Rage
Let me start with apologies to Carole; she awarded me the Sunshine Award for positive and cheerful blogging. Well, Carole, unfortunately today will not be such a day.
By way of backstory, my mom's wallet was stolen last October. My parents did all the necessary things to protect themselves: cancelled credit cards and got new ones; changed checking and savings account numbers; filed a report with the Attorney General; etc. Earlier this week, my parents discovered that someone used my mom's driver's license and social security card (which she unfortunately had in her wallet) to access their new accounts and take out $15,000.
My parents are angry, but they also feel violated and unsafe. As senior citizens -- my dad's in his 80's, my mom her 70's -- on a fixed budget, this is a serious dent in their life savings. The bank has agreed that a fraud has been perpetrated, but it will be a while before they can reimburse the funds.
I, on the other hand, felt RAGE. I don't know that I've ever really felt this before. I am a happy person by nature, optimistic and occasionally a bit silly. But not this week. I felt rage at an individual who would go to such lengths to attack two hard-working seniors who earned every single penny in their account and make them feel vulnerable in a way only crime can. I felt rage at system that enabled someone to make a $5,000 cash withdrawal despite the fact the criminal, upon endorsing the false check, not only shortened my mom's last name by three letters, but added two that aren't even in there. Doesn't anyone check to make sure the name is at least spelled correctly? And where was the red flag to alert bank staff that my parents had never withdrawn such a large amount in cash and that this should give pause?
After helping my parents as much as I could throughout the week, I ended up with a major migraine by last night. I woke this morning still with a migraine, but also with a serious stomach ache and tense, painful shoulders. I know what it means to be eaten up by rage .... and bottom line, it's awful. I couldn't focus on anything, so I decided to make some art to help channel my powerful feelings. Here's the end result. It's not incredible art, but it was an incredibly cathartic process to create something out of my strong emotions. By the time this was finished, my headache was gone, my stomach felt better, and the tension was gone from my shoulders. I'm now ready to tackle anything I need to for my parents. Now my head is clear enough to see through the problem I was having with my Smithsonian donation piece and to work on my piece for our upcoming Fiber Art NE exhibit.
My rage is gone. Thank God.
"Rage" - paint (freezer paper stencil created using an amending font called Broken); thread; embroidery floss
By way of backstory, my mom's wallet was stolen last October. My parents did all the necessary things to protect themselves: cancelled credit cards and got new ones; changed checking and savings account numbers; filed a report with the Attorney General; etc. Earlier this week, my parents discovered that someone used my mom's driver's license and social security card (which she unfortunately had in her wallet) to access their new accounts and take out $15,000.
My parents are angry, but they also feel violated and unsafe. As senior citizens -- my dad's in his 80's, my mom her 70's -- on a fixed budget, this is a serious dent in their life savings. The bank has agreed that a fraud has been perpetrated, but it will be a while before they can reimburse the funds.
I, on the other hand, felt RAGE. I don't know that I've ever really felt this before. I am a happy person by nature, optimistic and occasionally a bit silly. But not this week. I felt rage at an individual who would go to such lengths to attack two hard-working seniors who earned every single penny in their account and make them feel vulnerable in a way only crime can. I felt rage at system that enabled someone to make a $5,000 cash withdrawal despite the fact the criminal, upon endorsing the false check, not only shortened my mom's last name by three letters, but added two that aren't even in there. Doesn't anyone check to make sure the name is at least spelled correctly? And where was the red flag to alert bank staff that my parents had never withdrawn such a large amount in cash and that this should give pause?
After helping my parents as much as I could throughout the week, I ended up with a major migraine by last night. I woke this morning still with a migraine, but also with a serious stomach ache and tense, painful shoulders. I know what it means to be eaten up by rage .... and bottom line, it's awful. I couldn't focus on anything, so I decided to make some art to help channel my powerful feelings. Here's the end result. It's not incredible art, but it was an incredibly cathartic process to create something out of my strong emotions. By the time this was finished, my headache was gone, my stomach felt better, and the tension was gone from my shoulders. I'm now ready to tackle anything I need to for my parents. Now my head is clear enough to see through the problem I was having with my Smithsonian donation piece and to work on my piece for our upcoming Fiber Art NE exhibit.
My rage is gone. Thank God.
"Rage" - paint (freezer paper stencil created using an amending font called Broken); thread; embroidery floss
Comments
Its a sick crime! And I am sending you hugs....
Plus I like your Rage piece.
When my parents were in their last few years, we had most of their pesion money in an account that was only for authorized payments. They also had one acct. with spending money.
Your rage was well channelled - the piece shows your anger!
BTW, I would delete the comment from tagskie - looks like spam to me - or maybe it's from a dear friend who hasn't read that your post is entitled Rage...."have a nice day"? Really?
:Diane