Your poor it must be your fault

This makes no sense to me... You have a computer I assume since you are on here.. SO more "poor" people which I consider poor being homeless on the streets don't have computers.. I also assume you have a place to live and can eat, that is doing better then most. You get a check for doing nothing from the Gov, you get free medical care, you have food im sure, ect, ect.. What more do you want jesus.. If I don't work my ass off I can't even eat, I get no check from the government becuase nothing is wrong with me I just starve and go homeless if I can't pay my rent.

Even though I have massive back pain and neck pain, and my feet always are killing me where I can hardly walk because I have gout which no matter what my diet always gives me massive pain right now I can hardly walk.. Where is my check, I don't get one so I push on day after day so I don't end up in the gutter..

You know what detroit has? Lots of poeple, lots of natural resources, water, space. Band together with your local community, start community gardens to feed yourselves, start community learning programs to teach yourself, if you are illiterate its becuase you want to be people can teach themselves to read or ask someone who knows to teach them, if kids in africa can learn to speak and read english then people here can also.

You want a gameboy, flatscreen, ps3? who cares about that crap it means nothing at the end of the day, find someone to love that makes you happy, don't have kids becuase you can't afford them and are poor. Be happy you are alive, that you don't have to dig in trash to find your next meal or stand next to a road and beg for change...

Jesus why give you any sympothy you think you have it so bad go live in africa and eat bugs see how much fun that is.

You know why poeple come to this country and make it? Because in there country they could work all their lives and get nothing, but they can come here work 3 jobs for 30 years and open a business or buy one and retire working that business with their family. That is what all these foriegn poeple do you see that own stores and hotels.. It doesn't come overnight and it doesn't come cheap, the american dream is you work hard and you have the chance to make it, the problem is that even that is becoming hard to do because our government and the elite assholes of this world are trying to take everything for themselves and corrupt the american way of life.

stop whining and do something, if you aren't going ot do something then blame yourself.

Originally posted by jacygirl
reply to post by knowledgedesired

 

YES!! Excellent message.
I too believe that every single human being on this earth has a RIGHT to the basic necessities. We are born onto this planet with needs...food, shelter, medical care, etc. Who....and I mean WHO here has the right to say that anyone is less worthy or deserving of basic necessities?
I am sickened by the labels....lazy (for one). Walk a mile or two in someone else's shoes for a while.
jacygirl

You would think it's common sense, but unfortunately it isn't. And then the naysayers shout "Communist!" (or "Socialist!", they seem interchangeable). I recall a certain photograph/video that I have been unable to find again, as it seems to have been deleted from the mind of cyberspace. It was the filthy rich of Wall Street, drinking champagne, taking pictures with their cellphones of the protesters of Occupy Wall Street, all the while laughing and jeering at them, as if they were royalty mocking the peasants. :-/ It doesn't surprise me anymore, that things are so screwed.

Well i am well off and it is all my fault. Look around the world is full of people that came from nothing and worse backgrounds and still managed to come out alright.

reply to post by dc4lifeskater


Hard honest work for honest wages is all that employees seek for , regardless if they were hired for critical functions to the company, such as lifting heavy objects onto high shelves manually, crack brains to think out ways to beat the competition, or just as a guard sitting at his post during the shift with watchful eyes.

The issue right now is - had workers been honestly paid for the labour? All we mankind saw was the rich got richer and the middle classes disappeared, with the poor suffering on daily basis with unsustainable living wages, not for luxuries, but just only whom wish to live and love with dignity in their lifetime.

How long must the 95% suffer while the 5% rich and their families lived it up at their expense?

As for those from 3rd world countries comming to USA to work, there is no need to hide their realities.

Are you aware of the kind of deprivations they have to endure in a first world nation? - packed like sardines dirty working conditions, unfair work practices, low wages, 24/7 working life, etc, etc. - worse than a slave's life, with no rest or time for life and love.

Is this the life american citizens are to descend to, is this what you personally want to see your fellow americans live and do the same to the next succeeding innocent generations - as slaves to corporate masters and unconcionably greedy biz owners?

Admire the work ethics of the foreigners - espacially the hardworking chinese and the intelligent indians by all means. But do acknowledge that humans are not machines. They must have time to live and love, form sustainable families and contribute towards society's progress and evolution.

Look at China and India today and tell me if they had been mere slaves or humans today. Fact is, our fellow human brothers and sisters there are more slaves than humans, and thus their dysfunction in the hands of their corrupted leaders.

When they come to USA, they only know deprivations, and thus they easily lose all dignity, as is no different than they were in their home countries, spreading that same culture into mainstream america, and loved by only greedy bosses, but most certainly not civilised society whom values freedom and dignity of ALL humans to live free.

We humans work to live. NOT live to work. There is a difference, if corporate ideology is different from free humanity's.

reply to post by SilentKoala

You just have to decide to not let the past define you. The future hasn't been written yet; sure you have limited choices, but the ones you do have are yours for the taking.

This is not necessarily the case. Some people, as the OP said, are trying so hard to just SURVIVE that they can't hardly see straight - there is no time for peaceful planning, contemplation, and hope. There is only the survival of a "prey animal" who will perish if they let down their guard.

I think maybe you don't understand that RESILIENCE is not as simple as "deciding." Especially for children who are brought up in chaos, want, instability, violence, and depravity. They have not LEARNED how to cope any other way, and often times will NEVER learn - because they are too busy panicking every day.

A person CAN learn skills, but it requires at least ONE safe place, ONE adult willing to extend a helpful hand; and if the kid or young person is already "programmed" by experience to use only violence or "survival" skills, it is even harder for them to try to "rewrite" their personal narrative...and thereby make positive choices. Their world is going too fast.

It is like trying to change the oil in a vehicle that is spinning out of control on a deadly highway. SOME have the presence of mind to overcome the panicky desperation. But not all.

reply to post by Alda1981


It's 'don't'.

I stopped reading your reply when I got to this mispunctuated word. The whole thing just no longer made any sense. OH the over use of ... had nothing to do with it by the way.

Silly isn't it?

I have somethings to say to the OP when I finish reading, just had to interject here about this ridiculousness.

Originally posted by SilentKoala
I've known a lot of people who have had similar upbringings and come from similar backgrounds, who have fought against the odds and have become successful. You just have to decide to not let the past define you. The future hasn't been written yet; sure you have limited choices, but the ones you do have are yours for the taking.

Its not all ways about the past. Allot of people have obligations.

reply to post by knowledgedesired


Yes! Thank You.
It sickens me to see people who have so much money that they just throw around while some people are struggling to get by. And then everyone judges each other off of how much they have. The so called poor people judge the rich as being overindulgent and selfish with their expensive clothes and huge houses. The rich people judge the poor calling them lazy. Lazy for not working hard enough to get a better job. Its absolutely ridiculous.
I'm not saying that we should even out the money across the board (people will start calling me a communist or socialist, ha), but there needs to be a better system.

If I had to place myself somewhere I would say I am in the lower class. I make about 15K and that is enough to support myself, provide myself with a spacious apartment and try to pay off my debt from my student loans. I grew up in the middle class. My family made about 45K a year and while my parents considered us poor, my sister and I never went without. The whole idea of what "poor" is, and how much we need to live off of is completely skewed. If you make enough to feed yourself, shelter yourself, and surround yourself by those that you love, then you are rich in my book.

I think it's more than a little ironic that this is posted on the third of the month. I work for a cell phone company, and I truly hate the third of the month. It's not the elderly that show up gripe and pay their bills and leave that makes me hate the third, though they often piss me off. Why I hate the third of the month is all the people who are on Social Security Disability. See part of my job is trying to get business activations and or getting a customer who works for certain companies discounts based on the volume of business their employer does with us. I have to ask people where they work. I'm not going to lie, every time I hear "I'm on disability" from someone who looks like they are in pretty decent health, drives a nicer car than me, smells of booze at 11AM in the morning, in pajamas and is wearing a couple of grand worth of bling, my compassion for those that subsist on government handouts drops. I've seen four years of thirds of the month where I'm at now and I really can't muster up much care for those an government assistance anymore.

I firmly believe that after a certain amount of time on the Dole, the right to vote should be removed.

reply to post by wantsome


I mean no disrespect to what you have personally endured and witnessed....truly!

I've known soooo many people in situations such as yours and those of your friends.

I've had family members that have passed this down from one generation to the next.

I could tell stories about my upbringing that most would not likely believe.

Growing up, I knew that the life I was born into....just wasn't right. I just KNEW!

I knew that if I didn't make better decisions and take certain actions...I would be just like them.

So, I did just that. I fought, I scraped, I sacrificed a lot of my childhood to make sure I would have an adult life of my own choosing.

I worked my butt off.....at one point I was working 4...yes FOUR part-time jobs to put myself through college....as a Full-time student no less!

I understand that there are alot of obstacles in our society that can get in the way of even mediocre success but, I know that if a person really has it it them.....they will do what they have to do to get where they want to be.

I'm not rich or wealthy but, I'm doing pretty well considering where I came from and I know that the only person responsible for my success is ME!

I've been an orphan since I was 15 years old.....I still made it through.

Originally posted by knowledgedesired
reply to post by wantsome

 

What you have wrote is a prime example of why the system is so messed up and needs an overhaul.

They keep the system going by pitting us against each other and convincing us hard working folks that everyone else is lazy even when most of them are not they just don't have opportunity.

I disagree. Opportunity = Problem + Solution. People blame lack of solutions for lack of opportunities. You can't generate any opportunities when you don't address the root of the problem, and come up with a solution for it.

Example - In an area hard hit by economic hardships and new EPA regulations restricting wood harvesting and logging activities, Joe loses his job and can't find another. What should Joe do? Address the problem, come up with a solution and opportunities will present themselves. Hint: The wrong thing to do is wait for more logging 'opportunities' to come up.

I have not fallen for the trap and even though I work my tush off everyday and have since I was 12 selling candy door to door I don't look down on others even when some of them are just plain lazy. I think society needs to be restructured to eliminate the haves and have nots across the board. We need a new hybrid system that grants food/water/shelter/medical to every single human being living in this world whether they work or not. Yeah I said it....I know it sounds silly but there is no shortage of resources just control of them by power/money hungry people that are born into it or get lucky... and some of them hard work.

What you are talking about is a Utopia. Such a society, I think, could exist. I particularily like the Venus Project (although it does have its flaws). There just isn't a better solution right now. Keep in mind that never before have a people been so well off then they have been in America. You think America's poor have it bad? Just look to third world countries with ruthless dictators in charge to see how bad it can get. I do agree though, that our system of resources and consumption needs to change. There are abdundant resources in the world, and if we started using them correctly a lot of problems would be fixed.

Instead of working for the basics the basics should be granted for all of humanity then the more work the more perks are made available for you. The problem is the rich are too rich and the poor are to poor.

Someone has to provide for those not doing anything? Is it fair for those working to provide for those who don't?
Would you do that?

The system that use to allow everyone opprotunity has failed due to the large separation between incomes. The rich have manipulated the system to make almost impossible to become one of them... Mean while they hide behind the I did it so can you B/S while at the same time forgetting that their MOMMY AND DADDY paid for their 4 year degree and bought their first car. The truth is if you are born into poverty you and the next generation will remain there. Hard work is something we should all put in but opprotunity has there be there as well... The majority have lost that opprotunity.

Again, I agree and disagree. You are correct there is a huge separation of incomes. Income inequality in America is staggering. The differential between CEO pay and worker pay is shockingly, outrageously huge.
That is the problem. It stems from the idea of "Trickle Down" economics. In the 80's and onward, many politicians believed that by reducing corporate tax, and tax on very wealthy Americans (and de-regulating trading and corporate business policies in Washington) that would facilitate employers, corporations etc. to flourish - and they inturn thanks to the tax breaks and de-regulated policies would "trickle down" that wealth to their workers. And for awhile it did. The rich got richer, and they trickled that wealth downward to their employees. Many, many Americans were prosperous. Until CEO's, Corporations and their Boards / Trustee's decided enough was enough and stopped trickling down money. Now you have those same people accumulating the majority of the wealth in American and hoarding it. That is a major reason why we are where we are today.

reply to post by wantsome


Life sometimes deals people a crappy hand and you either have to decide to play the hand or fold.
What keeps you in Detroit?

Why not move to another place and start over? You can get government assistance wherever you are.

Hitchhike if you have to or get a bus ticket to another area, once there get into a shelter till you can find a place to rent...

There are so many choices in life and sometimes they can't be seen because were stuck in kinda a tunnel vision kind of thing.

Most people stay where they are at and in the situation they're in because they know nothing else.

Play the hand you were dealt or get up and move to another table......

reply to post by MagesticEsoteric


I like what Magestic said here:

I understand that there are alot of obstacles in our society that can get in the way of even mediocre success but, I know that if a person really has it it them.....they will do what they have to do to get where they want to be.

I think it's all about sacrifice. How much are you willing to sacrifice for how long? You like to sleep 8 hours? LOL Not a good idea if you need to get ahead, better make it 4. Like to hang out with your friends and family? HA not if your trying to make something outa nothing. Like eating foods other than oodles a noodles? BAHAHAHAHA

I'm by no means hurting for the basics. I work, I provide. I get by. I was raised by a single Mother. I've NEVER been handed anything other than a couple hundred dollar loans. Would I like more for myself? SURE!! Am I willing to sacrifice for years on a crap shoot possibility of wealth and happiness? Naaa, not right now anyway.

What really pisses me off are the people who are helped and handed everything they need to be successful, and they have NO CLUE what a gift it is. Just a roof over their heads...free laundry...free food...help with school costs...first car....the list goes on and on. The things some parents are capable of providing to their adult children that SO many of them don't even appreciate.

OP you CAN do it babe!! You just gotta want it bad enough to put in the amount of work that it will unfortunately require for you to rise up. I wish you all of the luck in the world, thank you for posting

I think that society is suffering from "future shock" from the book by Toffler

Toffler argued that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an industrial society to a "super-industrial society". This change overwhelms people, he believed, the accelerated rate of technological and social change leaving people disconnected and suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation"—future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems are symptoms of future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock he popularized the term "information overload."

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by mwood
reply to post by wantsome

 

Life sometimes deals people a crappy hand and you either have to decide to play the hand or fold.
What keeps you in Detroit?

Why not move to another place and start over? You can get government assistance wherever you are.

Hitchhike if you have to or get a bus ticket to another area, once there get into a shelter till you can find a place to rent...

There are so many choices in life and sometimes they can't be seen because were stuck in kinda a tunnel vision kind of thing.

Most people stay where they are at and in the situation they're in because they know nothing else.

Play the hand you were dealt or get up and move to another table......

I agree....not to say that I don't empathize with the OP because i can.

It's hard to see through that tunnel vision sometimes...even for the strongest of character...it just is

I've been there. Just as I'm sure many of us have at some point in our lives.


I like your poker reference...it's pretty straight forward.

reply to post by dc4lifeskater

stop whining and do something, if you aren't going ot do something then blame yourself.

I have to agree with you. Some empathy needs to be shown to people who are without but it cant be allowed to turn into endless charity.

Originally posted by MidnightSunshine
reply to post by Alda1981

 

It's 'don't'.

I stopped reading your reply when I got to this mispunctuated word. The whole thing just no longer made any sense. OH the over use of ... had nothing to do with it by the way.

Silly isn't it?

I have somethings to say to the OP when I finish reading, just had to interject here about this ridiculousness.

edit on 3-1-2013 by MidnightSunshine because: (no reason given)

I would disagree a punctuation has any connection with your and you're. Especially on a title of a thread. I see it as a matter of respect when you prepare something for others to read. You might think it's ridiculous. I don't. But nice comeback you did there... you totally put me in my place.

Actually being "new poor" or "government assisted" is better than being middle class in our current age.... I think this is important plan of our government so people get all nice, comfy and docile... Don't worry as they strip away your rights, if you go up against them they'll threaten to take your food stamps or whatever it may be and you will have no choice but to accept the alternative....

Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
It literally doesn't matter what you say. Because they know a few people that beat the odds, because they know of people who have had it worse, that means that everybody can beat the odds.

It just doesn't matter. Most of the people on here won't understand the concept of having to choose between pursuing your dreams or taking care of your family. And they'll get mad because they'll be like "oh I gave up my dream of being a rockstar/astronaut/pony/whatever for my wife/kids/to join the military to protect your ungrateful hide", failing to realize that this isn't the kind of dreaming I'm talking about at all. The kind of dreaming that I'm talking about is the simple dream where you're not constantly worrying about where the next meal comes from and how you'll get to work tomorrow.

Dude, seriously, a lot of the people on this website, in this country, don't get it because they don't want to get it.

They don't want to understand that there are a lot of people who are in legitimate dire straights. They don't want to understand that poverty, ignorance, violence, and child abuse are major factors that severely hinder a lot of people with a lot of potential. They don't want to understand that the garbage they were fed about anybody and everybody being able to get a leg up and do just fine in the U.S. if they only worked hard enough was just that: garbage.

I also want to add onto this post that in order to be successful in life you have to "network" with people - A child who is born into a middle-class family have their parents networks and better knowledge passed down about the world and how to be successful.

Im working class, the only knowledge my parents ever gave me about the working world is "Jobs are #, managers are #, pay is #, why give a #?"
Just became unemployed. Not my parents fault but i wish i would have had some better advice when i left school!

Hey brother you came here to talk some of us are here to listen. I dont think anyones life is perfect perhaps you should find it in yourself the happiness you would like and then make that come to the surface when you don't like something you can empower yourself to change it. My city isn't much better I try to see past all of that maybe you should take up painting and put your ideas into a tangable visual piece and start writing down all the things you want to see change and begin to search for answers who knows maybe you can sell some paintings and write a book on observation alone that started on the inside and you created. The world is not hopeless, its just lost.