I filed bankruptcy in 1996 b/c I had a shopping addiction.?

I had over 70k worth of credit card debt. I was also on medication that was supposed to help depression but have since realized that the medication just made me act more manic.

Fast forward to 2008, I am out of debt, have credit cards but hardly use them, am in therapy for mental issues, no more manic episodes.

My question is how do I handle it when people find out about my bankruptcy - landlords, certain volunteer agencies (they do very complete background checks) - and they act like I am the scum of the earth.

Why do some people judge me so hard?

Just tell them the truth.

The floor layout in stores is designed to compel people to buy more products with impulse items by every cash register.

Television ads are designed to get people to buy more products.

I had major surgery and my HMO refused to pay.

The price of gasoline rose so fast, it ate up my earnings.

Nobody cares about credit card companies, they can lend twenty times the amount of money that they have and the money that they do have, is not really theirs, it belongs to the bank depositors.They charge exorbant rates, and lie to you to get you to charge more. They fuel inflation by taking a large percentage of every purchase from the vendor. When someone has a problem and gets a little behind, they jack up the interest rate and charge penalties that would make a loan shark find religion. If someone has that debt discharged in a bankruptcy, they get a tax write off, and they don't lose a dime.

The problem is not that the landlords are making you feel guilt. Guilt is inside you. You did nothing wrong. Bankruptcy is the safety valve that keeps credit card companies from owning all, because eventually, they would own everything.