Cracked.com: 5 Ways The Middle Class is Taught to Despise the Poor

[Orrex]

21. I'm sorry to hear about your horrible situation!

And you've described the problem exactly.

I must disclaim that I'm a generic white male of currently livable income, so I don't speak from any immediate personal authority, though I lived in public housing just a few years ago.

One thing I noticed while living there, and which I frankly couldn't have imagined beforehand, is how invisible I was even to workers and staff charged with treating me like a human being. Maintenance workers would speak as though I wasn't in the room, so if I'd say "no, the cold water spigot is the problem," they'd simply ignore me. Groundskeepers likewise ignored anything I had to say, such as "no, that sidewalk drain is clogged."

It sounds trivial, and ultimately it didn't harm me because I'd had decades to build up a foundation of self-worth, but I can now sort of imagine what it would be like to grow up in that environment, which is what the poor must endure every day (as must most minorities and women, frankly).

So you're correct: the last thing someone needs to hear is that they're not poor compared to some other person suffering even greater destitution elsewhere in the world.


Thank you for sharing.