SO Tired of Poor-Bashing

It is such a sign of our times that, in this season of thanks, we seem to be ramping up the "poor-bashing" to a truly unheard of level.  Are we all going for the Ebenezer Scrooge award or something?  Every day I read a new utterly objectionable quote or meme sent around by raving right wingers that literally drips with loathing for disadvantaged Americans.

Today, a friend pointed me in the direction of a Christian "prosperity prophet" who claims that the poor in first world countries really have no business being poor.  Opportunity here in the God-blessed U S of A is open to anyone.  Everyone.  Those who suffer from poverty in America are suffering the consequences of their own poor choices.  An unintended and definitely un-funny pun.

And the comments about the original piece were as clueless and vicious as the piece itself. "It's not Ramsey's fault that the divide (between rich and poor] is widening."  "No, certainly not his fault or responsibility!"  "I look around and see people who are smart and able sit on their butts and complain there is no opportunity."  "Americans are too proud to start at the bottom."

Bullshit.  

For every one person you might have seen sitting on his butt and complaining about lack of opportunity, I'll wager there are a hundred who work their asses off at multiple jobs just to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.  There may be those who are "too proud" to start at the bottom.  But there are thousands who break their necks every day and stretch up as far as they physically can to reach the bottom.  And use every ounce of their strength and resources just to hang on to that space on the bottom, to keep themselves from falling off into oblivion.

I wonder how many of the folks who cling to this prosperity guru's every word have any idea what real poverty is.  I suspect that most people who have Facebook accounts and computers do not know what real poverty is.   I do not know what real poverty is, yet I am not willing to bash those who live in it as being "too proud", too stupid, too lazy, or any of the other "too's" so easily bandied about, sitting there on your comfy recliner in front of your 300 channels on your flat-screen tv, to cure themselves of their economic ills.

In my comment on the post, I asserted:  "I am going to put this in all caps because, yes, I am yelling:  I AM GETTING REALLY TIRED OF POOR-BASHING.  And if all you can do is sit in judgment of these folks, tell them what to do, what not to do, and who is or is not responsible for the plight of the poor, YOU are part of the problem."