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A lot of people are poor because of their own bad decisions, I won't argue that. But most people are average at best. In theory anyone can rise up and succeed in this country, but it isn't that simple. It takes an extraordinary person to rise out of poverty and become wealthy and successful. Not everyone is smart enough to go to college or start their own business. What about the kid who is being raised by a single mom, doesn't know his dad, he's getting a sub par education, all his friends are in the same situation as he is, most of them are in gangs, he's surrounded by drugs, and living in a neighborhood where violence is the norm. Can he be successful? Sure...but it's not going to be easy, and without any positive influences and without any money he's likely going to grow up to be another "poor" person on welfare. This scenario happens ALL the time. I don't understand people who don't have compassion for those people. Especially people who like to judge when they themselves have never been poor in their lives. It's not easy to break the cycle of poverty.
I've never been on welfare, I was lucky to have parents that raised me with love and taught me right from wrong, I'm lucky that I was smart enough to get through college, I'm lucky that I was able to find a job that pays me enough money to pay my bills and eat without help. LUCKY. Everyday I wake up and feel lucky for what I have and I feel compassion for those who weren't as lucky as me. Seems like people who have been fortunate in life are the ones who judge poor people the most. Heaven forbid your tax money goes to a poor person! There are people who use government assistance to get back on their feet, people who use it because they got let go from their jobs or got sick and couldn't bounce back. There are some cold hearted people in this country that's for sure. I guess some of you would toss everyone on welfare out into the street or ship them off to an island somewhere. Geez.
The people that get sick and lose their insurance are in control? Or, when people get fired through no fault of their own and lose their livlihoods, homes, health insurance--they are in control?
Or when they are victims of other people who are unscrupulous and who lie and cheat in order to take their retirement savings ...
Pray tell, if you aren't controlling your life....who is???? The little green men? We control every aspect of our life by the choices we make. Nothing "happens" to us buy by our own hand. How absurd to believe that we are hapless victims of some unseen, malevolent force. Hogwash. That is victim mentality.
We choose wrong and we suffer the consequences, we choose right and we reap the benefits. I believe it the bible it says something like.... "What ye sow, surely ye shall reap".
20yrsinBranson
OT but This is psychology. Not religion.
If your quid pro quo exists, then how do you excuse Wall Street? Just curious. Do you pray to the corporation?, but hate the huddled masses.
I find this quite an odd combination mentally. It makes no logical sense.
I just wanted to find out why people who have found or made a better financial situation for themselves, and people with wealth or who grew up in wealth, always categorize everyone who's poor as being underachievers, or people who haven't tried hard enough in life? Why are the poor blamed for being poor? Are you the type of person who believes a poor person is always at fault for where they are in life financially? If so, do you ever think that thier path may have been more than you could have imagined to bare just to overcome poverty or do you think there are enough jobs and opportunities for each and every individual in society to be financially stable?
I haven't read through the entire thread so maybe this was already said. I think it's a defense mechanism. It's a 'wall' they erect in their psyche to ward away the realization that anyone could be poor with just one single unfortunate turn of events. It's a way to separate themselves from the reality that life is grossly unfair and that despite their best efforts, may one day be poor also. I think this wall, in their mind, makes them feel different or special vs the poor, and therefore immune to being one of them also. Perhaps it's a coping mechanism for the reality of how easily one could find themselves poor. "I'll never be poor, because should something happen I'll just pull myself up by my bootstraps and be back on the right track in no time." But you know, accidents happens, illnesses happen, that disable or are prohibitively expensive to treat that can ruin all but the most privileged.
The people that get sick and lose their insurance are in control? Or, when people get fired through no fault of their own and lose their livlihoods, homes, health insurance--they are in control?
Actually, a huge HUGE percentage of "illnesses" are caused by poor lifestyle choices. Things such as smoking, eating a poor diet, not getting enough exercise, etc., account for much of the heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc., that burdens our medical system. Even many injuries are caused by making poor choices (not wearing a seat belt, not following traffic laws, not using common sense). Granted there are some ailments which apparently "come out of nowhere", such as cancer, lupus, MS, etc. which do need some special medical attention.
As for people who get fired through "no fault of their own", there are other jobs. If a person does not overextend themselves financially by making poor choices, and works hard to replace the job as quickly as possible, there is no reason for them to suffer unnecessarily.
Besides, these two examples do not make people POOR. They are situational not generational. I am not talking about people who do have a spate of bad luck and, as a result, experience a little economic hardship for a specific period of time, and then recover. I am talking about people who have no incentive to make their life any better, except to apply for more hand outs from the government.
It's the same with people who are unattractive. They get blamed for not looking like a supermodel in such ways as losing a job opportunity for which they otherwise qualified for; losing out on an audition when someone more "glamorous" is picked; being ignored when teammates are being chosen; having few if any friends in school, even to the point of being bullied because of their looks.
Stereotypes that have been branded as negative by our money/glamor-obsessed society are wreaking havoc with people's lives to such a degree that underpinning of a stable civilization are being loosened. Soon everything is going to come crashing down because the rich and glamorous constitute only 1% of humanity, thankfully.
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Another odd combination, mentally, is loving/protecting the unborn, while sanctioning war. I could never wrap my brain around that one.
