Why the demonization of the poor and homless?

[Emperor-of-Dragons]

It's strange, you have people giving the third degree to poor people claiming they aren't' poor enough if they have things like cellphones, decent food, cars, REFRIGERATORS (Especially so if they're PoC). Then there's the assumption that they're all lazy despite most actually having jobs. Even then, the people that have the arbitrary skepticism of poor people tend to be other poor people who don't have a pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out of themselves, which is terribly ironic. Why is poverty, and homelessness so divisive?

[Trey Strain]

Pay attention to what's happening in Congress. Simultaneous with "tax reform," which is a code term for cutting taxes for the super-wealthy, we're getting "welfare reform," which will viciously hose the poorest Americans.

Class warfare is real, folks. The problem is that only the wealthy are fighting it.

[Adam Allen]

Because if poor people are not to blame for being poor, then all of our talk about the freedom of opportunity and equality in America is bs. If the poor are not at fault, and thus deserving of being poor, then maybe the rich don't really deserve to be rich?

If you start in that direction though, then you can't ever want to be rich, yourself ... and, being rich would be awesome, right? Who really wants to remove the possibility of ever becoming ridiculously rich? That's just ... you know, unAmerican.

[Trey Strain]

Because if poor people are not to blame for being poor, then all of our talk about the freedom of opportunity and equality in America is bs. If the poor are not at fault, and thus deserving of being poor, then maybe the rich don't really deserve to be rich?

If you start in that direction though, then you can't ever want to be rich, yourself ... and, being rich would be awesome, right? Who really wants to remove the possibility of ever becoming ridiculously rich? That's just ... you know, unAmerican.

That's why most people support class warfare on the side of the super-rich. They think they're going to join the super-rich sooner or later. As someone once put it, Americans think they're "temporarily embarrassed billionaires."

[SuperiorIronman]

The area I come from had its poor get together and created a society that will get you killed if you look at them wrong. The police don't go into that region not because they are afraid, they don't want to admit they created a monster. People from that area also get looked down upon because one's origins are enough of an eye sore to them. I literally can't talk about what I consider my second home in public because people familiar with the area have the wrong impression of the local poor.

Society has a habit of trying to throw away what it considers weak and in my case made a town that got people killed and destroyed families through vice, because what else are they going to do when they have no other options? Here they demonize them because they created a monster and realized they screwed up. They tried to deter people from that but have yet to bring people back from it. If they feel they are better off than you are they will try to flaunt it and be "better".

[Mister Mets]

There are a series of reasons, with various degrees of legitimacy.

The needy will never be popular. In general, people would rather not give time and money to someone else.

There's enough class and racial segregation that people can be unaware of the difficulties of those in a different situation. There's also ignorance of various aspects of their lives (IE- how much does a cell phone cost? How necessary is it?) which can lead to some misunderstandings.

The poor are disproportionately likely to have certain behavioral problems, and to have made some poor decisions. Some will blame them for this, and there will be others concerned about incentives.

There will always be a preference of people who have their **** together.

[PaulBullion]

The needy will never be popular.

There is a long history of beloved poor characters in pop culture and literature.







If you hate the poor, that may be your political leanings showing.

[Trey Strain]

There is a long history of beloved poor characters in pop culture and literature.







If you hate the poor, that may be your political leanings showing.

If you watch movies that were made during and just after the Great Depression, the rich were usually portrayed as fools, and the poor as wise. For a long time though it's been the other way around. The rich are seen as "cool" now.

[PaulBullion]

If you watch movies that were made during and just after the Great Depression, the rich were usually portrayed as fools, and the poor as wise. For a long time though it's been the other way around. The rich are seen as "cool" now.

Hippy culture in the 60s and 70s held similar values.

Roseanne was one of the most popular sticoms from 1988 to 1997, celebrating the working poor.

[Emperor-of-Dragons]

People also tend to have the habit of downplaying homelessness, by framing them as the stereotypical wino vet, with mental illness. I was homeless and there's TONS of actual families out there, with little kids no less. They parents even have jobs. They're called the working poor.

[Vic Vega]

People also tend to have the habit of downplaying homelessness, by framing them as the stereotypical wino vet, with mental illness. I was homeless and there's TONS of actual families out there, with little kids no less. They parents even have jobs. They're called the working poor.

I can second this as I speak to many in that position in my job.

I like how everybody in this thread who is complaining about lazy screw ups and the like have outright ignored your statement and its implications.

Finger pointing is way easier that addressing the disappearance of the manufacturing sector and the implications of same.

[Emperor-of-Dragons]

I can second this as I speak to many in that position in my job.

I like how everybody in this thread who is complaining about lazy screw ups and the like have outright ignored your statement and its implications.

Finger pointing is way easier that addressing the disappearance of the manufacturing sector and the implications of same.

Yeah, i saw so many families in shelters, or just riding around on buses just to have somewhere to be, in addition to staying in hospital waiting rooms (that's what me an my family did). And there's NEVER enough "funds" to help anybody. A lot of those homeless people you could tell never been homeless before, or didn't even look homeless (we didn't look homeless either, but i suspect that our luggage gave it away in some cases)..

[skyvolt2000]

It's strange, you have people giving the third degree to poor people claiming they aren't' poor enough if they have things like cellphones, decent food, cars, REFRIGERATORS (Especially so if they're PoC). Then there's the assumption that they're all lazy despite most actually having jobs. Even then, the people that have the arbitrary skepticism of poor people tend to be other poor people who don't have a pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out of themselves, which is terribly ironic. Why is poverty, and homelessness so divisive?

Because it's the lazy factor most see way more of and they tend to be the most VOCAL. Especially POC.

Because everything including cellphones are given to them. They have no trouble living off of our tax dollars.

And the ones who get the insults and everything are the ones who don't brag about being poor and put effort into building themselves up.

[Crazy Diamond]

Because it's the lazy factor most see way more of and they tend to be the most VOCAL. Especially POC.

Because everything including cellphones are given to them. They have no trouble living off of our tax dollars.

And the ones who get the insults and everything are the ones who don't brag about being poor and put effort into building themselves up.

The cellphones that are given are the equivalent of basic burner phones. The same people who talk about 'lazy' also complain that you can't get work. How the **** are you supposed to work in this day and age if people can not communicate with you by phone? Most of the tax money (which is really the state taking its cut after your employer does) is spent on killing people here and over seas, bailing out failing companies, and empowering the state to further defend capital. This is shown every time the federal budget is released. The spending on social services is a drop in the bucket in comparision and it is done because the contradictions of capitalism require some level of mediation hence welfare programs.

The ones who do the most complaining don't say anything about the tax credits they get for say being married or having solar panels or a home office. They don't complain when billions are given to bail out banks. But a single mom trying to get buy is what angers them? Come on.

[Ragged Maw]

A warped sort of fear that any poor person could be walking proof that one bad circumstance could render moot even the most tenacious of legitimate effort you put into achieving/maintaining prosperity, I suppose. Thus, the fear of a pointless and indifferent universe that you were thrown into with no rhyme or reason.