It's important to remember that some people are poor by choice, e.g., dropped out or just lazy, some are poor by circumstance, e.g., mental illness, addiction, disabled, and some are poor by a combination of the two and everything in between.
I used to have a different view of the world. It seemed if someone like me, from a lower middle class family could go to college and pay for it myself without much trouble then why can't everyone? Stop complaining and just do it, right?
My girlfriend of seven years has spent most of her adult life working with the homeless. Long talks with her, events at homeless centers, and the occasional talk with one of her clients has changed my views. Yes, there are some people who are pretty rotten and all to happy to work the system. Most people are not like that though.
Imagine trying to study if you're bat shit crazy. I've met people who will only sleep in chairs because they think beds are where "they" shoot you with lasers. Ever been addicted to meth or heroin? Try finding the fortitude to enroll in school while fighting that battle. Fractured your spine in a car accident while you where unemployed? Try gutting out that pain and getting a job. Parents beat you, sexually abused you, told you you're shit every day? Well buck up and get on with your life son! This is the land of opportunity!
I can only imagine how difficult life is for many people. I come from a privileged world, one without endless money, but endless love and encouragement, where going to college was never questioned, just assumed. That type of upbringing opens doors. It's important to remember that.
I've managed to avoid that by not actively going out, asking friends where I can get meth/heroin from, approaching a person I believe to be a meth/heroin dealer, trading money for meth/heroin, putting it into a bong, lighting it, inhaling, and repeating until addicted.
I have great sympathy for the disabled and mentally ill. While we do a tolerable job of taking care of the disabled, our mental health system sucks.
But you really undermine your point by including people who deliberately went out of their way to fuck up their life.
Some "fucks up" their life with drugs because at some poit they tried to evade some things. You do not always deliberately fuck your life with drugs sometime you think your life is so fucked up that drugs can't make things worse even if indeed they do but you're past beyond reason
I used to have a different view of the world. It seemed if someone like me, from a lower middle class family could go to college and pay for it myself without much trouble then why can't everyone? Stop complaining and just do it, right?
My girlfriend of seven years has spent most of her adult life working with the homeless. Long talks with her, events at homeless centers, and the occasional talk with one of her clients has changed my views. Yes, there are some people who are pretty rotten and all to happy to work the system. Most people are not like that though.
Imagine trying to study if you're bat shit crazy. I've met people who will only sleep in chairs because they think beds are where "they" shoot you with lasers. Ever been addicted to meth or heroin? Try finding the fortitude to enroll in school while fighting that battle. Fractured your spine in a car accident while you where unemployed? Try gutting out that pain and getting a job. Parents beat you, sexually abused you, told you you're shit every day? Well buck up and get on with your life son! This is the land of opportunity!
I can only imagine how difficult life is for many people. I come from a privileged world, one without endless money, but endless love and encouragement, where going to college was never questioned, just assumed. That type of upbringing opens doors. It's important to remember that.