From what I understand, the US culture is one in which it is generally considered the fault of someone for being unable to pay for their own healthcare and living circumstances. Because there is the sentiment that it is possible to not be oppressed through one's personal power, cleverness, and considerate behavior, the people who claim to be oppressed are actually lazy, stupid, and inconsiderate.
You can see this whenever someone claims that they individually were able to climb out of poverty but know other people who, through their own stupidity or ignorance or bad luck, were not able to- and therefore less sympathy should be garnered to the whole of impoverished americans as there exists a subset that is comfortable leeching off the extremely poor social safety net that exists.
In short, a poor person egging a rich person's car would be seen as an aggressive, unprovoked action on the poor person, and the poor person should focus their efforts on being less poor instead. That the egger is focusing instead on protesting is an evidence of their screwed up priorities.
> From what I understand, the US culture is one in which it is generally considered the fault of someone for being unable to pay for their own healthcare and living circumstances. Because there is the sentiment that it is possible to not be oppressed through one's personal power, cleverness, and considerate behavior, the people who claim to be oppressed are actually lazy, stupid, and inconsiderate.
That is not "US culture". Those are the beliefs of an unfortunately sizeable minority. Even then, it is generally only directed at "the other" and is really veiled racism. Do not take the rhetoric of certain political factions at face value or as a representation of "US culture".
I agree it's probably a minority who would put it in such harsh terms as the comment you're responding to, but the underlying sentiment is more a part of American culture than many other places.
For instance, the values of meritocracy and self-determination are deeply ingrained in the US mythos, beginning from "All men are created equal" and "the pursuit of happiness" in the declaration of independence.
Since moving to Europe, the difference in the concept of individual credit/responsibility is one of the largest cultural differences I have felt.
indeed there are the stories of people who have managed to raise themselves from poverty and gone on to be CEO, and it is possible if all the dominoes line up, there will always be the exception where this occurs, in general the odds are not in your favour. I can't help but think if the line from the hunger games - may the odds be ever in your favor.
This is absolutely the story of the American ideal. We're a nation of Horatio Algers -- the quintessential "rags to riches" story.
Poverty, in the US, is a personal shame, not a systemic failure. The successful end result of centuries of propagandizing in favor of the Individual, and against organizing. We're a fractured people, to our detriment.
Exactly. Capitalist societies take what was considered a public good, and attempt to forcefully privatize it to every individual. And then, when the individual is bad at doing it because of institutional forces against them, they are blamed individually for the failing.
> You can see this whenever someone claims that they individually were able to climb out of poverty
Oh yes. Horatio Alger (0) stories are commonplace within capitalist societies. It's one of the bedtime stories we tell each other, that with enough hard work, and some luck, you will succeed... Except for that mound of people whom worked till they died. We'll just ignore them. They were, uhh, lazy, and didn't deserve to live with the fruits of their labor.
> ...but know other people who, through their own stupidity or ignorance or bad luck, were not able to- and therefore less sympathy should be garnered to the whole of impoverished americans
Yep. Nailed it. Because there's a person who with combination of hard work, community/friendship networks, and luck, was able to climb out. So everybody who isn't, is just lazy and dumb and doesn't deserve to be helped.
> as there exists a subset that is comfortable leeching off the extremely poor social safety net that exists.
I'd also argue that the very "poor social safety net" doesn't even accomplish helping people. It only maintains a very sad, horrible, brutish life. And given its tremendously regressive practices, also enforces either illegal actions OR keeps people down in poverty.
exactly: "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." - John Steinbeck
You can see this whenever someone claims that they individually were able to climb out of poverty but know other people who, through their own stupidity or ignorance or bad luck, were not able to- and therefore less sympathy should be garnered to the whole of impoverished americans as there exists a subset that is comfortable leeching off the extremely poor social safety net that exists.
In short, a poor person egging a rich person's car would be seen as an aggressive, unprovoked action on the poor person, and the poor person should focus their efforts on being less poor instead. That the egger is focusing instead on protesting is an evidence of their screwed up priorities.