Monday, April 16, 2012
Worthy or Not?
To be poor is something I think most people fear. Constant worry of how the bills will be paid. Will the kids have enough to eat or am I going get fired? But what does it really mean to be poor? What does it mean to be deserving?
After reading “ Positive Functions of the Undeserving Poor: Uses of the Underclass in America,” it made me wonder why people with less money are stigmatized. Why are they accused of crimes and all the wrong doings? I was really interested to read that people receiving supplemental help are actually monitored for who they live with. How a person who is so called a “deserving person,” can have a live in partner but an “undeserving poor person” is not allowed. Who is a poor person to have feeling for another human being when they can’t afford to, right? It is plain to see from this article that the plan is designed that way. Who can the upper class blame for the crimes committed. Or any other wrong doings for that matter. Don’t we need a scapegoat?
Poverty is an ongoing issue in our country. We take the time to bail out Wall St. (cause they must have been deserving) but no one cares for the mother living in a one bedroom with 4 or five kids. Its her own fault. No one cares that her husband is on the street with a drug habit he got when he was making it big selling drugs to take care of his family. What about the elderly woman who has no family and can’t afford her prescriptions, who’s going to take care of her. But I guess it must be her own fault she’s old and sick. Just because her husband fought in a war, who is she to be deserving of her much needed medication. Why should she spend her last days in comfort. Of course I say this all with sarcasm to show examples of situations and the outlook of the deserving. I for one as a single mom had my own share of judgments and misfortunes. It takes a lot to overcome society and their judgments but like the article says, poverty needs to be looked at and changed before any of the stigmas will be removed.
The list goes on and on of moral wrong doings in our country and yet we continue to stigmatize and never consider the real issues surrounding them. Does society like these classes. Do they feel better knowing someone is worse off then they are? Maybe. I guess we have to wait it out and hope for the change that is so much needed.
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Hasty judgements are a constant punishment; the stigmatization of those at the bottom of the social structure led by the dominant culture is a perfect example of how society are often as quick to follow as those to judge. We should do more "hasty questioning" for a change.
ReplyDeleteYes, we should. We should also take responsibility for our own actions instead of blaming others. Sadly, I believe the dominant culture will always exist, but we can do our best not to stoop the levels of those cultures. Crime is committed by all cultures and those of higher stature shamelessly get away with thier deviance.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post Lisa. I defintely understand the points you are making and i have thought of these points before trying to find a rationale. Some form of a reasoning why things could be this way. And i guess the article kind of makes sense of it. The rich are also the ones with the power and they keep us where they want us. The more they keep us down and the more they take the more they have. To them it is just Darwinism played on an economic scale.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is. I'm really enjoying learning about society and how it determines our class. I agree with Marx about how you are either rich or poor and thats just the way it is.
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