A Current Event . . .Poverty

As of February 2012 the amount of people that are living on $2 a day, has doubled since 1996. (David Walsh)

 http://wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/pove-f25.sthml

This article focuses on a side of poverty that is often left unaddressed, aside from the random infomercial fund raiser; it’s about the children that are affected by poverty. More important, nay more domestically the children that live in, what David Walsh describes as extreme poverty. “They adopt the World Bank’s standard for determining the poorest of the global poor; subsist on $2 a day or less.” (Walsh, 2012)

In researching this social issue, a lot has come to light.

That this “issue” it’s actually a pandemic, and the more I research the more hopeless it seems that there will be and answer. At the core what we’re talking about is deeply and permanently changing the way people think, then they relate, especially emotionally with money. Conversely it is excruciatingly difficult to build beneficial spending habits when you quite literally have no money. “This means that some 4 million people in “the richest country on earth” (according to US capitalism’s apologists) are surviving on $60 a month, i.e., essentially on no income whatsoever.” (Walsh, 2012).

This startling statistic begs the question of, for all the programs that exist, truly how affective are they?  There are literally more people living in and around poverty now than ever before, even more than during the Great Depression. I don’t have a definitive declaration as to what exactly should or could be done as of now, only empathy.

Act Your Ethnicity

                 One stigma that has personal experience with is the perception is acting white. In the African American culture, apparently it’s more than a stigma; it’s almost a social death sentence. But, what does it mean to be black, exactly? Does it mean to only wear urban attire? Does it mean to only listen to rap and hip-hop music? Does it mean to only aspire to either a rapper or a professional athlete? My intent isn’t to demonize, but rather to attempt to understand why certain activities are glorified while others are admonished, like reading for example. It is very rare sight to behold an African American individual, on a bus, while reading. Other activities that fall under the same vein including: speaking proper English, excelling academically or not being about to dance; which is an offense so "egregious" that it almost deserves its own blog post.

 What's the difference between me and you?

Although I can only speak from the African American side about experience, it seems like this theme is culturally universal. I think it all boils down to managing the expectations and when those predetermined beliefs are challenged, even for the better, that that change can cause fear. Embracing cultural practices can be a good thing. Problems arise when cultural expectations are placed on someone for an option that is out their control, like having a certain skin color; begin to infringe upon someone ability to be an individual.

I Pledge

I pledge:

            To bring my best to class everyday by…constantly reminding myself that the information and the skill that I am building that I am learning and building,  are to ensure my success in my internship and in for the rest of life.

            To encourage and support those around me …by taking notice when someone needs help and more importantly taking the action step to actually help them.

             I pledge to make this blog more viewer friendly . . . by reminding myself this blog isn't just for me, it's for everyone else to be able to be able to join in to my experiences at Year Up.