Status Updates From Stay and Fight

I do think calling them poor is misleading because they are LITERALLY impoverished by choice.

Like they are actively choosing to live this way and not seek employment of any kind.

One of these women has a damn nursing degree go get a job. Nurses are in high fucking demand. It won't make you rich but they currently have no income between 3 grown adults

"“They’re being unfairly targeted for being lesbians,” I said"

Yeah see if they were just poor I'd agree with that. But they have a house that isn't built properly, everything they eat is foraged, they don't even have an outhouse they just poop in a bucket, and the kid has never gotten medical care and none of them have jobs BY CHOICE

This is neglect full stop.

Also the list of requirements to get their kid back isn't even that bad it's literally the most basic ass regular shit with the singular exception being the requirement about "no persons convicted of a crime can supervise the child"

Like that one is bullshit but "install a septic system" and "provide adequate nutrition" and "provide adequate shelter" are literally fine

Like the issue is I think if you're going to try to make a point about how marginalised families are unfairly targeted by CPS you need to have the targeting be unfair and I'm sorry but in this scenario being taken from his family is literally the best case scenario for this kid who was experiencing every kind of neglect possible

The issue is that it's hard to feel sympathetic towards our leads about the CPS situation because this is objectively a situation where child protective services involvement was ABSOLUTELY warranted and I don't think these characters should get their kid back unless they build a real house or move into one

I think one of the most confusing things about this book is the tonal inconsistency in having what are definitely meant to be unlikeable protagonists who are definitely neglectful of their kid and then at the same time it feeling like the narrative wants me to side with them and not with CPS who absolutely SHOULD be involved here

The problem is, fundamentally, that child protective services ABSOLUTELY needs to be involved here.

Like you can talk about how CPS unfairly targets marginalized families and you can talk about how marginalised families are held to higher standards but the problem is, in this book's specific situation th re is extremely clear abuse and neglect

The problem is all these characters are so fundamentally awful that I genuinely do not feel bad that their lives are about to be upended by CPS bc they should be.

This living situation isn't safe for adults let alone first graders

I do not like the way Lily is talking about this CPS worker like they don't literally have the kid in an extremely dangerous and neglectful living situation by choice

See the problem here is that

1. I do not believe that teachers and principals are like chomping at the bit to report unsafe home situations, mandated reporters don't like having to report bc it means a child is in danger
2. This is very genuinely an unsafe living situation and CPS SHOULD be involved actually and I do not say that lightly