If you don’t want to be poor, then learn how to not be poor
The poor definitely think they are of lower status, and they go out of their way to ENSURE THAT THIS IS TRUE. I employ several “poor” people. I try to treat them as equals. I hate being called “sir”, but nobody will use my name. In my country it’s disrespectful to use ‘sir’ (the language is not English, but we have a roughly equivalent word) to refer to someone you know.
About half of them respond to this like normal human beings. The other half respond like helpless children. I’m endlessly hearing things like “I didn’t know” when things go wrong. Well, look, it’s your JOB to know. I’ll tell you some things, but the rest is up to you. Go and find out. Read a book. Read the internet. Ask other people. Don’t just sit there waiting for someone to tell you what to do and what to think.
I know a guy who has just been granted a piece of land under CARP. But he won’t go and collect the deeds from the bank because he has to pay for it (who knows why, but hey, this is the Philippines – rich people are always asking for handouts). He has the money, or can raise it. It isn’t a lot, even for him. But he just won’t.
So I’d say the poor get EXACTLY what they deserve. If you don’t want to be poor, then learn how to not be poor. It’s hard work, obviously, but since when did anyone “deserve” an easy life?
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Very true. Being poor is more of a mindset or attitude. In fact, it is well illustrated in the scriptures - the Parable of the Talents.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to share a different take on this. As much as how poverty is conditioned the moment some are born in the unfortunate situation of scarcity, they only have limited access to resources and opportunities. It is also a reality. There are people who strove to learn and survive with all of their best efforts but were never able to mobilize upward into higher socio-economic positions. Exerting effort to not be poor does not always mean they will be granted the access to eventually lead to not being poor -- learning and earning money. It's not always an equal exchange. Some people are lucky to get their desired result, some are not. Inequalities within societies exist due to hierarchies. We have the privilege of time to actually worry about knowing and learning. While we can say they have the obligation to know what's happening, they also have the constant load to find a way to feed themselves everyday. We should always ask ourselves if these people can reach the access to the resources that we readily have access to and what are the daily struggles they have to go through just to obtain necessities. It's a tough struggle.
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