The truth about poverty [View All]

[nadine_mn]

If you are or have been poor, or compassionate then this will be a review for you and I apologize. For those of you new to the issues of poverty here are some myths busted:

Required disclaimer:
My definition of poverty comes from experience and there are many levels: working poor, so poor you don't have a pot to piss in and dirt poor. I have been homeless as a kid, I have lived w/out basic luxuries like a refrigerator, I have received welfare and donated foods, I have dumpster dived and not for sport, I have tried to figure out how to make $10 feed me for a month, I have been poor in small towns (less than 3000 ppl) and the inner city, and now I find myself in the middle class and still living paycheck to paycheck.

Poverty is a complicated issue and this rant barely scratches the surface so please feel free to add.

Myth #1
Poor people are lazy and uneducated and dumb.

I don't know how to address this w/out cussing but I will try. It is true that the more education you have the greater your income potential. But you can be educated and stupid, and smart and not have a GED - it depends on what you mean by dumb. The survival skills and savvy of a single parent trying to make it on minimum wage rival that of any CEO, IMHO.

The reality is this - education opportunities are not equal, our public schools are not equal and unfortunately children whose parents cannot afford to send them to charter or private schools are at the mercy of the public school system. And taxpayers who complain about paying for schools when they don't have children in school perpetuate this cycle. We all benefit from educated children not just the parents of them.
There are also lowered expectations for children who are poor - they are told that college is unattainable and that should learn a trade. Sadly, the rising cost of tuition is making college more and more unattainable for all.

And let's just be realistic about this lazy crap - have you ever worked a minimum wage job? I have washed dishes, cashiered, waited tables, etc and now I have worked in cozy offices. Let me tell you the god's honest truth - I would rather get less pay and sit in air-conditioned comfort. If my choice was less pay, more hours but in an office vs more pay, less hours on a factory line...ummm well guess what I am picking. I don't ever want to have to work that hard again, I am sorry if it makes me lazy but at least I am honest.

Myth #2
Poor people and homeless people chose to be that way.

Poverty, like shit, happens. It can happen to the best and to the worst of us. You can be born into it and you can have it thrust upon you. When I lived up in Northern Minnesota, the majority of people worked up in the taconite mines. My grandpa worked there and made good money - not rich, but we never wanted for anything. When the mine closed - hundreds of families were impacted. Fortunately my grandpa was able to retire, but for many other families they lost everything because there was no other work that paid the same. Families literally went from middle-class to homeless in the blink of an eye, this happens all over the country in various forms - serious illness makes someone unable to work, factories close, a spouse is killed or injured in a senseless war, divorce divides a home, domestic violence forces a woman (or man) to leave - all it takes it one major event to put you on the street.

Have you been to a homeless shelter? I have, and I will tell you right now I would rather take my chances on the street. Luckily I am female and there are more places for me to stay. There have been efforts to make them safer, one of them in Mpls has metal detectors and security - nothing says "home" like a constant reminder of potential violence. And in small towns, there are no homeless shelters because of the mistaken belief that homelessness doesn't happen in small towns, suburbs or rural areas.

Of course people say ...well stay with family. Well a lot of times family is the reason you are homeless, or people don't have family. So where do you go? How can you work? I love it when people say take a bus - really? I mean have you been outside metropolitan areas? Public transportation is a luxury small towns, rural areas, and some suburbs don't have.


Myth #3
Most of the poor are minorities.

I am at a loss. Because this is an issue so complicated, so cyclical, so entrenched in our society that I cannot begin to explain it without pissing people off. People are not poor because of their race, but race is a HUGE factor. One word: Katrina. This is the most clear example of how race and economics are enmeshed. Society, gov't and MSM treat minorities differently. (Yes that is the biggest understatement of the year, but I am trying to keep my ranting in check).

I am part Hispanic, part Caucasian, I went to elementary school in a predominantly Black school in Louisiana while living with my uncle and his wife who is from Thailand. From the ages 5-8 (when we lived there) my racial identity was ??? I was too dark-skinned to be white, too light-skinned to be Black, all my friends in school were Black, and my playmates at home were Asian. Then I moved back to all-white northern Minnesota and was in a huge culture shock. I was told in high school that a Latina (not the word used by the teacher) could never go to college or law school. Do you know what that does to a child's soul to be told that because of their skin color or ethnic background they can never be what they want to be?

White privilege exists people - as does male privilege and hetero privilege. It affects opportunities, expectations, pay levels, - everything. You cannot talk about poverty or race without the other.


Finally I want to address what people fail to acknowledge:
Learned helplessness.

There are those that have it in them to fight the odds and then there are those who are tired of fighting.

If all you see around you is no way out, it makes you not want to even try.

I worked w/ a victim of elder abuse - "Maria". She moved in w/ her adult daughter because "Maria" had health issues. "Maria" owned her own home, and rented it out to her daughter's ex-husband. While Maria stayed w/ her daughter, Maria paid all the rent because her daughter was an evil bitch...err because her daughter manipulated Maria and her illness. Ex-husband/ex-son-in-law never paid rent, Maria fell behind on the mortgage, got sick of the abusive daughter and wanted to move back to her home. She evicted the ex-husband/ex-son-in-law. The night before he had to leave...surprise...fire in Maria's house. The fire damage meant that Maria had no water or electricity. She could not get a loan until she proved she had home owner's insurance, she couldn't get home owner's insurance until she paid her back taxes. Because the asshole never paid Maria, and all Maria's money went to her daughter, the home insurance lapsed and Maria couldn't afford to pay property taxes. Maria was 68, had diabetes and was alone w/ her 2 cats and a home w/ no power and water. Maria kicked ass and got on her feet again. But many people would not have the personal resiliency to bounce back.

So you numb yourself - through alcohol, food, sex, drugs whatever to make it through every day. When every fricking day is such an uphill battle just to live, much less "rise above", and you have no support, no resources, and there are holier-than-thou people judging what you put in your shopping cart, blaming you, mocking you, and oppressing you...well why try anymore.

Do people take advantage of "the system" - hell yes. Are they the majority? Hell no.


Who are you to judge - how dare you look down on others and say that poor people shouldn't have children and your tax money should not go to them, but only to a select few who meet your criteria of what is a "good" poor person. How dare you say if I am on welfare I can only eat what YOU say I can - "no chips for you"..."put back that Ho Ho"..., yes guidelines are one thing - no alcohol or cigarettes, but keep your fucking hands off my frosted flakes.

We cannot start picking and choosing who we think are worthy - are you insane? Who has that kind of time? I sure as hell don't. We all benefit from a healthy and educated society but it takes support and trust to get us there.