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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 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?
No, I do not agree that all who are poor are lazy or haven't tried hard enough.
Why do some people say that? Because they have no idea. That's really all it is. They have NO idea. What is their norm, they don't understand that it's not the norm for others. The littlest things can make a difference between someone having a chance and someone struggling for life.
It's hard to get ahead if you have no money. It's hard to get an education, if you have no money. It's hard to expand your job search area, if you have no money. It's hard to have decent clothing to "look the part", if you have no money. It's hard to eat healthy, if you have no money. It's hard to afford dental care and health care, if you have no money. It's hard to afford essentials that keep you looking presentable, if you have no money.
People assume that those who are poor are all sitting in air conditioned homes, that all own a flat screen t.v., that all have an iPhone, that all have a stereo, that all have a car, that all have all kinds of things...when the fact is, many poor do NOT have those things.
They don't understand that being poor means you have absolutely, positively NO ROOM FOR ERROR!
No, I do not agree that all who are poor are lazy or haven't tried hard enough.
Why do some people say that? Because they have no idea. That's really all it is. They have NO idea. What is their norm, they don't understand that it's not the norm for others. The littlest things can make a difference between someone having a chance and someone struggling for life.
It's hard to get ahead if you have no money. It's hard to get an education, if you have no money. It's hard to expand your job search area, if you have no money. It's hard to have decent clothing to "look the part", if you have no money. It's hard to eat healthy, if you have no money. It's hard to afford dental care and health care, if you have no money. It's hard to afford essentials that keep you looking presentable, if you have no money.
People assume that those who are poor are all sitting in air conditioned homes, that all own a flat screen t.v., that all have an iPhone, that all have a stereo, that all have a car, that all have all kinds of things...when the fact is, many poor do NOT have those things.
They don't understand that being poor means you have absolutely, positively NO ROOM FOR ERROR!
They don't understand.
I agree, and although some people who are poor may be lazy or mooching off government, there are also rich people who are poor who mooched off of parents as well. I grew up in a life where when I was a baby, the roof over my head was the roof of a Karate Dojo for a while, then we lived in a car, and with peoples' family's, and finally as I got older we had our own apartments a few times, we finally reached enough money to get a house for 2 years until my parents divorced then we started from scratch again, and at times after that one member of my family would be unemployed as another supported and vice-versa, so after a few years of that we had things 'good' for a few years, had a nice apartment ect, then recently the economy got bad, lost jobs again ect, health issues came along ect, and I'm still at poverty level with 60k in student loans to pay off now as I tried to better my own situation, but cannot get a job with that degree after 2 years of obtaining it, so I get on here and people judge and say, it's your fault pal, when in fact, just as you said, they really don't understand, they have no clue. I only gave some general background on my life just now, but life has been way more complicated than I could explain on a forum like this. People judge my current status as they do other people on here, but they don't see all I've overcome in life to even get to this point where I can tread water and live paycheck to paycheck. Thanks for your response, it's nice to finally have someone on here who doesn't assume and tries to at least understand that we are not all the same or have the same opportunities or obstacles in life.
The attitude has its roots in Puritan culture. It was believed that God rewarded those who worked hard, so financial success was equated with Godliness. If you were poor, and weren't able to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, it was a sign that you were out of favor with God, or didn't live by "Christian" values, so you were a Bad Person, and you were lazy. Puritanism is alive and well in America, and takes many guises.
The attitude has its roots in Puritan culture. It was believed that God rewarded those who worked hard, so financial success was equated with Godliness. If you were poor, and weren't able to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, it was a sign that you were out of favor with God, or didn't live by "Christian" values, so you were a Bad Person, and you were lazy. Puritanism is alive and well in America, and takes many guises.
I really didn't know that, about Puritan culture. It's funny to me to hear that as a Christian. I don't agree with this Puritan belief. My experience in life falls more in line with God being there for you in your weakness as life has been a struggle, and it also keeps me more aware of the ways he has brought me through lots of trials and shows me he cares, and that I need to rely on him and have faith in him. Yeah it does seem there are lots of Puritans out there and they don't even know they are.
Broke is a state if finances, poor is a state of mind. I grew up in a family that was always broke, but we' ve never been poor. There's a big difference. When you're poor you accept your situation, and when you accept something you stop trying to better yourself. I come from a family that always taught me to excel and never give up. That's why I grew up to find some level of success. That plays a big factor in success. I know plenty of people who have more skills than me, but they never try because they've convin ed themselves that its not worth trying. As a result their situation never improved, and never will unless they change their mindset.
Broke is a state if finances, poor is a state of mind. I grew up in a family that was always broke, but we' ve never been poor. There's a big difference. When you're poor you accept your situation, and when you accept something you stop trying to better yourself. I come from a family that always taught me to excel and never give up. That's why I grew up to find some level of success. That plays a big factor in success. I know plenty of people who have more skills than me, but they never try because they've convin ed themselves that its not worth trying. As a result their situation never improved, and never will unless they change their mindset.
You do have to have a changed minset to have an opportunity at change, but I also think other factors come along with whether or not change comes to the situation. Such as opportunities, health situations, the amount of people you may have in your support system. There are lots more I could think of. In my situation there have been lots of twists and turns and factors as to why I remain at this level. For someone to simply say my mindset is the problem, is just not true because the complexity of each individual's life is on different levels, and I beleive that God has people at certain levels in life to reach the people at that level. If 95 percent of humanity was successful then how would anyone reach the lost souls that belong to the 5 percent? I beleive through my experiences that God places us where we need to be used. Sometimes no matter how hard you try to do things your own way or follow your own plan, he has other plans for your life.
I am not sure if blame is the proper word for me but I could be wrong. We grew up without much and we were poor according to society's definition however, we still had what we needed. We had food, shelter, clothing and my Mother and that was all we needed. As a child I did not know I was "doing without" except I really wasn't because I had everything I needed. As I grew older I understood more what others considered "doing without" was and I still did not think I was doing without simply because we did not have a brand new vehicle all the time or I was not shopping at the latest high dollar boutique. Those things did not matter and still don't matter to me, we are in a good place financially even with all of the financial mistakes made along the way. We have a bit of excess as far as material possessions go but it is not over the top just some things that I purchased that we really did not need. A lot of those things are now being put into the next garage sale or being donated to a charity because I cannot stand the excessive clutter (to me and it really isn't that much) in our home. I like organized, clean but lived in, have what you need, need what you have, a place for everything and most of it in it's place.
In the long term though I believe some who remain in the same financial situation through the years probably don't seek education or skills that will improve their level of potential income, others make more than enough money but live above their means, others make more than enough money but do not make sound financial decisions, not in excessive debt but no savings to fall back on either so a vehicle repair that is simple becomes a crisis very quickly.
In the long term though I believe some who remain in the same financial situation through the years probably don't seek education or skills that will improve their level of potential income.
This is what most people in society think, but it's frustrating when people say this and it happens not to be the case. I along with lots of people have college degrees that are of no use as we sit on massive debts from trying to better our situation. There are many reasons for this. In my case I did go to school to learn a skill, but I ended up graduating and passing classes without actually knowing my skill. I also spent 8 years away from school after dropping out due to financial problems and having to work lots of hours to make ends meet after my mother lost her job, but when I came back after 8 years technology changed and I basically just went back to finish my degree. The school made the major I was studying seem like something different than it turned out to be when I first started, so after hearing from professors half way through that when I got to the last few semesters I would finally understand how everything worked together, it never happened that way for me.
I never got what certain things meant or how certain things worked together. I also had hands on classes with each theory class, but it was always group hands-on tasks and projects, so the people who were really good at the tasks and already had some experience would usually butt in and do everything as the people like me who didn't know what we were doing were only left without knowing how to do the tasks. There was only an hour on most hands on classes so not everybody learned, and as time went on most people dropped out. I continued thinking I would someday get things, but never did. When I started school there were about 35 students in each class, by the time I graduated my classes consisted of about 8 students each. So now when I go on job interviews, if I ever do because I hardly ever get one the way things are these days, I can't answer certain questions the interviewer asks, which leaves me looking dumb. So therfore nobody ends up calling me back. The only way to learn is on the job, but internships are not available or they conflict with my work hours.
Can't give up my work hours when we are making it paycheck to paycheck. So I'm pretty much stuck. Just hoping an opportunity opens up for me like it does for some others, but there are only a certain amount of positions. Basically, I tried to better my situation, but many factors came up, and even more things happened that I have forgotten in the last 10 years which leaves me unemployed in my field and working at a low income job. My point here is that sometimes situations for some people don't work as smoothly as for other people. Does this mean I have given up on things? No, it just means I haven't had my break and maybe God has other plans than what this world thinks success is supposed to be. I never judge a person's success based on how financially stable they have become because God gives and he can take away, and disasters ect can take the world's version of success away. Success to me is maintaining good morals, character, and knowing you tried your best to do the right thing, and taking care of your family the best you can. The world thinks success is about a good career or financial stability, I disagree.
]This is what most people in society think, but it's frustrating when people say this and it happens not to be the case.[/b] I along with lots of people have college degrees that are of no use as we sit on massive debts from trying to better our situation. There are many reasons for this. In my case I did go to school to learn a skill, but I ended up graduating and passing classes without actually knowing my skill. I also spent 8 years away from school after dropping out due to financial problems and having to work lots of hours to make ends meet after my mother lost her job, but when I came back after 8 years technology changed and I basically just went back to finish my degree. The school made the major I was studying seem like something different than it turned out to be when I first started, so after hearing from professors half way through that when I got to the last few semesters I would finally understand how everything worked together, it never happened that way for me.
I never got what certain things meant or how certain things worked together. I also had hands on classes with each theory class, but it was always group hands-on tasks and projects, so the people who were really good at the tasks and already had some experience would usually butt in and do everything as the people like me who didn't know what we were doing were only left without knowing how to do the tasks. There was only an hour on most hands on classes so not everybody learned, and as time went on most people dropped out. I continued thinking I would someday get things, but never did. When I started school there were about 35 students in each class, by the time I graduated my classes consisted of about 8 students each. So now when I go on job interviews, if I ever do because I hardly ever get one the way things are these days, I can't answer certain questions the interviewer asks, which leaves me looking dumb. So therfore nobody ends up calling me back. The only way to learn is on the job, but internships are not available or they conflict with my work hours.
Can't give up my work hours when we are making it paycheck to paycheck. So I'm pretty much stuck. Just hoping an opportunity opens up for me like it does for some others, but there are only a certain amount of positions. Basically, I tried to better my situation, but many factors came up, and even more things happened that I have forgotten in the last 10 years which leaves me unemployed in my field and working at a low income job. My point here is that sometimes situations for some people don't work as smoothly as for other people. Does this mean I have given up on things? No, it just means I haven't had my break and maybe God has other plans than what this world thinks success is supposed to be. I never judge a person's success based on how financially stable they have become because God gives and he can take away, and disasters ect can take the world's version of success away. Success to me is maintaining good morals, character, and knowing you tried your best to do the right thing, and taking care of your family the best you can. The world thinks success is about a good career or financial stability, I disagree.
I definitely am not saying all just some and I am by no means judging anyone. I myself have a degree that I don't use along with other certified skills that are not in use either. I went a completely different direction and I own my own company, it is just the path I chose to take through the timbers of my life. There are so many variables to each individual's situation one cannot possibly blanket statement anyone.
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