as a child in a single-mom family with a deadbeat dad and then later living in an economically depressed community in the united states, i grew up in and around poverty. one learns to go without, to find other things to keep one's self busy. it also becomes rapidly apparent that poverty is not an issue in some far and distant country: it's right here, right now. and it's not about lazy people, stupid people or "bad" people either.
fortunately for me, my experience with being poor was head and shoulders above what most people in this world endure. that's a pretty sobering thought. in any case, i moved on and live a decent life these days (for certain values of "decent" anyways ;)
the other day, via a friend's website i came upon this blog title "welfare mum". it's one woman's story of leaving a bad situation (abusive, alcoholic marriage) for the betterment of her and her kids but being left relatively poor along the way. she's on welfare, working and going to school so she can get back on her own two feet again. for those who have never been through such a thing, it can be quite enlightening to read about what its like. if nothing else, it helps one realize how fortunate most of us truly are. i also came away remembering how hard some of the people in this world work and struggle just to make ends meet in an honourable way.
"welfare mum" even manages to do volunteer work to help others in even worse situations than herself. this makes me ask myself, "what am i doing for my community? what can i do for my community?"
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19 comments:
Blah. Try living in a place where you can't be on welfare because welfare doesn't **exist**.
When I read about the "problems" of poor americans, I want to puke.
Oh, poor thing, you have to work two jobs and abandon drugs. Cry me a river.
In most of the world, you don't get into that situation because you would have been f*ing dead already, because if you are stupid/unlucky/f*ed enough to get into drugs and not have a job and not have anyone to support you, you just starve/overdose/kill yourself.
And I see that every day.
Mr. Seigo, come back and tell me about how you have seen poverty when you see a 5 year old kid rifling garbage bags for food.
At night. In winter.
Chickenshit.
Mr. Anonymous, come back when you can post a real name.
Oh, right, wench. That was a really thoughtful argument, there.
You see, it's not what anonymous said. It's that he posted under anonymity that's important.
(Another anonymous guy, not the same one).
Aaron posted that what HE saw was a 'version' of poverty. Here in America there ARE kids rifling through the garbage. At night. In winter. There are 90,000 Americans who are living without running water, or electricity. 90,000! In a DEVELOPED country! Sure we aren't in India, or the Philipeans (I have a friend who is an American who is from the Philipeans, and the stories are nightmares). But this is a supposedly developed country and we have poverty. And try telling that welfare mom who doesn't have enough money at the end of the month to buy food for her kids and has to hear them cry at night that she should just 'suck it up' cause she doesn't know what poverty is! Thankfully we DO have welfare! And if you live in a country that doesn't, then get off your ass and make some changes instead of slamming someone else for trying to get off theirs!
Jaye
Jaye: 90K out of 260M. That's about 1 in 3000?
That's nothing. That's a speck. And the fact is, what wench posted was stupid anyway.
As for getting off one's ass... well, you are speaking without any knowledge of what the original anonymous guy's actual deeds are, are you not?
As for the kids crying at night because the mother can't buy food? Uh?
Is there no basic food supply for minors provided by the gvmt?
There is in the rest of the developed world! So maybe *you* should get off your own ass?
And no, she doesn't know what poverty is. She has a roof over their heads. They eat most days. That's poverty, but not *real* poverty.
Really poor people are homeless, and malnourished.
There are millions of really poor people in the world. They don't have blogs.
(The second anonymous guy, not the first one)
If I lost a child to an illness I would be devestated. But if you had lost a child to a heinous murder and came along and said to me "You don't know what losing a child is" wouldn't that be just ridiculous? Bottom line would be we would both have lost a child. We would both have a hole in our lives. Or if I owned a boat, a nice little run about, and YOU had a yacht. Still ridiculous for you to say 'You have no clue what it is to have a boat, cause MINE is bigger". You see, it's not about what degree your poverty level is. It's that for where YOU live, it's poverty. Poverty in America is NOT what poverty is in China. Or India. Or Malawi. Not even CLOSE. But it IS poverty. As for me getting off my ass, I am currently getting a law degree with the intent of being able to help NCP's who have no money get a fair shake in court. I also, along with my husband, am a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. We are also going with another charity group to build a childrens park in April. That along with successfully raising FIVE children,and being a Navy wife (which means my husband is gone half of every year!), along with college. Get off my ass? I haven't been ON my ass in years! How about YOU?
Jaye
Well, Jaye, see why your original "get off your ass" comment was not the right thing to say?
Think about it.
And regarding the analogies... I think this case is more like someone with ulcers saying "I know what disease is". Hell no. People with Cancer know what disease is!.
Ulcers suck. Sure. But in the grand world of illness, no, people with ulcers really don't know what being sick is.
(Claiming the name "Anonymous contributor #3")
Pardon... but why did this blog entry become the subject of heated argument? Lots of people are poor. That really sucks. Since when did the manner or degree to which a person is poor become a pissing contest? Shame on anonymous posters #1 and #2!
Careful, Anonymous #3, wench will probably call you names too.
Screw it. I don't want to argue on a friend's site. Feel free to nitpick all you want on my site. That's what it's there for.
Oh, wench, cut the crap.
You don't give a name either, unless your name is Ms. Tech Wench. Are those the Kentucky Wenches? How's your aunt, Serving Wench?
Your profile says nothing, except that you bothered registering so you appear with a name.
Your own site doesn't say your name, either!
We grownups have a word for what you did, it's called being stupid. When someone presents a point, you can attack the point. When you attack the poster instead, you are being stupid.
Calling someone chickenshit just because he doesn't bother registering in blogger is stupid in spades.
There is a reason why the ad hominem is a logical fallcy, you know.
Grow up. You are 27 already.
I do have an account. I am just posting anonymously to piss you off, annoying woman!
Although I have opinions on your worthless arguments, I won't voice them here...
aseigo asks what he can do for his community, and I have to say that he is doing a great job already - he is an amazing software developer, so he should stick to that (-;
Mr Seigo - You are helping the world just fine as it is.
My profile is for commenting on Blogger only, because once upon a time, blogger didn't let you enter your name and website manually. I don't list my info in my profile because blogger sucks donkey dick, and half the time, it takes forfuckingever to update after you submit a form.
You want my information? I never hide it, but you didn't bother to look, did you?
You want my website? http://www.techwench.com
You want my full name?
Danalyn West
Oh, not enough for you? You don't want to go find the rest on your own?
Okay, let me give you my address, so you can send me letter bombs:
1600 Heritage Drive, 416
McKinney, TX 75069
How about the phone? I don't get enough prank calls, anyway:
214-491-0345
Oh, you have fax spam for me too?
972-542-7710
You want my company's Tax ID number, too?
I'm not the one that needs to do the growing up.
I deleted my comment for the sake of trying to salvage Aaron's comments. But if you absolutely must have the last word, you have at it.
And I guess this was a feeble attempt at slamming the US too. Aaron lives in the People's Republic of Canuckistan so I'm sure he's been thoroughly indoctrinated by now.
All I can say is look at that shithole France and what the welfare state has done for it.
www.fuckfrance.com
Anonymous 1 and 2. You want to pick on someone come on over to my site. I'm just a little old lady who is trying to survive in one of the most expensive state in the U.S. But don't leave anonymous comments. Leave your real name and URL if you have one.
I used to live from paycheck to paycheck for awhile when my husband got very ill and couldn't work. I couldn't work because I had to care for him. Now that he is deceased, I have no income at all. But you don't see me whining and crying about it. When we needed help, we got turned down by the system, but I didn't try to kill myself or do drugs or anything stupid.
Don't be calling others stupid either. You're a hypocrite for using someone elses blog to get attention.
I have known Mr. Seigo for a long time and he is a very intelligent upstanding person. And so is The Tech Wench.
There are people out there who don't want to be on the system, but circumstances beyond their control make it a need for them to do so. Get off your high horse and come visit me. Just click on my blog I have alot of friends who would like to meet you.
someone said i should come back when i've seen a 5 year old rifling through garbage looking for food.
well, i accomplished that one a long time ago. i'd suggest you assume a lot less about my life experiences.
but it's really not about "who has it the worst" and "who really understands it the best". problems are relative and some people's despair is on an absolute scale not so bad; note that i said that my personal experience, despite it's hardships, was head and shoulders above most in this world. it was also far below the experience of many people in the "western world"
to others who have been through similar experiences: if you have lived through hardship but can not empathize with others that are going through their own hardships, then you have learned nothing from your experience and your life has yet to be reclaimed as meaningful.
too many of us become wrapped up in our own experience which becomes a blindness to the conditions of others. the well off "forget" what it means to struggle and too many of those that struggle erect a cross for themselves to climb up on and wail about how hard their life is.
and that is the real disease: the divisions that we build needlessly within our minds and hearts.
so stop posturing and start making things better. there are so many ways of doing that.
> And I guess this was a feeble
> attempt at slamming the US too.
what part of "it's right here, right now" was hard to understand? seeing as i live in canada, where would "right here" be? canada, you moron.
put your misplace nationalistic insecurity behind you and try paying attention to the topic here: the widespread challenge of poverty that exists pretty much everywhere these days.
Aaron lives in the People's Republic of Canuckistan so I'm sure he's been thoroughly indoctrinated by now
Angie was NEVER married, and both her kids were born out of wedlock on welfare. There are people out there whou don't live on welfare,but are poor by the countries standards--you should write about them. Angie is a troll, and she's sucked you in.
She's been on welfare for 8 years--that's not hard luck, that sucking money away from other people.
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