General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why Poor People Stay Poor [View all]chervilant
(8,267 posts)I have long felt extremely thankful that I had an "aha" experience that enabled me to get outside my ego box, and make an honest inventory of the coping strategies I developed growing up in abuse, so that I could offload those strategies that were no longer helpful and nurture strategies that helped me grow emotionally and spiritually.
When I had that epiphany, I discovered that my ability to empathize was an invaluable tool in my advocacy tool box, and I've spent the last thirty plus years advocating for survivors of relationship violence (there are lots of us). Among my insights: as a general rule, people do not choose to be poor. Additionally, poor decision-making is not the exclusive milieu of the poor. As someone observed herein above: for someone living in poverty, often the choice is between something bad and something worse.
I struggle with understanding bigotry and hate. I cannot wrap my mind around expending all that energy nurturing negativity.