by Travis Mateer

This is going to be a short post, since I need to get back to decoding the fabric of the universe (synchronicities, man), but my take on this WHOOPS, WHO MAY HAVE HIRED A PERV problem is pretty simple: you get what you pay for.

What do I mean by that? Take ME working at the homeless shelter, for example. Why did I work for the Poverello Center for 7 years? I can tell you it was NOT for the money, because staff are not paid enough for what they end up having to deal with. So why?

Since I’m in a reflective space as a result of being in crisis from unresolved trauma, I can say my unconscious motivations were to take on such immense problems that OTHER people had–even an entire community–that I wouldn’t have to deal with my own shit.

What I’m trying to say is that the stated motivations people give to an employer like the Poverello Center are often times NOT the REAL motivations for why a person is choosing to work with vulnerable people in a chaotic setting amidst this broader societal collapse we are all dealing with.

It’s also easier for me to feel bad for what the Pov is now publicly going through because I remember hiring, and then firing, someone who seemed like a church do-gooder on the surface, but wasn’t. Nope, he was a fucking creep, and we got rid of him before anything serious happened.

If the job paid well, then it would be easier to identify why someone wanted to work there, but it doesn’t, so the Pov has to rely on the hope that non-monetary reasons, like experience for a certain type of career, or a calling, are the actual reasons, and not just a cover for someone wanting to be in a position of power over others.

You can apply this same rationale to law enforcement: you get what you pay for. That’s why, despite my SERIOUS criticism at what I think local law enforcement agencies (this includes County Attorneys) are allowing to happen to this community (and this country), I would still argue for PROPERLY resourcing them, if we, as a society, actually want objective law and order.

I’ll leave it there, for now.

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Now, back to decoding the universe. Thanks for reading!