I saw this article today and thought I would share. We have bees from all income levels and I think everyone can get something from it. Having been in poverty as a child, I struggle with how the poor are thought of/portrayed today. I'm so grateful that I am able to provide for Baby A in a way that my mom couldn't when I young. I know it wasn't easy for her.
What do you all think?
“Compassion is a skill that we get better at with practice,” writes theologian Karen Armstrong.
eggplant / 11824 posts
I really, really dislike Paul Ryan. He's so smug and out of touch regarding poverty, health insurance, and many other issues.
Love this part:
What’s more, I could think of many middle-income and well-off people who’d made “bad decisions” without spiraling into poverty; the difference was just that they’d had the resources to fix them.
kiwi / 714 posts
This was a great read, and definitely thought provoking. Thanks for sharing!
blogger / pomegranate / 3044 posts
Great article, thanks for posting! My parents volunteer at a food bank that may close soon, and they aren't sure what the people who currently rely on it will do... Especially the ones that can only come because it's in walking distance 
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
This was such a great read. Loved it. Thank you for sharing. 
papaya / 10343 posts
Great article! I studied sociology, with a focus on poverty, in college and it was such an eye-opener to me.
The thing I became most acutely aware of was how incredibly lucky I was and how much luck played a role in my success. My parents didn't have a ton of money (very paycheck to paycheck-- but at least everything always got paid and there were always presents at Christmas!), but they did own a home and live in a good school district where I got a good education. They were able to work reasonable enough hours that I was always supervised and they were really good parents who encouraged education and considered college a necessity, not a choice (even though neither of them got to go). I worked in high school but I was doing it for spending money and college savings, not to help pay the rent and I never had to take more hours than I could handle with school. They helped me apply for college and when I got in they took on loans themselves to help me with the cost.
Sure I went to college and I worked hard for good grades and I made (mostly) good choices-- but honestly without being born into an awesome family in a good location everything I accomplished would've been 100x harder.
It drives me nuts when my peers in college or law school would make comments about the poor and basically how they (the student) had "earned everything they ever had" by working hard and making good choices. As though growing up in a good family and a good school district with people supporting you emotionally (and probably financially) had nothing to do with it.
I really don't think hardly anyone becomes successful without a good bit of luck, even if you grew up really poor you mostly likely got a "break" at some point that some other people might not get. Compassion and empathy go a long ways!
honeydew / 7303 posts
As a dentist in a community health clinic, this article hit really close to home. I really hope I never come off as that type of dentist to my patients, but I do understand it is hard to imagine or even fathom a life where dental care is not available. I see it everyday, though. I mostly see kids, so it;s very heartbreaking to me when a little one comes in with a mouth full of decay. You would not imagine how HARD it is to tactfully say that someones child's mouth is a nidus for infection and to learn more about their home care/diet/nutrition. You really have to probe into someones personal life to make a change.
That's one reason I work at my current clinic though. I really like giving a chance to the underserved, uninsured and underinsured. We have ways that people can afford it even on the tiniest (read:no) income. It really saddens me that my profession gets a horrible wrap in articles like this. I've read it time and time again. It's no joke that people in poverty have to live like this, but I hope people in my position can be more understanding and empathetic.
watermelon / 14467 posts
Thank you for sharing this! I studied sociology in college with emphasis in class structure and minority relations and we talked about this a lot.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
Great read! Really make me motivated to complain less about our finances bc I have options still to tighten the belt but so many people don't.
pear / 1548 posts
Great article, thank you for sharing! I am a teacher in a high poverty school and it really puts some things into perspective.
pear / 1639 posts
Wonderful article. Marked as a favorite so I can revisit to humble myself when I complain. Thanks for sharing.
grapefruit / 4291 posts
Great article and I can only speak for my own country but I think it's an absolute crime that we have such a thing as 'working poor" in New Zealand. When did it happen that the wages for working 40-45 hours a week stopped being enough??!!
honeydew / 7687 posts
Love. Sharing this on FB. It is impossible to step outside yourself and truly understand what it's like to have no support/resources but I wish everyone would at least try!
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