So, I encourage you to read the article The Other America, from msnbc.com. It makes a lot of good points, and includes the following immortal quotes:
From GWB's momma, Mrs. Barbara Bush: "So many of the people in the arenas here, you know, were underprivileged anyway. So this is working very well for them." Umm, yeah, like being crowded into a hot dark hellhole with 10,000 other people would work well for ANYONE. I mean heck, the Audubon Zoo didn't even cram their animals into "safe" rooms during the hurricane -- and the animals apparently fared better than some of the folks in the Superdome. Sure, Mrs. B, I'm sure it's working well for them, I mean, it's not like they're human beings or anything.
The best quotes of all, however, come from Illinois Senator Barack Obama (& to quote my friend Jonathan, "I will quit my job to work on that man's presidential campaign" when it happens), and read:
"I hope we realize that the people of New Orleans weren't just abandoned during the hurricane," Sen. Barack Obama said last week on the floor of the Senate. "They were abandoned long ago—to murder and mayhem in the streets, to substandard schools, to dilapidated housing, to inadequate health care, to a pervasive sense of hopelessness."and even better,
Obama, the only African-American in the U.S. Senate, says "the ineptitude was colorblind." But he argues that while—contrary to rapper Kanye West's attack on Bush—there was no "active malice," the federal response to Katrina represented "a continuation of passive indifference" on the part of the government. It reflected an unthinking assumption that every American "has the capacity to load up their family in an SUV, fill it up with $100 worth of gasoline, stick some bottled water in the trunk and use a credit card to check into a hotel on safe ground." When they did focus on race in the aftermath, many Louisianans let their fears take over. Lines at gun stores in Baton Rouge, La., snaked out the door. Obama stops short of calling this a sign of racism. For some, he says, it's a product of "sober concern" after the violence in the city; for others, it's closer to "racial stereotyping."
So, again, read the article The Other America, from msnbc.com. No matter what your socioeconomic status, it's eye-opening; but if you've never had to think or worry about your status, it's even more important.
5 comments:
Very good article. I particularly liked the quote from Bush's mom. It is amazing to me how money can change a person's perspective on basic human rights. Bush will always be more concerned for his wealthy, religious, conservitive voters. Until we get people into office without a few million in daddy's bank account, we'll be stuck with representation of the rich.
Ah, how sweet it is to be oblivious. The words "out of touch" ring so very true right here.
Racism, classism, or just cultural differences?
If I just happen to notice that looting for the most part only occurs in specific neighborhoods, does it make me racist for noticing that?
Maybe you would tell me, well it is not a race thing, it is a “poor” thing.
Suppose then I say, that it appears that this phenomenon only happens in one specific neighborhood, and not say; poor Hispanic neighborhoods, or poor Indian neighborhoods, again does it make me a racist for even mentioning that I noticed this?
Well I suppose it could, if I then ascribed the blame for this to the color of the persons skin. However suppose I were to say that I put the blame on the “culture” of a particular group of people, and not because they are of a certain color, or jsut because they are poor, but because they grow up in a whole culture which promotes lawlessness, looks down on education, and where fatherhood is a single act, not a lifetime commitment? If their leaders are not willing to admit this culture problem, and work toward fixing it, instead of blaming everything on race, they will never solve it.
Racism is still around, and nobody can deny it, however I am saying that their is a culture problem, not a race. Jessie Jackson, and those like him do much more harm to Black people in America, than good.
When reading the Newsweek article, one thing really jumped off the page at me. Consider the case of Deloris Ellis, (as Newsweek did). “Pregnant at 17 and forced to drop out of high school, she went on welfare for a time, then bounced around minimum-wage jobs.” What do you see when you read these lines. Is Deloris’s plight due to an American government which does not care about her? Is it America’s fault that Deloris got pregnant at 17 and dropped out of high school? Is it the American taxpayer’s job to pay for Deloris to go to a better school, in a better neighborhood, just on the hope that she will make better decisions? Is there ever any point in life where people are responsible for their own decisions? Suppose Deloris was from a decent neighborhood, with good schools, would her plight be any different? Probably not unless she had parents to bail her out.
Does it make me racist for noticing that hundreds of thousands of immigrants have come to this country since its founding, and that all of them have made better lives for themselves, except for much too large a portion of one community of people. Am I automatically labeled a racist for even noticing this? The Irish, Asians, Arabs, and Hispanic people, have in the past, or are now taking advantage of opportunities in America. Hispanic people seem to have no problem finding jobs.
What good will it do to raise the minimum wage, if you still have to have some education to get one of the jobs. What if we passed a law to simply give everyone in America, below the poverty line, $30,000 per year, straight from the Federal Government, would that solve our poverty problem. Hell no, it would get worse. If the culture of the people doesn't change first, then all the programs we can come up with will not help.
What are the basic human rights in question here? We offer housing, we offer public education, we have a minimum wage, we offer welfare, we offer social security, and we even foot the bill for emergency healh care in our communities. What more should we do?
There was inept leadership at all levels of this debacle in New Orleans. State and local government in Louisiana has been corrupt and inept for years, and now people have died because of it.
IN the end, all America can do is provide "opportunity", which America does provide, in abundance. America has more opportunity, and more ways to take advantage of these opportunities than any country in the world. There are ways out of poverty, but a person has to be willing to take the opportunity given them. What can you do when people choose the other path, just like many chose to stay home when told to evacuate?
You can't help where or to whom you were born, but America does provide a way out.
Nice post. I liked hearing your perspective, and concede to many points. Next time I hope you post a name to go along with them. To answer your question, no...I don't think your opinion makes you racist.
What I read from the article was a class issue. America is being split into class factions of middleclass, poor, and rich. The poor remain so because of a lack of education. Not just tangible knowledge, but means to obtain it. If a person messes up thier younger years and must drop out of high school to support children, I don't think that mistake should dictate the rest of thier lives. There are many programs available to help train them for a better field, but would you have the time balancing jobs and children? I believe that people must seek opportunities for themselves as well, but sometimes need an ounce more help.
Before Katrina hit, did the United States offer a way out of the city for those without sufficent means? Were acceptable living accomodations made for those without family up north? Were assurances and systems implemented that ensured thier only possessions would not be taken? In this scenario, I believe America dropped the ball on making opportunities to potential Katrina victims.
To start with, please know that I am ecstatic to be able to live in the United States. Ours is a country that has the ability to provide incredible opportunities, and I recognize that. It's my personal opinion, however, that we don't provide those opportunities equitably. Here are some things to consider when we talk about the "opportunities" provided to some of the "have-nots" in America (I promise it will be worth the length):
*The "poverty" level is based on statistics from BEFORE 1970. For a single parent with two children, this is less than $15,000 with which, according to our government you should be able to adequately feed, house, and clothe your children. A 2-bedroom apartment in South St. Louis county rents for $505 x 12 months = $6060, leaving $8940. Utilities run $100/month, leaving annual income at $7740. IF you can feed your family on $200/month, you have $5340 left for the year. Clothing for kids, personal necessities? What about a car payment, and even if you own & only carry liability insurance? Doctor bills, health insurance . . . I hope I'm making a point.
As far as the aforementioned "Deloris" goes -- please don't get me started on the "abstinence only" sex ed in schools. And I missed the point where we were told that it was her CHOICE to get pregnant. This is the part where I get on my soapbox & mention the possibility that she was raped, or perhaps that she was on the pill & using condoms & still got pregnant but was prevented from terminating the pregnancy.
Now, is it "the American taxpayer’s job to pay for Deloris to go to a better school, in a better neighborhood, just on the hope that she will make better decisions"? That depends on your definition of "better." Does she have the right to textbooks? Yep. School supplies? Yes. Qualified teachers that care? Yes. A school that is safe, and not over-crowded? Yes. Computer equipment? only if you expect and desire her to find a job when she graduates. Now, if all you're really concerned about is who will be the janitor for your wealthy child's business? Then no, she doesn't need half of that.
"Is Deloris’s plight due to an American government which does not care about her?" No one rises to low expectations. We as a society have created a self-fulfilling prophecy of poor performance: for example -- "Dave the employer" knows simply that Deloris was pregnant at 17 & dropped out of high school. Dave assumes it was her choice, that it was a bad decision on her part, and this assumption leads Dave to treat her as someone who makes poor decisions. Deloris, recognizing that she is being treated like this, can choose to work as hard as possible to disprove Dave. There are people out there, however, that will not be swayed by any amount of information -- it may not matter how hard Deloris works, Dave can still treat her poorly. At this point, where is Deloris's motivation to improve her performance? My point here is that we cannot shove students 35- and 40- or more to a classroom, take away their books, leave them in crumbling buildings and tell them that they can grow up to be anything they want to be. That's like putting them in a room with no windows and telling them to reach for the stars.
I would question how many poor Hispanic or poor Indian neighborhoods have been observed during a catastrophe such as this. I don't know how many such neighborhoods are in the gulf coast, so I don't feel comfortable making this comparison. I will wager, however, that crime rates correlate directly to income levels, no matter what ethnicity you're dealing with.
Next part: "Does it make me racist for noticing that hundreds of thousands of immigrants have come to this country since its founding, and that all of them have made better lives for themselves, except for much too large a portion of one community of people. Am I automatically labeled a racist for even noticing this? The Irish, Asians, Arabs, and Hispanic people, have in the past, or are now taking advantage of opportunities in America. Hispanic people seem to have no problem finding jobs." Well, this is the part where I mention that not all immigrants came willingly, and that the treatment of a group of people has a direct effect on their behavior. If you treat someone like they're useless for long enough, you're going to get someone who believes they're useless and acts accordingly.
Lastly, back to the opportunities we offer: "We offer housing, we offer public education, we have a minimum wage, we offer welfare, we offer social security, and we even foot the bill for emergency healh care in our communities." The waiting list for public housing is staggering. Public education is, and has been, in a sad state of affairs in poor communities, in large part due to the structure of funding based on property taxes. Welfare -- how about this -- when I was 16, my mom lost her job and attempted to get public assistance while she ACTIVELY looked for another job that could provide for our family of three. Because she owned a relatively new car, we weren't eligible for assistance. So we could get rid of the car (losing money in the process) and get assistance, but then how is she supposed to look for a job? Add to that the stigmata associated with welfare, and some people are just too proud to accept it. Social security? please don't make me laugh, but do refer back to the "poverty level" discussion above, and consider that many people collecting SS have to pay for medications or medical treament. As far as providing emergency care -- I would suggest that if we provided PREVENTATIVE care and education, we could lessen the amount of emergency care needed.
Okay, I'm done with my "born-of-the-lower-middle-class-first-generation-college-graduate" rant. I appreciate the fact that you've read this far and recognized my opinion, whether you agree with it or not.
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