infer that it must be for me as well.

The author says

> It won’t turn out as bad as you fear.

And continues by asking how many people does the reader know go homeless from being unemployed?

> I’m talking about who do you personally know who’s had it go that badly?

Homelessness is just a weird way to frame that. A family friend is the only other person I can think of in a similar situation to me - mid 30s, university educated, very unemployed - and they're living with their parents.

That doesn't mean they're not having a really bad time. Or that its not bad for society in general when we waste human capitol like this. She had motivation enough to travel out of country to get her degree. She is educated, but had no place in society, no career or family of her own now. That isn't fine just because she isn't homeless.

My savings are gone and even when I lose my home this year I will have social support structures, like living with family. I won't go homeless but that doesn't mean my career isn't over or that things aren't that bad.

I'm not even worried about being homeless.

I'd sleep in a tent if every day I woke up to doing what I loved.

I am worried that every day for the rest of my life will be worse than the day before it because nobody will work with me and nobody wants me on this earth.