AFFLUENZIA: A made up "mental illness" first described by the blogger, Mark Raymond Ganzer. This illness occurs and manifests itself in the upper-middle income class, the top 20% of money makers. The illness is characterized by the holding as cherished and unshakeable beliefs the following:
That poverty is contagious
That homelessness is contagious
That mental illness is contagious
As a result of those beliefs, those people suffering from AFFLUENZIA spend much of their time in the role of "gate-keeper," and while they may generously support those who advocate and work for people living in poverty (and frequently do), and while they may generously support those who advocate for and work for homeless people (and frequently do), and while they may generously support those who advocate for and work for people who have been labeled "mentally ill" (and frequently do), under no circumstances whatsoever would they EVER consider
Feeding a person (or persons) living in poverty a meal, served in the home of the AFFLUENZIAC, or
Putting up for a night, or a week, or a month a homeless person (or persons) in the home of the AFFLUENZIAC, or
Visiting a dear friend or relative who has been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital in the mental hospital. The dear friend or relative, upon being released from the mental hospital is unlikely to ever receive an invitation to visit the AFFLUENZIAC's home.
In this manner, do the AFFLUENZIACS protect their home and family from the great trifecta of life's school of hard knocks: poverty, homelessness, and mental illness.
AFFLUENZIACS also protect their established institutions (churches, schools, neighborhoods) from the presence of the impoverished (criminalizing those who have no money; labeling them vagrants; having the police tell the homeless to "hit the road") from the presence of the homeless (again, labeling them vagrants and leaving it to the police to pass along the message "hit the road, Jack, and don'tcha come back no mo, no mo, no mo, no mo), and to further protect these institutions from the presence of the mentally ill, again by calling the police, having an ambulance come to check out the vitals of the mentally ill one, shipping the mentally ill one to a medical hospital for evaluation, then involuntarily committing the mentally ill one to a mental hospital where, IF the mentally ill one is fortunate enough to also be impoverished and homeless, they are covered by the State of Illinois Medicaid plan, and thus the state can house and feed them for up to seven days (five "working days" plus a two-day weekend).
AFFLUENZIACS are so totally unprepared to deal with such life events as:
(a) the loss of a job
(b) the acquisition of a terminal disease
(c) the loss of health insurance
(d) the loss of their home
(e) the emergence of a mentally ill family member
(f) a marital infidelity
(g) the loss of accumulated savings which had been entrusted to "a guy" who for years
had returned to them a very consistent 10% (during which time "the market" remained
stagnant) because he had a secret formula!
That in the event of two or more such examples occurring shortly after one another, that they freak out, become clingy, whiny, titty babies, and frequently do themselves (and the rest of us) a favor by committing suicide.
Thanks, Lord, for small favors.
