independent and unofficial
Prince fan community
Welcome! Sign up or enter username and password to remember me
Forum jump
Forums > General Discussion > HAVE YOU EVER BEEN POOR????
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Page 4 of 5 <12345>
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
Reply #90 posted 09/01/10 12:19am

SuperFunk59

I have two teenage daughters!!! I'm poor all the time!!!!!

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #91 posted 09/01/10 3:01am

Rightly

avatar

check

small circles, big wheels!
I've got a pretty firm grip on the obvious!
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #92 posted 09/02/10 1:18pm

DesireeNevermi
nd

neutral Jesus said "the poor you will have with you always" or something like that. What a frightening thought that poverty will never go away. Or perhaps poverty in every sense of the word is what will not pass. Financial poverty and spiritual poverty.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #93 posted 09/02/10 6:36pm

1sexymf

avatar

I grew up with not very much. We got the flourescent yellow gubment cheese (which I hated, but no one believes me), that big ass brick of butter, lunch - juice & a sandwhich & sometimes fried chicken which was like a delicacy, lol- that came from a truck that delivered ir daily and my mom worked and received assistance until she saved and did better.

We've never been homeless thank god and she always managed to stretch money and make $5.00 seem like $50.00.

If it taught me anything, I would say i am thankful for what i do have instrad of focusing on what i don't have.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #94 posted 09/02/10 6:52pm

dreamfactory31
3

SCNDLS said:

DesireeNevermind said:

This sounds like my life except for the bouncin' check. I've done that twice in my life. Once by accident and once on purpose. The on purpose time was hilarious even though it was rather silly of me. I had some bummy relative naggin' me for money to hold and other family gettin' on my case about being selfish and what not (when ur a single female with no chirren you are often deemed selfish). So anyway...I wrote him a check then moved the money to another account that wasn't linked to my checking. I was mostly tryna humiliate his broke ass. WTF I care about a $30 overdraft fee. hmph!

hah! his ass deposit that $500 check then his bank gonna take the money right back cuz the check didn't clear. Oooh wee I was on his shit list. Still am! biggrin

spit Chile you are too much comedy! lol

I know what you mean about family talking shit cuz you're single, child-free, and financially stable. I'm confused as to why ya'll muhhfuckas strugglin' with TWO incomes but mad at me. whofarted

Amen. Amen. Amen. It confuses me too.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #95 posted 09/03/10 7:33am

Deadflow3r

avatar

DesireeNevermind said:

neutral Jesus said "the poor you will have with you always" or something like that. What a frightening thought that poverty will never go away. Or perhaps poverty in every sense of the word is what will not pass. Financial poverty and spiritual poverty.

Spiritual poverty is the really scary kind. Mother Theresa of Calcutta commented on the endless loneliness in America.

Look at Fantasia B., was she trying to kill herself black when she was just another poor,single mom with a great singing voice? Don't think so. Now she has more money then all the people she once hung out with put together and then some and she is a mess.

Money is outside of you. It can't replace things inside of you like confidence, love, purpose etc. That is why you have rich kids like Montana Fishburne doing stupid shit.

Opinions of Deadflow3r do not represent prince.org, I know.

There came a time when the risk of remaining tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #96 posted 09/03/10 8:11am

colorblu

yes I knew this when a daughter joined the service and told some republican commanding officer that that the only thing Ronald Regan ever did for us was give us cheese

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #97 posted 09/03/10 10:55am

novabrkr

I've lived on very little money for many years, but I've always had property on the other hand. I guess I could complain about having eaten only stuff like macaroni and ketchup for weeks, but at the same time I've had my collectible Fender Stratocaster and Moog synthesizers etc. I could have always sold those if I really had to.

I've definitely never been wealthy. I have no idea what that's like. lol

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #98 posted 09/03/10 4:13pm

meow85

avatar

PunkMistress said:

CarrieMpls said:

It's the USA's dirty little secret. I have seen the same, in New Orleans. A friend of mine vounteered for Project Desire and I never knew such poverty existed in the US until I visited her and helped on a field trip for those children. People living in shacks with dirt floors, many of the children had BO, for lack of simple proper hygeine (I can only assume many didn't have running water in their homes, etc.).

It's definitely a dirty little secret. nod

I remember being absolutely shocked at some of the areas I've witnessed. WTF? Why is it just swept under the rug that US citizens are living in such horrible conditions, in forgotten areas that get no attention, funding or help? sad

You should check out some of Canada's Native reserves up north. It's fucking horrifying. Some of my own family doesn't even have access to clean water. disbelief

The Third World is here, too.

"A Watcher scoffs at gravity!"
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #99 posted 09/03/10 4:18pm

JoeTyler

DesireeNevermind said:

neutral Jesus said "the poor you will have with you always" or something like that. What a frightening thought that poverty will never go away. Or perhaps poverty in every sense of the word is what will not pass. Financial poverty and spiritual poverty.

too much weed ??

Planet Earth is gonna disappear in 5 billion years anyway...so...

tinkerbell
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #100 posted 09/03/10 4:29pm

meow85

avatar

As a kid our family was upper middle class, and that's considering I had a single mother. Even before my father passed, my mom was the sole breadwinner, and she did well. She's a testament to just how important a proper college education can be.

Then I turned 12, and she was diagnosed with what turned out to be a recurring cancer and she's been on disability ever since. But when I lived at home, we were still okay. Lower middle class or upper lower class, maybe?

But now? I'm not just broke. I'm poor. I work two jobs, one full time and one part time, and I can't pay my bills. I can't actually afford rent and by this city's standards my place is pretty cheap, food comes from the food bank more often than not, and I'm trying to pay off Student Loan bills and credit card debt incurred from using it for such splashy excesses as rent and groceries. I can't afford new clothes, or liquor, or entertainment. Even paying for necessities is a juggling act.

"A Watcher scoffs at gravity!"
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #101 posted 09/03/10 4:35pm

StillGotIt

avatar

Seriously...we Americans of today for the most part have NO IDEA what real poverty is. There are still some places in our country where there is real poverty, but most on this thread IMO just dont know.

If you were on welfare, that is not real poverty because you are not without basic needs. There are people who have no toilets, no windows, no doors, who eat mud to fill their stomachs. If they eat once a day they are lucky. There are no options, no medical care and basic education is a far fetched fantasy. You work to eat, not to buy shit.

Now...if we are talking poor by the Western standard, since I could only afford one luxury vacation this year, I consider myself to be broke as hell. biggrin

[Edited 9/3/10 16:38pm]

Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #102 posted 09/03/10 4:54pm

meow85

avatar

StillGotIt said:

Seriously...we Americans of today for the most part have NO IDEA what real poverty is. There are still some places in our country where there is real poverty, but most on this thread IMO just dont know.

If you were on welfare, that is not real poverty because you are not without basic needs. There are people who have no toilets, no windows, no doors, who eat mud to fill their stomachs. If they eat once a day they are lucky. There are no options, no medical care and basic education is a far fetched fantasy. You work to eat, not to buy shit.

Now...if we are talking poor by the Western standard, since I could only afford one luxury vacation this year, I consider myself to be broke as hell. biggrin

[Edited 9/3/10 16:38pm]

I can't always feed myself. I've gone days at a time with no food, and it's not because I'm anorexic. I've been dangerously close to homelessness. I regularly go way into overdraft on my bank account as a matter of necessity. My grand total worth of possessions is not even enough to bother insuring. I can not buy anything new. I have no car. I can't even afford a bike.

I work two jobs, have no dependents, am young and able bodied and I can't really afford my own basic necessities. With ten years of work experience and a college education, this is the reality for young people in this city in 2010. I'm not alone, either. Most of my friends are on EI or mooching off their parents due to lack of options.

I agree that many people who think of themselves as poor are just broke and that there is a difference. But there are also a lot of people -some of them right here in this thread -who really are poor. The roommate and I bought a carton of real milk last week. We had to collect change to do it....

"A Watcher scoffs at gravity!"
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #103 posted 09/03/10 9:25pm

babynoz

StillGotIt said:

Seriously...we Americans of today for the most part have NO IDEA what real poverty is. There are still some places in our country where there is real poverty, but most on this thread IMO just dont know.

If you were on welfare, that is not real poverty because you are not without basic needs. There are people who have no toilets, no windows, no doors, who eat mud to fill their stomachs. If they eat once a day they are lucky. There are no options, no medical care and basic education is a far fetched fantasy. You work to eat, not to buy shit.

Now...if we are talking poor by the Western standard, since I could only afford one luxury vacation this year, I consider myself to be broke as hell. biggrin

[Edited 9/3/10 16:38pm]

I'm thankful that I never suffered the grinding poverty that many people endure. I wish everybody could at least have basic necessities. sad

Even during some lean years, mom and grandmom managed to keep a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and clothes on our backs. Mom worked as a part time salesgirl till she got a position in management. We had a few store bought clothes from the clearance rack, but she made most of our clothes.

Grandmom was endlessly resourceful and nothing went to waste. She was raised on a farm in Virginia and that woman could make everything from butter to wine. She'd worked for a wealthy family who used to give her all sorts of things like furniture, clothes, books, records and even a piano. I was well over thirty before I found out that they sometimes used to eat oatmeal while they fed us the meat and vegetables.

It sounds sappy, but when we were little we seldom felt poor. There was usually lots of laughter, singing, dancing, block parties, church socials, etc.

It was a big deal when we finally got a telephone...woohoo! lol

Prince, in you I found a kindred spirit...Rest In Paradise.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #104 posted 09/03/10 9:27pm

Keyumdi

avatar

We were very poor after my father died, but with the help of our church my mother managed to keep her house.

Government cheese poor. 2 outfits a year for school, holes in shoes poor. Bedbugs and leaky faucets everywhere poor. Never had lice though, and always managed to get a Christmas tree every year.

[Edited 9/3/10 21:30pm]

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #105 posted 09/04/10 7:05am

novabrkr

StillGotIt said:

If you were on welfare, that is not real poverty because you are not without basic needs. There are people who have no toilets, no windows, no doors, who eat mud to fill their stomachs. If they eat once a day they are lucky. There are no options, no medical care and basic education is a far fetched fantasy. You work to eat, not to buy shit.

Sure, I get what you are saying. However, I personally find it weird when poverty is attempted to be defined by some sort of a contest on who's the poorest. The conditions that you are describing here are often referred to as "extreme poverty" or "absolute poverty". Seems like some dictionary definitions for "poverty" these days equate it with such extreme conditions as well, but I don't think it matches how people have been using the word for ages.

People in the western world that struggle with low income certainly have to face with such great amounts of problems that their lives can become unbearable. I don't think it's fair to disqualify those problems from being real just because there are others in the third world countries that are about to die from malnutrition.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #106 posted 09/04/10 8:23am

PunkMistress

avatar

novabrkr said:

StillGotIt said:

If you were on welfare, that is not real poverty because you are not without basic needs. There are people who have no toilets, no windows, no doors, who eat mud to fill their stomachs. If they eat once a day they are lucky. There are no options, no medical care and basic education is a far fetched fantasy. You work to eat, not to buy shit.

Sure, I get what you are saying. However, I personally find it weird when poverty is attempted to be defined by some sort of a contest on who's the poorest. The conditions that you are describing here are often referred to as "extreme poverty" or "absolute poverty". Seems like some dictionary definitions for "poverty" these days equate it with such extreme conditions as well, but I don't think it matches how people have been using the word for ages.

People in the western world that struggle with low income certainly have to face with such great amounts of problems that their lives can become unbearable. I don't think it's fair to disqualify those problems from being real just because there are others in the third world countries that are about to die from malnutrition.

I agree with this.

It's what you make it.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #107 posted 09/06/10 8:49pm

StillGotIt

avatar

PunkMistress said:

novabrkr said:

Sure, I get what you are saying. However, I personally find it weird when poverty is attempted to be defined by some sort of a contest on who's the poorest. The conditions that you are describing here are often referred to as "extreme poverty" or "absolute poverty". Seems like some dictionary definitions for "poverty" these days equate it with such extreme conditions as well, but I don't think it matches how people have been using the word for ages.

People in the western world that struggle with low income certainly have to face with such great amounts of problems that their lives can become unbearable. I don't think it's fair to disqualify those problems from being real just because there are others in the third world countries that are about to die from malnutrition.

I agree with this.

Okay...I hear what you guys are saying....and perhaps my definition of poverty is a bit extreme. And I also know that my perception has changed over time.

I think it is because I fell into the category of "poverty" by local standards at one point in my life, and I sometimes complained. And then I traveled to different countries....and the things that I saw changed me, and stuck with me. I guess that a part of me doesn't measure poverty only by what you have, but also I consider one's potential to change their situation.

The majority of people in the Western world have the power/potential to change their situation...because of that, I view western poverty differently. Also, people make choices to be poor--and I don't consider that poverty either.

Determination to succeed in the western world holds a lot of weight, so in some way, one's mentality often greatly contributes to the state of their assets. (The economy right now is making this less true than usual.... but then I also consider an old story I've heard about an ant and a grasshopper.....)

Everybody has ups and downs, but in the western world, especially when I am walking with my children and an able bodied person asks me for change.....I consider that laziness, not poverty.

Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #108 posted 09/06/10 9:55pm

PurpleDiamond2
009

shoot im always broke lol lol

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #109 posted 09/07/10 7:05am

Deadflow3r

avatar

StillGotIt said:

PunkMistress said:

I agree with this.

Okay...I hear what you guys are saying....and perhaps my definition of poverty is a bit extreme. And I also know that my perception has changed over time.

I think it is because I fell into the category of "poverty" by local standards at one point in my life, and I sometimes complained. And then I traveled to different countries....and the things that I saw changed me, and stuck with me. I guess that a part of me doesn't measure poverty only by what you have, but also I consider one's potential to change their situation.

The majority of people in the Western world have the power/potential to change their situation...because of that, I view western poverty differently. Also, people make choices to be poor--and I don't consider that poverty either.

Determination to succeed in the western world holds a lot of weight, so in some way, one's mentality often greatly contributes to the state of their assets. (The economy right now is making this less true than usual.... but then I also consider an old story I've heard about an ant and a grasshopper.....)

Everybody has ups and downs, but in the western world, especially when I am walking with my children and an able bodied person asks me for change.....I consider that laziness, not poverty.

One of the things in the western world that also exists is the constant reminder that you are poorer than average to both you and your children. I was watching one of those Oprah shows of poor African women starting businesses and I thought of poor women I have known. These African women had on no undergarments, no shoes, make-up or expensive hair and they were working. Where in America can a woman go in without shoes, hair, make-up and wearing a sheathe and get a job? Infact with everything done on line you can't even go into a place of work and fill out a job application any longer.

Then there is the other one, "Do you have reliable transportation?' I have been hit in the ass with this one a few times. No, "I have no problem walking 5 miles" does not work.

How many times have I heard "you can tell alot about a person by their shoes". We in America are constantly judged by our appearances even when applying for jobs were we are not even going to be seen by the public!

American women are asked to put in huge amounts of money into there appearance in order to be acceptable, this is worse for black women who can spend $50 for a badly done weave. If you also have to keep your kids looking good and everything else and haven't had a reliable job in months or maybe years, eventually you are so far under the bus it's near impossible to get out.

I wish there were places in America like there are in Africa where people in worn flip flops and clothes with holes in them could get work.

At the same time there are images all over the place constantly reminding those of us who are poor what we "should" have and what we "should" be dressed like and have our children dressed like.

There came a time when the risk of remaining tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #110 posted 09/07/10 7:20am

TheSkinMechani
c

StillGotIt said:

PunkMistress said:

I agree with this.

Okay...I hear what you guys are saying....and perhaps my definition of poverty is a bit extreme. And I also know that my perception has changed over time.

I think it is because I fell into the category of "poverty" by local standards at one point in my life, and I sometimes complained. And then I traveled to different countries....and the things that I saw changed me, and stuck with me. I guess that a part of me doesn't measure poverty only by what you have, but also I consider one's potential to change their situation.

The majority of people in the Western world have the power/potential to change their situation...because of that, I view western poverty differently. Also, people make choices to be poor--and I don't consider that poverty either.

Determination to succeed in the western world holds a lot of weight, so in some way, one's mentality often greatly contributes to the state of their assets. (The economy right now is making this less true than usual.... but then I also consider an old story I've heard about an ant and a grasshopper.....)

Everybody has ups and downs, but in the western world, especially when I am walking with my children and an able bodied person asks me for change.....I consider that laziness, not poverty.

How about getting a little colour into that world view of yours?

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #111 posted 09/07/10 7:22am

TheSkinMechani
c

Deadflow3r said:

StillGotIt said:

Okay...I hear what you guys are saying....and perhaps my definition of poverty is a bit extreme. And I also know that my perception has changed over time.

I think it is because I fell into the category of "poverty" by local standards at one point in my life, and I sometimes complained. And then I traveled to different countries....and the things that I saw changed me, and stuck with me. I guess that a part of me doesn't measure poverty only by what you have, but also I consider one's potential to change their situation.

The majority of people in the Western world have the power/potential to change their situation...because of that, I view western poverty differently. Also, people make choices to be poor--and I don't consider that poverty either.

Determination to succeed in the western world holds a lot of weight, so in some way, one's mentality often greatly contributes to the state of their assets. (The economy right now is making this less true than usual.... but then I also consider an old story I've heard about an ant and a grasshopper.....)

Everybody has ups and downs, but in the western world, especially when I am walking with my children and an able bodied person asks me for change.....I consider that laziness, not poverty.

One of the things in the western world that also exists is the constant reminder that you are poorer than average to both you and your children. I was watching one of those Oprah shows of poor African women starting businesses and I thought of poor women I have known. These African women had on no undergarments, no shoes, make-up or expensive hair and they were working. Where in America can a woman go in without shoes, hair, make-up and wearing a sheathe and get a job? Infact with everything done on line you can't even go into a place of work and fill out a job application any longer.

Then there is the other one, "Do you have reliable transportation?' I have been hit in the ass with this one a few times. No, "I have no problem walking 5 miles" does not work.

How many times have I heard "you can tell alot about a person by their shoes". We in America are constantly judged by our appearances even when applying for jobs were we are not even going to be seen by the public!

American women are asked to put in huge amounts of money into there appearance in order to be acceptable, this is worse for black women who can spend $50 for a badly done weave. If you also have to keep your kids looking good and everything else and haven't had a reliable job in months or maybe years, eventually you are so far under the bus it's near impossible to get out.

I wish there were places in America like there are in Africa where people in worn flip flops and clothes with holes in them could get work.

At the same time there are images all over the place constantly reminding those of us who are poor what we "should" have and what we "should" be dressed like and have our children dressed like.

Great post.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #112 posted 09/07/10 2:57pm

PunkMistress

avatar

TheSkinMechanic said:

Deadflow3r said:

One of the things in the western world that also exists is the constant reminder that you are poorer than average to both you and your children. I was watching one of those Oprah shows of poor African women starting businesses and I thought of poor women I have known. These African women had on no undergarments, no shoes, make-up or expensive hair and they were working. Where in America can a woman go in without shoes, hair, make-up and wearing a sheathe and get a job? Infact with everything done on line you can't even go into a place of work and fill out a job application any longer.

Then there is the other one, "Do you have reliable transportation?' I have been hit in the ass with this one a few times. No, "I have no problem walking 5 miles" does not work.

How many times have I heard "you can tell alot about a person by their shoes". We in America are constantly judged by our appearances even when applying for jobs were we are not even going to be seen by the public!

American women are asked to put in huge amounts of money into there appearance in order to be acceptable, this is worse for black women who can spend $50 for a badly done weave. If you also have to keep your kids looking good and everything else and haven't had a reliable job in months or maybe years, eventually you are so far under the bus it's near impossible to get out.

I wish there were places in America like there are in Africa where people in worn flip flops and clothes with holes in them could get work.

At the same time there are images all over the place constantly reminding those of us who are poor what we "should" have and what we "should" be dressed like and have our children dressed like.

Great post.

nod

thumbs up!

It's what you make it.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #113 posted 09/07/10 3:00pm

PunkMistress

avatar

meow85 said:

StillGotIt said:

Seriously...we Americans of today for the most part have NO IDEA what real poverty is. There are still some places in our country where there is real poverty, but most on this thread IMO just dont know.

If you were on welfare, that is not real poverty because you are not without basic needs. There are people who have no toilets, no windows, no doors, who eat mud to fill their stomachs. If they eat once a day they are lucky. There are no options, no medical care and basic education is a far fetched fantasy. You work to eat, not to buy shit.

Now...if we are talking poor by the Western standard, since I could only afford one luxury vacation this year, I consider myself to be broke as hell. biggrin

[Edited 9/3/10 16:38pm]

I can't always feed myself. I've gone days at a time with no food, and it's not because I'm anorexic. I've been dangerously close to homelessness. I regularly go way into overdraft on my bank account as a matter of necessity. My grand total worth of possessions is not even enough to bother insuring. I can not buy anything new. I have no car. I can't even afford a bike.

I work two jobs, have no dependents, am young and able bodied and I can't really afford my own basic necessities. With ten years of work experience and a college education, this is the reality for young people in this city in 2010. I'm not alone, either. Most of my friends are on EI or mooching off their parents due to lack of options.

I agree that many people who think of themselves as poor are just broke and that there is a difference. But there are also a lot of people -some of them right here in this thread -who really are poor. The roommate and I bought a carton of real milk last week. We had to collect change to do it....

This makes me so sad, both because you're doing everything you can and are still in this predicament, and because I know you're not the only one.

How are things so fucked up that our young people are working their asses off and are still on the brink of starvation?

sad

It's what you make it.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #114 posted 09/07/10 3:19pm

Vendetta1

I used to think of us being poor but we never missed a meal so we were much better off than a lot of people. Plus, everyone in the neighborhood was in the same boat so we had no idea we were bad off. Although there are some bad memories in my childhood, we always found ways to have fun.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #115 posted 09/07/10 11:04pm

meow85

avatar

PunkMistress said:

novabrkr said:

Sure, I get what you are saying. However, I personally find it weird when poverty is attempted to be defined by some sort of a contest on who's the poorest. The conditions that you are describing here are often referred to as "extreme poverty" or "absolute poverty". Seems like some dictionary definitions for "poverty" these days equate it with such extreme conditions as well, but I don't think it matches how people have been using the word for ages.

People in the western world that struggle with low income certainly have to face with such great amounts of problems that their lives can become unbearable. I don't think it's fair to disqualify those problems from being real just because there are others in the third world countries that are about to die from malnutrition.

I agree with this.

Me too.

It's not a contest.

"A Watcher scoffs at gravity!"
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #116 posted 09/07/10 11:07pm

meow85

avatar

StillGotIt said:

PunkMistress said:

I agree with this.

Okay...I hear what you guys are saying....and perhaps my definition of poverty is a bit extreme. And I also know that my perception has changed over time.

I think it is because I fell into the category of "poverty" by local standards at one point in my life, and I sometimes complained. And then I traveled to different countries....and the things that I saw changed me, and stuck with me. I guess that a part of me doesn't measure poverty only by what you have, but also I consider one's potential to change their situation.

The majority of people in the Western world have the power/potential to change their situation...because of that, I view western poverty differently. Also, people make choices to be poor--and I don't consider that poverty either.

Determination to succeed in the western world holds a lot of weight, so in some way, one's mentality often greatly contributes to the state of their assets. (The economy right now is making this less true than usual.... but then I also consider an old story I've heard about an ant and a grasshopper.....)

Everybody has ups and downs, but in the western world, especially when I am walking with my children and an able bodied person asks me for change.....I consider that laziness, not poverty.

You don't know that able-bodied person asking for change doesn't already have a job. Or two. Or a child to support.

A lot of panhandlers, matter of fact, are employed, often with multiple jobs. They may actually work more than full-time hours and still come up short for rent or groceries.

Laziness, eh? Try asking before assuming.

"A Watcher scoffs at gravity!"
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #117 posted 09/07/10 11:12pm

meow85

avatar

Deadflow3r said:

StillGotIt said:

Okay...I hear what you guys are saying....and perhaps my definition of poverty is a bit extreme. And I also know that my perception has changed over time.

I think it is because I fell into the category of "poverty" by local standards at one point in my life, and I sometimes complained. And then I traveled to different countries....and the things that I saw changed me, and stuck with me. I guess that a part of me doesn't measure poverty only by what you have, but also I consider one's potential to change their situation.

The majority of people in the Western world have the power/potential to change their situation...because of that, I view western poverty differently. Also, people make choices to be poor--and I don't consider that poverty either.

Determination to succeed in the western world holds a lot of weight, so in some way, one's mentality often greatly contributes to the state of their assets. (The economy right now is making this less true than usual.... but then I also consider an old story I've heard about an ant and a grasshopper.....)

Everybody has ups and downs, but in the western world, especially when I am walking with my children and an able bodied person asks me for change.....I consider that laziness, not poverty.

One of the things in the western world that also exists is the constant reminder that you are poorer than average to both you and your children. I was watching one of those Oprah shows of poor African women starting businesses and I thought of poor women I have known. These African women had on no undergarments, no shoes, make-up or expensive hair and they were working. Where in America can a woman go in without shoes, hair, make-up and wearing a sheathe and get a job? Infact with everything done on line you can't even go into a place of work and fill out a job application any longer.

Then there is the other one, "Do you have reliable transportation?' I have been hit in the ass with this one a few times. No, "I have no problem walking 5 miles" does not work.

How many times have I heard "you can tell alot about a person by their shoes". We in America are constantly judged by our appearances even when applying for jobs were we are not even going to be seen by the public!

American women are asked to put in huge amounts of money into there appearance in order to be acceptable, this is worse for black women who can spend $50 for a badly done weave. If you also have to keep your kids looking good and everything else and haven't had a reliable job in months or maybe years, eventually you are so far under the bus it's near impossible to get out.

I wish there were places in America like there are in Africa where people in worn flip flops and clothes with holes in them could get work.

At the same time there are images all over the place constantly reminding those of us who are poor what we "should" have and what we "should" be dressed like and have our children dressed like.

worship clapping

Try getting a job -even a shitty one -without presentable work clothes or a good haircut. It really won't matter if you've got a degree and years of experience, if you don't look good you're not getting it.

I've had the lack of vehicle thing kick me in the ass too, more times than I can count.

hug

"A Watcher scoffs at gravity!"
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #118 posted 09/07/10 11:19pm

meow85

avatar

PunkMistress said:

meow85 said:

I can't always feed myself. I've gone days at a time with no food, and it's not because I'm anorexic. I've been dangerously close to homelessness. I regularly go way into overdraft on my bank account as a matter of necessity. My grand total worth of possessions is not even enough to bother insuring. I can not buy anything new. I have no car. I can't even afford a bike.

I work two jobs, have no dependents, am young and able bodied and I can't really afford my own basic necessities. With ten years of work experience and a college education, this is the reality for young people in this city in 2010. I'm not alone, either. Most of my friends are on EI or mooching off their parents due to lack of options.

I agree that many people who think of themselves as poor are just broke and that there is a difference. But there are also a lot of people -some of them right here in this thread -who really are poor. The roommate and I bought a carton of real milk last week. We had to collect change to do it....

This makes me so sad, both because you're doing everything you can and are still in this predicament, and because I know you're not the only one.

How are things so fucked up that our young people are working their asses off and are still on the brink of starvation?

sad

So, so many things come into play.

Shitty economy and high unemployment. There's hardly any jobs so no matter how qualified you are there's no guarantee you'll be hired because you've often got to fight against literally hundreds of other candidates. This province has the highest cost of living in Canada and the lowest minimum wage, and my city is actually rated as the least affordable in the world.

Everyone I know who is lucky enough to work -including now, thankfully, me -is working well below their skill and education level. The folks in trades are doing better overall, but even there jobs with good pay are in short supply.

"A Watcher scoffs at gravity!"
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #119 posted 09/07/10 11:28pm

JustErin

avatar

meow85 said:

PunkMistress said:

This makes me so sad, both because you're doing everything you can and are still in this predicament, and because I know you're not the only one.

How are things so fucked up that our young people are working their asses off and are still on the brink of starvation?

sad

So, so many things come into play.

Shitty economy and high unemployment. There's hardly any jobs so no matter how qualified you are there's no guarantee you'll be hired because you've often got to fight against literally hundreds of other candidates. This province has the highest cost of living in Canada and the lowest minimum wage, and my city is actually rated as the least affordable in the world.

Everyone I know who is lucky enough to work -including now, thankfully, me -is working well below their skill and education level. The folks in trades are doing better overall, but even there jobs with good pay are in short supply.

I have 6 friends that have moved to BC (Vancouver and area) and they had no issues finding a good job right away, and are all doing very, very well. It's weird to hear all this talk about no jobs, or jobs under one's skill level.

Since those I know have been so successful out there, it's one of the cities I am considering moving to when I am finished school.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Page 4 of 5 <12345>
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Forums > General Discussion > HAVE YOU EVER BEEN POOR????