My mom didn't marry my father. I never knew him. I was placed with my Grandparents because my mother wasn't done with her fun 70's lifestyle.

My Grandfather was a violent alcoholic who was only able to get money because my Grandmother was disabled and he was paid to be her caretaker for part of the week. We ate from the garbage sometimes at Safeway (Randalls). We supplemented our income by picking up cans on the roadside. I lived right on the border of the Tohono O’odham reservation and had to go to their school for 5 grades.

Then we moved to Texas, I had to go to a reform school in Killeen for one year because they couldn't find room for me in the regular school and we lived too far outside the city. The next year, after being in multiple fights and failing the 6th grade because I couldn't concentrate on my studies, I was allowed to go to a smaller country school on hardship.

Every single one of my immediate relatives had some type of drug issue or were mentally ill. All 3 of my Uncles were criminals. I had major problems with trust and making friends because of these and other related issues. I played football primarily to hurt other people. I suffer to this day from anxiety and depression.

Yet, thanks to nonexistent government programs designed to prevent me from succumbing to Inter-generational Poverty, I somehow managed to be the first person from my family to go to College, not be addicted to drugs, have a completely functional and non-abusive marriage that has lasted almost 20 years, and managed to make a quite successful career in computers that allowed me to retire early when I started having health issues.

Yes, I thank the government every single day for all they did for me, because there was no way I could have overcome the hand I was dealt without their help. I would have just been poor, white trash like the rest of my family, since no one can strive for a better life or aspire to anything unless they have the hand of Big Brother to lift them up.

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