Reply #103: You are not poor

[mrworf]

I think that's what bothers me about this whole thing. I'm more than happy helping the actual poor. But you have to realize that few people in our country are actually poor.

Until you compare yourself to someone who has 10 times more than you do, then suddenly you 'feel' poor. But let me ask a question or two:

1. Do you have a roof over your head?
2. Do you have clothes on your back?
3. Do you have food to eat?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then I agree, you are poor and it would be moral duty to help you out in some way.

If the answer to all of these questions is 'yes', then you are not poor, you are simply whining. Life is hard, take heart that you have basic needs met, several million people in this world do not.

I've seen actual poor people. I've been to Mexico, India, Indonesia, etc. Trust me when I say that the 'poor' people in the USA are rich in comparison to poor people in other places. I've got photos of people living in tarps and shanty's with children who they cannot afford to buy shoes for and who rarely get enough calories to sustain them at a healthy level.

So my response to this is not from lack of compassion, it's indignation that someone who has a job and can afford a car, a dog, clothing, food and a house thinks of themselves as poor and in need of assistance.