This article is spot on.

Shaming individuals who need a little help during trying periods of their life is a form of abuse.

The whole “poor people are poor because they are lazy” argument ignores so much, denies so much of the humanity in others.

On my end, I’ve been lucky in my life and in 2020.

I settled in Japan and taught English for 15 years in the public schools but decided last fall that come April 2020, I’d quit that job and go to the U.S. for a five-month stay where I’d re-ignite my journalism career, writing a book about what I intuited would be a historic year in the U.S. through the eyes of an ex-pat, do some networking and some independent journalism as well.

That plan got pushed back to July because of the Covid-19 crisis and now, unless the Japanese government removes its restrictions on allowing non-Japanese citizens re-entry into Japan, that plan will be abandoned.

Meanwhile, the part-time teaching gigs I’m looking for are (temporarily, I hope) pretty much dried up and even most of my previous part-time gigs have been put on hold until things settle down.

So I’m in limbo and have my moments where I wonder how I’m going to start earning some bread.

Fortunately, my wife has a job and we have some savings, but it’s not a lot. Still, I feel lucky because for the time being we are okay and feel there are opportunities on my horizon.

Regardless of my situation, I believe a functioning, healthy, caring society needs a Safety Net and no one should feel shame for using it when needed.

I’m hoping – and making the case for – a culture that emerges from 2020 which this shaming is as common as herds of stampeding mastadons. That’s a humorous stretch, but you get the point.