Linda Tirado Explained

Linda Tirado
Occupation:Author, photographer, activist
Works:

Linda Tirado (born)[1] is an American author, freelance photographer and political activist. Her memoir is about her life as a member of the working poor.[2] [3] She has also written articles for The Guardian, The Daily Beast and other online periodicals. In 2014, she was included in the BBC's 100 Women.[4]

Early life and education

Tirado attended Cedar City High School and Southern Utah University.[5] She did not finish her college degree.

Career

Tirado first came to public attention in October 2013 when a comment she made about living in poverty on a Gawker Media website, Killer Martinis, went viral; she later expanded it into her book, Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America. Peter Coy from Bloomberg Businessweek gave the book a favourable review, calling it "funny, sarcastic, full of expletives, and most of all outrageously honest."[6] Marcia Kaye from the Toronto Star also gave a favorable review, concluding the book was "provocative and controversial, and I wouldn't be the least surprised to see Tirado, in her thrift store sweater and ill-fitting jeans, running for office one day soon."[7]

Shortly after Tirado's Killer Martinis post, an article in the Houston Press argued she had had a comfortable life, working in politics since 2004. It also erroneously claimed she had attended a boarding school. The writer attacked Tirado for purveying poverty porn, describing poverty through negative stereotypes those who have never experienced it would expect to read.[8] Tirado had disclosed this background herself on a GoFundMe page she was running; while she described her essay as"impressionistic" she made public records showing that for several years she and her family had received Medicaid,[9] welfare and WIC.[10]

In May 2020, she was injured in her left eye while she was covering the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Tirado believed the injury was caused by a rubber bullet fired by the police, though it was later reported to be a sponge bullet. Following surgery, the prognosis was that she would be blind in that eye. She returned to work the following day.[11] [12] [13] [14] Tirado filed suit against the Minneapolis Police Department around June 14, 2020.[15] On May 26, 2022, in the protest aftermath, the Minneapolis City Council agreed to a $600,000 settlement.[16]

Tirado has also written articles for The Guardian, The Daily Beast and other online periodicals.

Honors

In 2014, Tirado was included in the BBC's 100 Women. In August 2020, she received the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award from the National Press Club.[17]

Personal life

Tirado wrote Hand to Mouth while living in Utah. As of 2014, she lived in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two daughters.

As of June 2024, Tirado has reported that she is dying due to complications following her 2020 traumatic brain injury.[18] [19]

Notes and References

  1. News: Cooke . Rachel . Linda Tirado: 'It was insane. I got 20,000 emails in a week' . 16 June 2024 . The Observer . 21 September 2014.
  2. News: Shipler . David K. . David K. Shipler . 'Hand to Mouth,' by Linda Tirado . 5 June 2019 . . 26 December 2014.
  3. News: Goldberg . Michelle . Michelle Goldberg . Linda Tirado Is Not a Hoax: The author of "Why I Make Terrible Decisions" discovers the dark side of Internet fame. . June 5, 2019 . . December 11, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20191031021057/https://www.thenation.com/article/linda-tirado-not-hoax/. October 31, 2019.
  4. Web site: Who are the 100 Women 2014?. BBC. 26 October 2014.
  5. News: Foster . Dawn . 2014-12-09 . Linda Tirado: Any commission that aims to abolish hunger must first address income . 2024-06-16 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  6. Web site: Coy . Peter . 2 October 2014 . Poorsplaining: What It's Really Like to Be Poor in America . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141003033048/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-02/what-being-poor-is-really-like-linda-tirados-hand-to-mouth . October 3, 2014 . 6 December 2014 . Bloomberg Businessweek.
  7. Web site: Kaye . Marcia . 5 December 2014 . Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado: Review . 6 December 2014 . Toronto Star.
  8. News: Leicht. Angelica. That Viral 'Poverty Thoughts' Essay Is Totally Ridiculous. Houston Press. November 29, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20190918161634/https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/that-viral-poverty-thoughts-essay-is-totally-ridiculous-6366585. September 18, 2019. June 10, 2022.
  9. Web site: Medicaid eligibility letter. Amazon Web Services. July 27, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20200411173517/http://thenation.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/IMG_0005_sz_wtrmrk.jpg. April 11, 2020. June 10, 2022.
  10. Web site: Welcome to WIC. Amazon Web Services. July 2, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20200411183649/http://thenation.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/IMG_0002_sz_wtrmrk.jpg. April 11, 2020. June 10, 2022.
  11. Web site: Hey folks, took a tracer found to the face (I think, given my backpack) and am headed into surgery to see if we can save my left eye.. Tirado. Linda. 2020-05-29. @KillerMartinis. en. 2020-05-31.
  12. Web site: I hat we think happened is I took a rubber bullet to the face.. Tirado. Linda. 2020-05-30. @KillerMartinis. en. 2020-05-31.
  13. News: A Reporter's Cry on Live TV: 'I'm Getting Shot! I'm Getting Shot!'. The New York Times. 2020-05-30. 2020-05-31.
  14. Web site: No worries, I've been back at work for five hours now. My job is to witness and they only got my left eye. My right one is good to go.. Tirado. Linda. 2020-05-30. @KillerMartinis. en. 2020-06-01.
  15. Web site: Photographer amid Minneapolis unrest sues, says officers blinded her in eye with nonlethal shot. .
  16. Web site: Webster . Tony . 2022-05-26 . Minneapolis settles lawsuit with Linda Tirado, journalist blinded in one eye during May 2020 unrest . 2022-05-26 . Minnesota Reformer . en-US.
  17. Web site: National Press Club. August 20, 2020. National Press Club Honors Linda Tirado With Press Freedom Award. 2021-05-15. www.prnewswire.com. en.
  18. Web site: Tirado . Linda . Adler . Sav . 2024-06-13 . Story Thirty-Nine . 2024-06-24 . Stories From The Rail.
  19. Web site: Schuman . David . 2024-06-20 . Journalist shot by Minneapolis police during 2020 protests dying from injuries . 2024-06-21 . CBS Minnesota . en-US.

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