I am Poor, Not Stupid
May 1, 2010
by Helen McCombs
|The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
I was on a social network last week when I replied to a thread because I didn’t agree with the one commit about ACORN being good for poor people and how we shouldn’t listen to the Republicans about ACORN. I have very different experiences with ACORN than the writer did; mine were negative and I said so. Neither the Democratic or Republican Parties have ever formed any of my opinions. Like everyone else, my opinions are formed by my life experiences.
This woman got so angry, she told me I was stupid because I listened to right wing talking points. My reality is that I know which programs are good and which ones aren’t. She tells me she was herself was poor because she didn’t have a car. Sometimes I don’t have enough for me to eat. I can feed my children but not myself. I lived in freezing conditions because of government red tape. I have been homeless—that is my reality. Most poor people don’t care about cars. They are worried about gas, lights, water, rent, and phone. They are worried about food and surviving in areas that the media and even some police officers are afraid to come to. People in the hood must rely on “Jitneys,” unlicensed cabs, because the cabs do not like to come to the hood.
I have the right to my opinions and my opinions aren’t stupid, and frankly after hearing a liberal woman tell me that my kids were better off in inner city schools rather than with vouchers, I hear this sort of remark from both Liberals and Conservatives. This liberal would never send her children to an inner city school, yet she wants me to send mine to one. My children are no different than hers and have the same need for a decent education.
I also like a lot of liberal programs and think conservatives should stop fighting funding to these programs and again all of my opinions are based on using these services. I have positive experiences with some and negative experiences with others. Faith Based Excellent Liberals are wrong. Crisis and Liheap excellent Conservatives are wrong. Both parties have good ideas and both have ideas that work. I just wish they would keep funding the good ones when the power changes hands. I may not have ever been to college but that doesn’t mean I am not educated. Sometimes you have to educate yourself regardless of where you are from or what gender or race you are. Being Poor doesn’t mean I am stupid. It doesn’t mean I should think a certain way or believe a certain way. It just means that I am poor.
What does this have to do with being a woman–95% of people who use these services are females, and most of them are head of household. These women must work their way through these programs. It is a woman who must talk to a caseworker holding onto several kids. It is mainly women who sit down in the Crisis office for two days traveling to the city at 5 am to get a decent number or sit there all day. You have to have all sorts of proof for every dime, which means you have to track down and get new information.
The people at the Crisis office are all impoverished women, which I think is a wonderful idea. The women who work at Crisis have walked in your shoes and they know what it’s like to live below the poverty line. These same women sit in the office of some Church, Synogoge, Mosque, or temple of every religion. Liberals have it wrong, because none of these places ever preach their religion to the poor. The people who run/work in these Faith Based Programs are doing so because their religion—whether Christian, Muslim, or Jewish—teaches them to give to the poor.
Poor women are often thought of as stupid or that we should all have the same beliefs about government programs. Please, before you judge me as stupid, please walk in my shoes. Remember that although I am poor, I still have life experiences and they might be different from yours.
Helen, I changed my status as a Democrat to an Independent long before the 2008 election. It was when I worked as a teacher in inner city schools in Brooklyn and saw the horrible school conditions for the poorest children that I had a revelation that poor communities were not being properly served.
I appreciate your perspective as an independent-minded person with experience. And you right. Many of the same people that are against voucher would never dare send their children to many of the schools that are in our poorest communities. And I agree also that both Dems and Repubs have good ideas… and bad ideas.
This is a very powerful piece, thank you for writing this. I will remember this and share this article whenever I hear someone speaking on behalf of poor women without really taking the time to listen.
Thank you Alison. I just get so tired of everyone telling me how I should feel or how only one of the Political parties serve the needs of the poor. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have a clue as to what programs work or not because they don’t bother to ask our appointment. Perhaps we are not educated but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand what works and what doesn’t work.
Helen,
Poor women are among the smartest, strongest, and most savvy people in the world. On nothing, usually with children, burdened with the emotional baggage of centuries (i.e. from the beginning of time) of being blamed for everything (remember the Garden of Eden thing), beaten down by fathers, stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, brothers, partners, bosses, and strangers (and by beaten down I mean raped, emotionally traumatized, and just plain beaten down), they still manage to be the reason the human race continues and–if you listen–the holders of the truth.
I worked and continue to work with poor women and they did NOT vote for Mr. Obama. As one black women said to me, I know a liar when I hear one and I do not need to know anything else. Immigrants, poor women, and children (prior to being brainwashed) are the truth bearers and we need to listen to them before it is too late.
ACORN is simply an evil, crooked, sinister cadre hiding under the mantra of ‘helping’ while really the only person(s) they are helping are evil, wealthy, assholes who want nothing from America except her money and her demise. And that goes for the Democratic party too, because hand in hand they defrauded millions, cheated us out of the best president ever (Hillary is the 44th), and continue to lie, cheat, and steal as if no one was watching. But we are. We most certainly are.
Kudos to you, and thanks for keeping the faith.
Helen, as always, you cut through the party/ideology garbage, and get to the heart of the matter. I appreciate your perspective, applaud your independence, and admire your strength and insight.
Great post!
This serves to highlight the sickness of our society:
You will be punished if you are NOT greedy.
You will also be punished if you think for yourself.
Having been involved in social services one way or another throughout my life, I so appreciate the truth about what is written here. Many people who are impoverished have survival skills that are extraordinary. Meanwhile, the woman you describe who was critical because of – god forbid! “right wing talking points” is a prototype who can be found in just about every social service agency. In many ways this type is much more noxious than the most hard core conservative Republican. She wants you to turn over your mind and soul in exchange for her “munificence” and “superior knowledge”. People like this are so insecure they have to make sure everyone thinks as they do or “fix” anyone who doesn’t.
Also, as you point out. some organizations are better than others. In many ways the poverty circuit is just as gamed as Wall Street and by the same kind of low-life players.
I may have to print this out and leave it around a few agencies, although it will probably be banned…
Thank you for writing this Helen, We need to hear from the people who use these services. I have always liked the idea of vouchers for education. I have sent my kids to Catholic school because I like the spiritual teaching and also the structure, and I hear about how I should be supporting public schools from some very vocal people, the problem is the people who lecture me have their kids in the “gifted” program which consumes way more resources than the normal public school program. Their children are truly gifted in that if you can’t test into the “gifted” program at the public school testing center, you can pay a private testing firm to say your child belongs in the program. Guess what, I have never heard of anyone who pays for private testing having an average kid. Anyway I don’t need lectures from the “some are more equal than others” liberal crowd. I wish you could have vouchers. In the mean time the Catholic schools offer all kinds of scholarships, If you aren’t offended by the religion you might check in to it.
Helen, you tell it like it is, thank you. I am a firm believer than someday
the poor will overule this world. You keep the faith, because some day women
will change things. I admire you, and your fight for your rights in all aspects of society, including in your ghetto. I know the discouragements you are experiencing, and our politicans need to know the truth from women like you.
Don’t ever stop fighting for your rights, and don’t stop shining the light
where it needs to be seen. It sure is good to have a friend like you!
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