Please, go to the ghetto

fxashun · 04-18-2008, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waitingtables

I would assume then that someone taught you the rules when you were young. Some people are taught rules, but they aren't the right ones. Uneducated parents, and especially criminal or drug addicted parents are not making sure that their kids are taking the opportunities that are out there, and are teaching their kids to do what in fact leads to their being incarcerated or unemployed.

And you can't stop that. Somebody has to be the stripper, porn star, drug addict, streetwalker, drug dealer, police target, welfare mom, and all the other not so pleasant things that all societies have. You don't eat rotten apples and a child that is raised by rotten apples has a huge risk of becoming one. The sad fact is that rotten apples seem to be quite fertile.

waitingtables · 04-18-2008, 09:23 AM

So that makes it okay that children are living in abject poverty then? It's their lot? Maybe if we invested in the youth living in abject poverty in a positive and attentive way, they would respond by finding a way to value themselves. And I don't mean welfare. That does nothing for the long term except create the very lifestyle that the government claims it wants to erradicate. Believe me there are ways to change things for the better, the problem is those with the power need to exploit them to make money or to stay in power. And because not enough people can understand or relate to where they've come from and what is needed to help them.

fxashun · 04-18-2008, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waitingtables

So that makes it okay that children are living in abject poverty then? It's their lot? Maybe if we invested in the youth living in abject poverty in a positive and attentive way, they would respond by finding a way to value themselves. And I don't mean welfare. That does nothing for the long term except create the very lifestyle that the government claims it wants to erradicate. Believe me there are ways to change things for the better, the problem is those with the power need to exploit them to make money or to stay in power. And because not enough people can understand or relate to where they've come from and what is needed to help them.

Spending money on bad apples still gets bad apples doesn't it. If the parents are already screwed as you mentioned, what is money gonna do when they get home?

Money ain't the answer, but the answer would violate rights and really be f'd up. That's why every society has poor people. It's inevitable. It's up to the individuals to try to find a way out.

waitingtables · 04-18-2008, 09:33 AM

I think that welfare should be a temporary fix. If it were run on a more realistic level, it would provide what is actually needed to make people who want to be self sufficient, able to be self sufficient. The rest of the point is that there needs to be more community involvement where children are concerned. Money can't fix the past. Only people can help a child to heal the damages created by abuse and neglect. But where are all the people?

pensacola_niceman · 04-18-2008, 10:45 AM

Welfare should be abolished outright. If people can not find a way to subsist on their own, they perhaps they will die out and society will be the better for it. For people who honestly can not work, the social security system should take care of that. Education incentive programs should be enhanced affording free education for those who will benefit, but otherwise can not afford it. However, such education systems should function so they don't produce high school (or even college) graduates who can't even read.

I agree with the notion that the best way out of poverty is through education and true initiative on the part of the individual. What I abhore are systems that allow people to continue to live without working on a perpetual basis (like the current welfare system).

A message to poor unwed mothers - don't get pregnant in the first place. If you made a mistake once, for God's sake don't make anymore babies!

waitingtables · 04-18-2008, 12:41 PM

Sometimes things happen to people that are beyond that person's control. There has to be a safety net, and it should be one that allows a person to get back on their feet. Our system pays them not to work, and punishes them when they do. We can't throw the baby out with the bath water, it just needs to be looked at realisitically and fixed.

pensacola_niceman · 04-18-2008, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waitingtables

Sometimes things happen to people that are beyond that person's control. There has to be a safety net, and it should be one that allows a person to get back on their feet. Our system pays them not to work, and punishes them when they do. We can't throw the baby out with the bath water, it just needs to be looked at realisitically and fixed.

Life is not fair. You can't throw money at everyone who is dealt a bad card. The constitution does not guarantee everybody a free ass-wiping when one might be needed.

pleasanthillskaren · 04-18-2008, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pensacola_niceman

Life is not fair. You can't throw money at everyone who is dealt a bad card. The constitution does not guarantee everybody a free ass-wiping when one might be needed.

when there are some people who DO make it up and out it's hard to make the case that it is just too hard to do so. when a person has children that person has the absolute duty to do well by that child and take care of him. and if that means getting a job and providing, or getting two jobs, or three, then so be it.

nuttyjoe · 04-20-2008, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fxashun

How many of you actually have known a multi-generational ghetto dweller?

Here's an example...
I knew this one chick whose mother, sisters, and grandmother all lived in the same project. They were happy there. They weren't "poor" by most standards and saw nothing wrong with it. It was just what they were used to.

I agree, FX. There are far too many people in the ghettos nowadays who have fallen victim to "acceptance". I have given lectures on this at my former high school many times.
Many Blacks stay in poor nieghborhoods simply because their minds tell them that this is the way (and place) that Blacks are supposed to live in. That's what I mean by acceptance.

garysher · 04-20-2008, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuttyjoe

I agree, FX. There are far too many people in the ghettos nowadays who have fallen victim to "acceptance". I have given lectures on this at my former high school many times.
Many Blacks stay in poor nieghborhoods simply because their minds tell them that this is the way (and place) that Blacks are supposed to live in. That's what I mean by acceptance.

Absolutely right Joe. When people lose their dreams and aspirations and stop believing in themselves they are condemning themselves to a lifetime of struggle. You have to be prepared to fail 99 times to be successful once! Hopefully it will happen long before the 99th attempt.

We can't all be Bill Gates but we can always improve our lot if we really want to.

And if you can't make it in the USA you can't make it anywhere (to paraphrase Sinatra!).