The Poverty Prejudice

Ever-popular, and so easily rationalized…

I have been trained, by several years of experience, to write this article. My hope is that it will be factual, but not tainted with any bitterness; that it may lead someone to repentance, or at least right-thinking.

Let’s start with definitions. By “poor” I mean people who cannot afford food and/or electricity, and not those who have an income but are temporarily short on cash. True poverty is a chronic condition, with many causes and few remedies.

By “prejudice” I mean those who actively or passively hold inaccurate beliefs, and use them to rationalize their disdain, spite, and abuse of others. My observation is that, in America (USA), prejudice has become very distasteful—but for one segment of society: the poor.

Why it Exists

There are many reasons why this prejudice still exists, and why it is still actively promoted:

Several decades of media brainwashing have lead people to believe that consumerism equals success and happiness; that everyone has adequate and equal opportunity; and that the poor are simply worthless and somehow defective.
Several decades of political brainwashing have lead people to believe that taxes and welfare are sufficient to fulfill their “duty” to the poor. Yet after nearly 50 years and trillions of dollars, there are more poor than ever, thus they are blamed for their condition.
The “Rugged American Spirit” is such that “hard work and determination will fix any problem”—a good thing indeed—but it has now been carried to the extreme, a callous lack of compassion.
Churches have abandoned the teachings of dozens of Bible verses that clearly describe what God expects His people to do in regard to the poor—that would be a conflict of interest, as they need money for grandiose projects and lavish facilities.

The result of all this, and more, have generated wide-spread prejudicial ideas:

The poor are just lazy, of defective character, gutter-drunks, and unskilled. They all have a dependent, victim mentality, and so cannot be helped.
Helping others is risky: they might be hucksters, thieves, and bums; better to not help them than to risk getting ripped off, or support their bad habits.
Helping others makes them weak and dependent; better to not help them; that will force them to be strong (and weed out the weak).

The Most Compassionate Nation

America has often been called the most compassionate nation in the world, as evidenced by enormous and magnanimous acts of charity in disasters and areas of extreme poverty. As long as it’s a Big Project, and handled by organizations of impeccable accountability, we are eager to participate. All of this is fine, but it doesn’t help those millions of poor people who barely live hopeless lives of desperation—many of them right next door to a multimillion-dollar church or government facility.

A Few Facts

I did some research and learned that most of what I have always believed about the poor, and poverty, was just plain ol’ prejudicial garbage. Frankly, I was amazed and appalled.

The image of the so-called gutter-drunk goes back to the “skid-rows” of the Great Depression.
The image of the so-called mental defective goes back 40 or more years, when the government down-sized thousands of mental institutions and turned those people out on the streets.
The image of the so-called welfare mom goes back to pre-1997, when the old and much-abused AFDC welfare plan was scrapped in favor of TANF—which will barely feed you for three months then cut you off. There are no more chronic welfare abusers; it’s political myth; an easy excuse to despise the poor.
Today, less than 10 percent of the homeless have addictions or mental disorders. Indeed, most are people with some skills who have worked most of their adult lives, but have fallen out of the system due to lack of jobs, family breakdown, or poor health.
Being Poor is…

So, are there still drunks, defectives and welfare abusers? Probably, but my research shows they are a very small percentage of the total number of people living in poverty. But the larger question is, what of the 90-plus percent who would work if they had an address and a job?

And what of all those unknown/unseen people who have an address, but can’s get a job, due to lack of opportunity, or chronic illness? They are all covered by welfare and disability, right? Not! Many people are too sick to work, but not covered by disability or any other plan. They don’t count, because they are not counted. What’s more, they are usually abandoned by their family and friends. People who can’t help themselves are accused of simply not helping themselves. People say, “If you’d just do…” —whatever they think you should be doing—and when you don’t/can’t/already tried that, they happily absolve themselves from any further concern.

The bottom line is that the so-called Safety Net is full of big holes that are being strenuously denied and ignored, along with all those people who fall through them, mostly through no fault of their own.

The Solution

Obviously, throwing more expensive redistribution programs at poverty doesn’t work. Reeducation doesn’t work. Throwing them in jail, or out of town, doesn’t solve the problem.

First, people should do a little research and find the facts about US poverty, and stop spouting the popular myths and class-warfare rhetoric. (myths and more myths)

The US government should stop the flight of good jobs to foreign lands. The poor (and the soon-to-be-poor middle-class) really don’t care about the Global Economy, and when they finally realize that their own government has abandoned it’s citizens in favor of Globalization, there will be a complete failure of US society.

Churches, who claim to believe and follow the Holy Scriptures, should begin to seek out and help the poor, right in their local communities. For a biblical teaching on this subject, with many references, see Weightier Matters, and also the scriptures below.

When the economy is in recession, food banks and food pantries, and the people they serve, are in crisis, as demands skyrocket and contributions plummet. When the economy is uncertain, charity is always the first casualty, and the poor are always the first to suffer the most. We should remember (and promote) the fact that many poor people depend on food pantries, and pantries largely depend on food banks. People who are worried about losing their cable TV might do well to consider that others are worried about losing their FOOD. For those with a little income, please remember that a shaky economy is the signal to contribute less to politics and religion, and more to the local food pantries and regional food banks (Interactive Hunger Map).

Get involved! There are many opportunities to help people, all around you. Not only food, but people also need housing, clothing, money for utilities, medical care, shelter from violence, and many other things that most take for granted. There are groups in your area doing this kind of work, and they are all woefully understaffed and underfunded. It’s good for the poor, good for you, and good for the country. Or, perhaps we should just continue to ignore it, and let the gummit fix everything? After all, they have such a sterling record of success and efficiency! ;-^ Keep believing the rhetoric and ignoring the poor, and you’ll surely come to poverty via taxation. Direct assistance is always the most effective, least expensive solution.

Thanks…

Our sincere thanks go to all those who practice their integrity, compassion, and faith by helping the poor and needy. Your reward will certainly be great!

Scriptures

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Lev  19:10, 15; 23:22; 25:35;
Deut 15:7, 11; 24:12, 14, 15;
Job  24:10; 29:12, 16; 30:25; 31:16, 19; 34:19, 28; 36:15;
Psa  10:2; 40:17; 41:1-2; 69:29, 33; 70:5; 72:12; 82:3-4; 86:1; 109:16, 22, 31; 132:15; 140:12;
Pr   14:20-21, 31; 17:5; 19:4, 7, 17; 21:13, 22:2, 9, 16, 22; 28:27; 29:7; 30:8, 14; 31:9, 20;
Isa  3:14, 15; 10:2; 32:7; 41:17; 58:7; 61:1; 66:2;
Jer  2:34;
Eze  16:49; 18:12; 22:29;
Dan  4:27;
Amos 5:11; 8:4-5;
Zec  7:10;
Mal  3:10; (tithe = food!)
Mat  6:1-4; 19:21; 25:31-46;
Mark 10:21; 12:42-43;
Luke 3:11; 4:18; 14:13, 21; 18:22; 19:8; 21:2-3;
Gal  2:10;
Jas  2:2-3, 5-6, 15-16;
Rev  3:17;

Useless Words

Regarding nice prayers and kind words of encouragement: Unless you’re actually willing to help someone, please keep them to yourself. God does not hear dead-faith prayers, and the poor cannot eat encouragement. Encouragement is for the discouraged; food is for the hungry. Giving only encouragement to the hungry is an insult.

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. —James 2:14-17

Faith is not what you believe; faith is what you do with what you believe. —Charles Finney

—kv5r

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