Thursday, December 8, 2011

Why Do They Keep Picking On The Poor?

As the Primaries draw near for the Republican Party's presidential anointed to be revealed, we see many varying cries to arms.  Most notable of late is the war on the poor of our country.  I read comments from posters regurgitating rhetoric that have become the latest talking points of the moment, created by a pundit who has more arrogance than tact or compassion.   I find myself embroiled in the debate I may or may not be capable of winning, depending on the number of conservatives or moderates/ liberals who are posting thumb's up or thumb's down on that particular site at that moment.  And as I read a misguided rending of an angry follower of visceral ideology, I find myself in awe of the lack of thoughtful understanding.  Do these people know not how to google or fact check or even think for themselves?

When I was young my teacher taught us about "Stereotypes". It is a word that means putting a general meaning to all in a group that only applies to a small few. To this day I continue to read many comments from people who obviously haven't learned that to group all poor into the same group is a false assumption or stereotype.

There are many poor people who have worked hard all their lives and either didn't go to college because they weren't confident enough to feel they could succeed, or maybe they already know their abilities are not conducive to such an undertaking. There are others who have gone to college but have had a situation beyond their control that has kept them from being able to finish or to monopolize on their further education. I have seen each of these situations in play.

Many conservative supporters seem to want to vilify those who make a poor living while cheering for their wealthy employer who is making record profits at the expense of their labor.  Many such employers offer no company healthcare, or one with premiums that are too expensive for an employee to afford at his/her meager salary. Interesting to see these "job creators" making record profits while informing their employees that they are decreasing benefits and freezing salaries. I wonder why so many people (approximately 60% according to recent polls) are so angry and have taken to the streets.

Recently, Republican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich told an audience in Iowa "Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who works..."  I wonder which study he was quoting when he made such remarks.  He went on to say "...they literally have no habit of showing up on Monday. They have no habit of staying all day. They have no habit of 'I do this and you give me cash,' unless it's illegal."  Does he seriously believe this unfounded stereotype?

It has become clear to me that many of the followers of beltway media sources - the ones that purport 'fairness' and 'balance' in their reporting yet espouse very unbalanced views - have been led to believe that this is not only a possible truism but the norm amongst the very poor in America.  I am here to say it just isn't true.

When I was young , at times, my mother worked 2 jobs in order to make ends meet.  There were many nights I didn't see her before I went to bed.  Yet, we were still very poor.  Many of our meals consisted of rice or some concoction created with rice.  Mostly it was something I preferred not to introduce to my body but had no choice if I wanted a meal.  I can tell you that when your stomach shrinks it's much easier to disregard one or two of the in-dilectible meals set before you.  There were many times I chose to only eat the cereal I'd had for breakfast and choke down only half of the sandwich I was given for lunch.  After years of peanutbutter and  something-else sandwiches I have found it difficult to choose it as a desired lunch alternative.  Thankfully my children don't know what that's like.

As an adult I had decided to return to school to get my degree.  I had hoped to become a lawyer and chose Philosophy/Pre-Law as my four year degree kick-start.  I attended Kansas State University while my daughter began kindergarten.  Each afternoon I would leave class to pick her up from school and bring her back to the university with me while my husband played Army on the neighboring base.  Some days it all worked out well, other days it was a struggle. 

I was so determined to achieve my degree and move on to the next stage of my life that I was willing to do whatever it took.  Because the university charged the same tuition for any number of credit hours over 7, I took as many as 25 credit hours in a semester.  It was hard, but I didn't have the money and we were barely getting by with the $1000 per month my husband made as a medic in the Army.  Macaroni and Cheese and Hamburger Helper became a staple in our home during those desperate times.

I needed to finish my degree quickly and move on so I could get a job in order to assist in supporting our family.  After my first year I had completed one-half of my degree requirements and carried a 3.3 cumulative GPA.  Yes, the poor girl who, according to Newt Gingrich, 'had no working habits' was working far beyond most of her fellow classmates in college. 

I was involved in college-sponsored groups that would help to further my education about our world politics and I attended classes day and night, every weekday and, in some semesters, on Saturday.  It was a grueling schedule but I was so focused that I didn't seem to notice.  The important thing to me at that moment was that my grades were good, I would have my degree in a year and my only difficult decision at that point was whether or not I would get my Masters Degree before I went on to Law School.  And then a different choice crossed my path.  My daughter was diagnosed with a severe heart disease that required a heart transplant.

My life was put on hold.  My degree was no longer in sight.  My only focus at that point became the welfare of my child.  Although we lived in Manhattan, Kansas at the time, the facility that would be performing her transplant was in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  So we were suddenly faced with not only struggling to pay our bills in Kansas with the $1,000 a month my husband received from the Army, we also had to pay for our rent and food in another city of which we would be residing for a very long time.  We were thankful to have friends who took great care of our animals in our Kansas home while we were gone, but the situation was an immense weight that we continued to endure without notice as our focus was razor sharp.  Thankfully the surgery went well and we were able to return home only a few months later.

A couple years after my daughter's surgery, I found myself a single mother with a daughter who had ongoing health needs.  I worked full-time at a job that paid barely over minimum wage, but had the company-sponsored health benefits that I needed in order to take care of my child.  Once again I struggled.  I worked hard at my job and finished my degree at the same time.  Thankfully, I was able to catch a break, a lead on a higher paying job had crossed my path, and I was on my way out of financial despair. 

So, here I am today, able to say that I live fairly well, although it has not always been that way.  My mother struggled and then years later I struggled as well.  I look at everyone of my siblings and how strong they also are, how hard they also work, and can see nothing in our unfortunate past that reflects or supports Mr. Gingrich's- or any short-sighted conservative's-opinion of the very poor.  As a matter of fact, we are representative of so many Americans who succeeded in spite of being poor and gained superior work ethics because we saw how hard our parents worked to provide a decent living in the face of adversity.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That's the first thing I said when I heard Gingrich's comments about poor children: 'what is he talking about?' The majority of poor families in this country DO work, and work very heard, just to scratch out a life of some sort. And most want their children to get an education and have a better life. Is working as a janitor or office go-fer going to help them do that??? No!

On the other hand, I do think it is a good idea for many kids to work part-time, starting fairly young, to complement schooling with a taste of what jobs are like when you do NOT have an education.

Your family is one I've been absolutely privileged to know in my lifetime, and I find it insulting for Mr. Gingrich to make such sweeping generalizations and propose such inappropriate non-solutions to a problem he just doesn't understand!

Mr. Gingrich is a walking disaster in my opinion.