"Powerful" pictures of poverty in America
- Thread starter Displaced Bama Fan
- Start date
Very true. I think also with the number of blue collar/manufacturing jobs disappearing in this country and no real hope to replace those jobs, we'll continue to see this trend and widening gap between the haves and have nots. I think there are a lot of poor folks with pride who would work but in some areas there really are no more jobs. I see our country heading toward a society that was projected in the movie Elysium where you have a ruling elite (we've always had it, just more pronounced now) and the rest of us.
as was
y'all sure we don't want to give away birth control and teach people how and why to use it?
Probably because "we" have said that education is a crucial part of ending poverty. Uneducated people tend to make unwise decisions. Those same uneducated people have babies with other uneducated people who then raise another generation of uneducated people. When I mean "uneducated" I don't necessarily mean a college degree. But a sound set of "life skills" type education that a committed mom and dad normally give their children.
People's efforts (no matter how hard they try) mean nothing if their efforts aren't attached to good decisions. Much like the old saying in practicing a golf swing. If you're practicing bad fundamentals it doesn't matter how much you practice. You're just practicing to continue to suck at golf. I have no doubt in my mind there have been tons of people who have tried just as hard as Bodhi and failed. But I would venture to say those efforts were attached to some bad decisions due to how they were raised or should I say weren't raised.
I see you mentioned your church is a part of helping the poor in your area. That's great and I commend the efforts to make a difference. Our last church was involved in helping underprivileged kids, families and individuals in our area. We were able to get involved in not only the children's lives but the mom's life (and sometimes the father as well) as well. Over the years I would say we encountered thousands of people. From an adult with no kids or spouse, to single mom's with kids and everything in between. Everyone doesn't react to "help" the same way. There were some who simply used us to meet their immediate needs. They had no interest in using the other resources we offered them to actually help them better themselves. I never understood why so many refused the help. But I realized it was how they were raised to think. Many had a very primitive way of thinking. So their decisions were based out of this way of thinking. Which is why I agreed with Jon when he said many of the poor are bred for failure.
This is what I don't get. People who live in poverty most of the time have filthy yards and homes. It does not cost a thing to pick up your trash and throw it away. You may not have much of anything, but have respect for the things you do...
And I don't think it's wise to have another mouth to feed in way of animals when you can hardly feed yourself.
JMO
And I don't think it's wise to have another mouth to feed in way of animals when you can hardly feed yourself.
JMO
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Well, when you have no pride in your personal appearance, I seriously doubt you care what your house or yard look like either. Some people just have no self-worth.
i get what you're saying, but i still think that this approach ends up with us "blaming the victim" and all of the associated problems that come with that. while on some level there are many examples of poor behavior to look at, i don't think it does any good to focus primarily on that as doing so projects those negative connotations on all poor people. i also think there is a sort of chicken and egg feedback loop (does the bad behavior cause poverty or does poverty cause bad behavior), but i don't really want to go down that rabbit hole.
there are certainly folks who work the "circuit" (bounce from church to church, shelter to shelter, food bank to food bank) and work the system, but focusing solely on that allows us (the royal us) to ignore the many folks that can possibly be helped to break out of the cycle of poverty, and also allows us as a society to marginalize the poor as a bunch of ne'er do wells who need to suck it up and get their lives together.
It's part of a defeatist mindset. I'm not defending it, mind you, just putting it out there for understanding. My family (both sides) transitioned from sharecroppers, miners, etc. over about three generations to mostly middle class workers. The biggest helps were refusing to stay poor (mindset) and - unpopular as this may be - improvement in moral character through spiritual growth.
Pet food is probably table scraps, and they seem to be feeding themselves plenty. I would begrudge them the expensive electronic gadgets before the pets; at least the pets have a positive psychological effect.
How do you help people who don't want to help themselves? Is it right to use the power of government to take a $1.50 from Peter to give $1.00 to Paul? This is waste on many levels: thousands of dead weight bureaucratic jobs, the creation of entitlement mentalities, encouraging generations of sloth, etc. I certainly don't mind helping people stand on their own feet. My wife and I are very charitable. But, I can't stand a thief or a lazy arse slug.
You're right. How our government "helps" the poor actually encourages laziness. There's no incentive to do better. And for anyone to suggest that it's only a small fraction of people on government assistance with a dishonest mindset (to stay on it) is being very foolish and naive. I'm not saying it's a majority but it's a helluva lot more than many like to think.
Agreed.
In my example earlier of ambulance ride abuses, how many people would get non-emergency ambulance service if they had to pay for it?
How many people trash where they live if it was their own property?
How many people would have countless numbers of kids if they had to take care of them on their own dime?
The answer is far, far less people would choose to be stupid if there was a penalty for being stupid.
This lady is not stupid. She knows how to play the game. She's just responding to the incentives the government provides.
At about the 5:47 mark ....
Q: If your money was cut off would you get up and go to work?
A: Yes, I would have to.
At about the 5:47 mark ....
Q: If your money was cut off would you get up and go to work?
A: Yes, I would have to.
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Not to mention the unprotected sex issue. If you can't afford them you don't have to get them....
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