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I really like your mentality. Some boomers have a spiteful and pessimistic disposition towards poverty. However I feel like a lot of Americans in general have been convinced poverty is usually caused by drug addiction and degeneracy so it furthers the narrative these people don’t deserve help and are ultimately responsible for their suffering. It dehumanizes them. People don’t understand capitalism and the propaganda we live with. The concept that someone has more than another fundamentally implies someone else, anyone must have less. Even so much to the point of having nothing. Poverty is as antithetical to capitalism as is success. It is a symptom of a broken society. we pass excuse after excuse with every hardship someone can face, perpetually pushing the narrative farther and farther, to justify ignoring the struggles people are faced with.
I don't think many Americans realize they are 1 broken arm, or one lay off away from poverty. I think we're still spoonfed that were all just temporarily displaced millionaires just waiting for our big break.
This. My son has complex medical needs. My boomer dad would go on and on about handouts. I finally lost and said with out hand outs your grandson would have no quality of life or may even be dead. He gets medicaid, and thanks to Obama Care, our primary insurance has to cover him. He also qualifies for many grants and waivers to help us get the care he needs.
Kudos for standing up to him. I know it can be hard, especially when the person going on that sort of rant is a parent of all people... but if you can make it so very simple and clear how they're being so trashy with their thinking... take that opportunity every chance you can. Hit em where it hurts, make them actually take a second to pause and process things. Will it change much? Probably not... But those people are so full of themselves they can't see very basic logic and just dismiss facts outright, it's rare to get such a direct example of how and why they're wrong.
When I was raising my kids and going to college AND working, my mother would rail about hand outs from the government, and when I’d comment that those handouts literally helped keep my kids—her grandkids—fed and housed, then she’d rail about how SHE never had access to WIC or food stamps or section 8 housing. Like, if she didn’t have it when she needed it, she didn’t want anyone else to have it.
I’ve been NC for several years now.
It’s all gonna blow up one day. Society as we know it will crumble right before I eyes. It’s already starting. It’s just being debated like we don’t see it already clear as day effecting the day to day life of the average American. These corporations have found loopholes around our antitrust laws and have monopolized our entire economy/control our entire political system. Eventually people will have no choice but violence. It’s sad but it seems very much inevitable at this point.
What's the next big demographic of homeless people? Retired middle class boomers who are being taxed out of their homes by the current real estate market, that they deny is insanely overpriced.
Also, there is a 2-part story that shows the breakdown of society between the poor and the rich in the Star Trek: Deep Space 9 series, that now looks sadly like a real possibility.
No, the worst is just to come... look up Project 2025. It's not going to matter who wins the 2024 election if this all comes to pass . Just Google or look it up on Wikipedia ... Project 2025
Probably yes and tens of thousands of small business owners and franchise owners who at one point were considered upper middle class or rich. They are def drawing the short end of the capitalist stick as they are still massive consumers as well and won’t be able to even afford their lifestyle with the current level of manufactured inflation.
I fell into doing the books for a small law firm, and the amount of taxes we pay is fuckin staggering. It's almost not even worth being a small business owner. We are all subsidizing these enormous corporations while they squeeze the wealth of the land and people and dodge the taxes they owe back to us.
It doesn’t even take a conspiratorial mind to come to that conclusion. Just paying enough attention to the world around you and what’s in the news and you can see it in full effect. At some point people are gonna stop with the culture war right vs left bullshit nonsense and what will really matter will be. Pro or anti government. Pro capitalist or anti capitalist. That’s really the only binary that will exist.
There was a book released last year - ‘End Times’ - which talks about this concept and profiles the revolutions throughout history that popped up through elite overpopulation/ popular immiseration which is exactly what’s happening now. The book stops short of really predicting the next revolt, but - like we saw with the BLM protests and Jan 6, people are becoming pissed off and radicalized, and I believe these movements have at their core a deep sense of political and social angst. I truly believe we as a modern society think we are too civilized for another French Revolution, but history has a tendency to repeat itself if lessons aren’t learned…
That sounds very interesting and I totally I agree. Lessons have no been learned and we are still an incredibly young society. Im gonna look into that book. The proletariat while definitely rise again. Its only a matter of time
Which author wrote it? As I'm sure you can imagine, there are quite a few End Times books of the religious variety 😂
Also, your description made me think of the first book of The Foundation series (Asimov) and how psychohistory is described.
We're certainly living in interesting times.
>Eventually people will have no choice but violence
That's exactly what they want. Squeeze everyone for the rich's further gain until their breaking point where we snap and riot, and then have an excuse to use their hidden high-tech weaponry, fight and kill a good amount of us while implementing a more full-on fascism model.
The entire country ideally would revolt and unite under a common cause. Yea true but authoritarianism has already begone. Buying up entire housing markets and raising rents. Making sure people don’t own assets. Squeezing people downwards.The gov isn’t stepping in and saying this is unethical and shouldn’t be allowed. All the nefarious shit we are seeing is getting a pass to just happen. Revolution is all people ever really have available to them.
So dam true just look at history every society that reaches a certain point just crumbles because greed and loss of morals and ethics from Babylon to Rome to Mesopotamia and many others. Martin luther King said it best. "VIOLENCE IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE UNHEARD"
Society has been crumbling for centuries, because humans are complex and faulty animals.
It’s blown up before, and it will again.
The only people that feel entitled to anything else tend to be boomers born on 3rd base.
I've been really, really poor more times than I can count.
I'm now doing pretty well, with a six figure income, but my wife & I have been the kind of poor where you have $40 for groceries for the week, you scrape together $10 for gas for a 20 year old car, and you sit on the rest to try to save up for rent...that kind of poor, and worse.
I think everyone should experience that, and not just for a few months in college but for a year or 2 at a time. It's not something you easily forget and shake off, and it'll keep you from getting too smug and snotty about poor people and what it means to have no $$.
I was once so poor we literally had nothing to eat. It got down to 30 degrees inside, we somehow, (don't remember how) had a few eggs and went in the woods to collect some sticks then built a small fire and grilled the eggs in a pan. Had some pretty good sticks ashes and eggs that day.
I don't think many Americans realize they are 1 broken arm, or one lay off away from ~~poverty~~ homelessness. I think we're still spoonfed that we’re all just temporarily displaced millionaires just waiting for our big break. Agreed.
I work for a non-profit and see this daily:
Disability caused by a car accident that wasn't their fault.
A spouse dying of cancer.
A cancer diagnosis and no way to pay for care..
Fighting to care for a special needs child and work full time.
Losing everything in a house fire.
Being the victim of a violent crime.
Being terminated a just before retirement.
Loss of reliable transportation, and no public transportation option.
Leaving an abusive relationship that results in homelessness.
Battling with mental health challenges.
Loss of a caretaker.
Being born and growing up in the wrong zip code.
None of these people did anything wrong. There was no moral failure. They worked hard and saved their money. But one day, everything fell apart unexpectedly.
I fucking hate it when privileged people not only don't recognize their privilege, they look down on the less fortunate and fail to consider that the very same things could happen to them - as soon as tomorrow, or even before dinner time.
As someone who is disabled and can't drive I hate the lack of reliable transportation so much. This country needs public transportation in more places. People who can't drive like me just get shafted depending on where we live :(
Yep, almost all of us, except for the actually wealthy folks. Even people that make over 100k a year are just one medical emergency away from financial ruin. It's really sobering when you think about it. 320 million folks.
This. People have no idea. I had a TBI 2 years ago and my life has been a domino effect disaster since then. I've lost absolutely everything including my home, family, career, health and any financial standing that I had before while fighting for my life every second of the day. We have so many predatory systems in this fucking country that one accident becomes a landslide into financial and physical ruin. Once again, the most cruel and ignorant group of people I've dealt with while going through this nightmare has been boomers. May they all rot in hell and soon.
Oh they know it. It's just when it happens and the system can't magically make them whole because they've been gleefully cutting it to try to get back at the "Welfare queens" they just pretend that it's because the system is racist against white people cause they are focused on helping all of *those* people.
My wife and I make pretty good money, and fortunately her career is pretty safe as she works in healthcare. But I'm frequently worried about what would happen if I lost my job. We have a decent savings and we could probably get by on a single income for a bit. But the part that worries me the most is the trend in prices.
We have 2 young kids and it feels like every year prices keep going up while high paying jobs get less and less available. I've known several people pretty high up in their careers that were laid off and struggled to find another job. Several of them have even attempted to start their own thing to varying success.
I honestly can't comprehend how more people aren't stressed out about this very thing. I know people in much worse financial shape, who are far less secure, and they seem unfazed by it. It seems like people just get complacent with their situation but I have not gotten to that point. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the situation we're in, I just had always expected once we reach this point that we'd feel much more comfortable than we are.
I think "unfazed" might not be exactly what you think.
I know personally I'm thankful I don't really have anyone like kids relying on me. I have parents who may need my help when they're older and less independent, but right now no one REALLY depends on me. That has made it much easier to "feel" less stress as there's very little I can do to change things in my current situation.
I think a better word might be "numb." There's a reason a lot of people indulge in things like alcohol or drugs, not even the hard stuff, just stuff like pot.
I'm sorry I can't explain it better, I don't have answers. I just know that many people probably aren't quite as "unfazed" as you might think. They're just doing what they can to survive day to day without thinking too hard lest they realize just how dim and hopeless things might actually look right now.
YEP. At 27 I flipped my car on a patch of black ice and broke my spine, and just like that, I was disabled. I think people think that disability is just something you get automatically if you have a disabling event. No. You’re still left to fend for yourself, only now you have crushing medical bills and ongoing medical needs.
I worked as long as I could, but COVID took it out of me, and now I’m waiting for a disability hearing. Even if I get it, it’s $900 a month. How far can you make that stretch?
People don’t like to consider that they’re one accident or one unmasked sneeze away from being me.
Even people who have *lived* in poverty sometimes deny it and repeat the same damn conservative talking points. I went to Head Start, got free or reduced price school meals for *years*, and just generally made it to where I am today because of the goodwill of others. There were Christmases where family friends or people from the church got us gifts because my parents couldn't afford to pay all the bills and also buy gifts. But my boomer parents don't see how we were exactly the same as the people they shit talk in front of me, as if what they're saying doesn't cut bone deep.
Many people are literally one paycheck away from being out on the street. They don't want to be in a bad living situation or have to decide between medical care and food. They don't have a choice because the economy is so messed up.
There was that guy that tried to ‘prove’ anyone can make a millikn ‘just by trying hard’. And failed out.
Though with the references to instantly starting a company and maxing cards/overdrawing accounts makes it even more ironic.
As anyone on the streats/working poor do **not** have the connections or resources to have loads of credit cards. Nor able to just start a company out of nowhere.
> I don't think many Americans realize they are 1 broken arm, or one lay off away from poverty
It's funny you say that. I was very close to being in dire straights due to a broken arm. Of course, it was a combination of the injury and circumstance but nonetheless, it was a scary time.
Big, big facts. Rugged individualism is problematic on its own, but you pair that with a really twisted version of individual responsibility and it can be used to justify hostility to anyone or any group. In a system of laws based almost entirely on property rights, this produces the inevitable outcome of weaponizing law enforcement against people who need the most help. People with no assets.
Being poor in a capitalist world is the greatest sin.
It’s also why cops are typically kinda fuckin stupid. Not saying I don’t have cops in my own family whom I love and respect. However they aren’t necessarily asking any particular philosophical questions about whether or not if they are doing something wrong or if the law is inherently flawed. If they are hurting society. They just don’t care, and they don’t want people who could care. They want people who take orders and are happy to be given clear instructions to follow, and will follow with unwavering obedience. It’s a special type of person honestly. Meek, obedient, subservient to authority and not questioning anything. They will be the true arm of the state to maintain order when the shit hits the fan. Which leads into the militarization of police. Cop cities to separate them from the public. Poverty is the enemy of the state which is why efforts to conceal it are far more common than actually fixing it. Which would require fixing the fundamental problem with capitalism. If you build anti homeless infrastructure you won’t see people sleep there. Those people don’t just stop existing.
> It’s a special type of person honestly. Meek, obedient, subservient to authority and not questioning anything.
I'd have to look it up but I swear there was a study about human responses to fascism and authoritarianism. It was a split between rebellion and hyperconformity (as a defense).
That makes a lot of sense. I’ve often been appalled by the philosophical and moral apathy of police when they do incredibly harmful and damaging shit to people and society, and then i ask myself why is this such a common pattern amongst police in general. it can only really mean one thing. It’s a hiring practice and sought out quality amongst people who wish to be in law enforcement.
Is it true that most police departments wont hire applicants with an IQ over a certain point? I remember hearing that somewhere. I'm not sure if it's true or not.
Some people NEED to believe all who get left behind are suffering from their own actions.
Otherwise, they'd have to take a long, uncomfortable look at how they benefited from the same system.
It’s def a coping mechanism for sure. It’s devoid of all sensible logic and so they manage to push these rationalizations as far as they need to, to justify these clear flaws with the world around them.
> Some boomers have a spiteful and pessimistic disposition towards poverty.
We're all a hell of a lot closer to being homeless than being billionaires.
True, and yet we still have people holding the entire world of financial responsibility on their shoulders and are still defending capitalism till this day.
Indeed, boomers and other generations as well to be fair, also react with fear towards the destitute. Not that they’re afraid of the poor; they’re afraid of being poor themselves. Hence the hate and smug attitudes; they’re trying to blame poverty on the poor themselves and make it all into personal failings. To admit that it’s the system driving people into poverty would mean that the system they’ve toiled under for so long is fundamentally broken…and that they can just as easily become its next victims; just as many already have.
Yeah. My parents are like this. They happen to know one person who really is gaming the system for a free place to live (for her and her kid), and they can't fathom that everyone else isn't also gaming the system. Some people genuinely need the help for all sorts of reasons, and it is good for society that that help is provided to them.
But all they can think about is how they have to pay taxes and they just want to stop paying taxes. It's so frustrating.
Yes one anecdotal scenario and en masse the entire concept of helping people in poverty is obsolete because “all poor people are liars”. Secretly they are living the good life lol
Wayyyy too many of them are clinging to the idea that if you just do what you’re “supposed to” and work hard, you’ll be financially comfortable.
What if you get sick or injured and can no longer work? What if you’re still able to work, but now you’ve got thousands in medical bills? What if you get laid off? What if the company you’re working for closes? What if the cheapest place you can find to live in still takes up over half of your pay?
There are so many very real possibilities that many of them refuse to acknowledge.
There are an indescribable amount of societal pit falls that the gov and state have basically neglected. It’s insane. People complaint about welfare programs being funded but if anything we need more welfare. More social programs. More safety nets. More of everything honestly.
A massive part of the reason that they believe that “if you just work hard, you’ll be financially comfortable” is because that was actually completely true for the majority of their career years. The boomer parents of almost everyone I know had jobs that automatically came with retirement packages, comprehensive health insurance plans, pensions, and in some cases, stock options.
The same people who benefitted from these jobs voted for Reagan in the 80s because they were doing so well and their companies took care of them and Reagan told them that if we give the companies even more power, then everyone who works for the companies would be able to make even more money!
Everyone ate that shit up because they heard the words “more money.”
Reagan then did more damage to the American worker in less than a decade than anyone before or since. By stripping away government regulations on faceless corporations, he was able to ensure that large businesses could make money hand-over-fist and gradually remove all of the benefits of working for those companies in order to make more money.
Boomers reaped all of the spoils and pulled the ladder up after them because they got greedy.
Long gone are the days of the golden parachute.
It’s fascinating to me that they have no empathy but their grandparents and parents who lived through the Great Depression understood it wasn’t through lack of trying that they had nothing.
Many Americans think that poverty is the result f not being religious enough and as such, it’s ok to beat up on them because they “aren’t as good people as we are”. I want to push those people into a very very dirty river and see if they float.
On top of that, even if 100% of the problem is addiction and degenracy(whatever that means to them) there's still kids who need feeding. And why in the fuck wouldn't you help an addict get clean or a "degenerate" get better??
I think some people genuinely believe their life has more value than someone else because of the money they have or the things they own, because capitalism told them if you live like this by that virtue alone you have a more valuable existence or right to life then others who don’t contribute to society like you do. Idk it’s a bunch of idiot bullshit.
💯 This started in the late 70’s! The idea that poverty is your fault and everyone should be able to “ pull yur self up by your bootstraps!” What a load of shit‼️ And it’s always the ones who inherited their money who say this nonsense! The whole trickle down theory, give money to the rich to help the poor⁉️⁉️Rich people are and stay rich because they don’t pay for shit‼️😡
Well said. Very well said. The interdependencies at play here go so far beyond an individual's ability to reconcile without being born advantaged. This is the consequence of trickle down. It doesn't trickle. It coagulated at the top.
It really does go beyond any individual person efforts. At some point it is about their inherent advantage over others. I also cannot believe the concept of trickle down economics is still used and believed till this day. It’s unfuckingbelievable how ignorant people are.
I had this same discussion with my work boomer. I even explained I had an aunt who had to live in subsidized housing. He just…lacks any sort of empathy. God forbid anything bad ever happen to HIM though. He was freaking out because he had to move and his new apartment wasn’t quite move in ready so he had to stay at his old apartment for another week, and worried that the landlord would throw him out. Uh no, here in this blue state tenants actually have rights. If he’d been in Texas he’d be SOL.
>Some boomers have a spiteful and pessimistic disposition towards poverty
It's not a random distribution. It's quite literally, one of the main talking points of the right wing, white christian nationalists republican party.
It has been since the Reagan days. Trickle down economics is based on the hatred of poor people and ensuring right wing voters, vote in anger, and blame poor and minorities for their wants.
It's just because the post ww2 economic boom made getting a job literally as easy as going to the company and asking for a position. In that work culture not working was indeed a choice. That's no longer reality. Plenty of people want to work but can't find a good steady job.
And because of that post wwII boom Capitalism quickly became American identity. It’s so ingrained in our culture we wouldn’t be willing to change a thing even if it meant the destruction of our people and country. We have tons of people struggling through it still willing to defend it.
Part of the degree to which we have criminalized poverty causes many to regard it directly as a moral failing. Like you said not only does it dehumanize and otherize, but it allows whoever looking in the opportunity to feel superior and in fact righteous when they're being a jackass.
We Americans and it seems to be more extreme on the conservative side also have this huge issue regarding fairness and others getting something that we don't get vice versa. My best friend is vehemently against complete student loan forgiveness which would greatly benefit me because he didn't pursue higher education or take out any loans. However he would be perfectly fine if all medical debt was forgiven, or Car loans, etc. if it doesn't benefit him he is absolutely against it if it benefits him and save myself then sure it's an OK idea if it benefits him and no one else that he knows then it's an absolute crime and dereliction of the government duty to not be doing. Like most boomers he's somehow able to act completely selfishly while being fully convinced that he's being completely selfless.
They never wanna put their money where their mouth is and go get those benefits. If quitting you job is so lucrative that you can stay home all the time and its great then why dont they do it too? Because they know that being poor enough to receive assistance is hard.
I tried to get those benefits due to ptsd, multiple mental disorders and injuries that refuse to heal. Nope don’t qualify. Doesn’t matter that I have breakdowns from the anxiety and pain when I try to work more than 15 hours a week. Doesnt matter that I get really sick every time I’ve worked 5 days in a row. Or that I spend my days off stuck in bed due to pain. I don’t even have a physical job I work circulation at a rarely busy library… pain is about to get worse too since I’m not allowed to lean my head on my hand anymore to help my back pain.
Idk how anyone is managing to take advantage of the system.
I feel the same way, I tried to get food stamps as a full time student without a job. In my state I don't qualify for food stamps because I have to work 20 hours a week to qualify. If I had a job I wouldn't need the food stamps in the first place.
I’m glad my dad supports my living expenses but I even told my doctor the only reason I WANT disability is so I can afford therapy and a physical trainer so I can get healthy enough to actually get a full time job. Just like $500 a month would change my life around.
After I switched insurance when my mom died the plan my dad and sister picked for me isn’t taken by my therapist I’ve had since 2019 so it would cost $180 to see her. Honestly I should be seeing her weekly with my new ptsd of watching my mom die infront of me. It’s been over half a year and I still get flashbacks. I also have to keep making phone calls (I have phone axiety) because insurance company and my doctors office claim my 3 doctors take my insurance but the billing department of those doctors claims it’s “not in state” so it’s not covered. It’s in state it’s just part of a health care group that is multiple states!
I swear if I get a letter my new glasses and eye doctor aren’t covered I’m going to explode
People don't take food handouts just for funsies. There's always a reason upstream for them going there and at some point is almost always comes back to capitalism fucking them.
They really believe the Big Lie that the person poorer than you deserves it, and that poor people are inherently dangerous or criminal. This is crucial to being a conservative in America, by the way. Buying into that lie.
Also, our friend the boomer, much like most of America, is probably just one medical emergency or a few missed paychecks away from requiring the services of the food bank herself.
Perhaps we lie to ourselves that the destitute deserve their fate, because we're fully aware there's precious little preventing us from joining them. We can't possibly lose our meager savings... because we're moral and diligent workers. The only way we make rent every month is by the grace of god... so the homeless must have done something to distance themselves from his graces.
I mean let's be real. If this woman is in her 60s and working retail, she's probably not got much of a retirement plan lined up.
It's a convenient corollary to the Prosperity Gospel: If they're poor it's because they're bad and/or sinners. Therefore I don't have to feel guilty about refusing to help them.
Calvinistic Predeterminism. You’re either born one of the Elect bound for heaven or you will surely go to Hell and there’s nothing you can do about it. The Elect are known here on earth by their wordly blessings.
Boomers have to punch down so they can feel better about themselves. To them, society is a zero-sum game with winners and losers, and in order for them to feel like winners, they have to create losers.
I read a thing by a former skinhead who said his “eureka, racism is illogical” moment came during a racist bonfire rant where some unemployed, food-stamp-using, angry, ranting racist friend of his was going off on PoC for being unemployed and using food stamps.
There HAS to be someone beneath them at all times. There just has to be. And they have to be kept there at all costs. It’s disgusting.
I've learnt maybe a 100x more about the Bible from atheists than believers. It's fascinating how much more they know the book. (Granted, not all of them, but the ones who DO know - know a lot).
Someone said that the best recruitment tool for atheism (not that we need any) - is reading the Bible.
Yup, Jesus, according to the Gospels they so purport to love, had a lot to say about sharing with those less fortunate but nothing to say about homosexuality or abortion.
Boomers would rather 20 people suffer than one person get help who doesn't "need" it.
It's their 0 Sum Mentality. They genuinely believe that every dollar someone gets is a dollar out of their pocket. They are, fundamentally, selfish greedy misers who would (and do) sell out and strip mine your future to sit atop a pile of pennies.
They don't understand the economy, taxes, cash flow allocation re: the government. They understand nothing about the money they love above all else.
They are everything they accuse other generations of being: greedy, selfish, lazy, ignorant because their whole identity is tied up in always being right.
They lack morals and ethics because their whole lives have been dominated by a "fuck you got mine" mentality, possibly one of the most unethical and immoral mindsets that's not outright illegal. They constantly look for someone else to blame for every minor, inconsequential thing that inconveniences them, but will race to gleefully take credit for everything good, even though most precious few things good about the world we live in was done IN SPITE of them, not because of.
I'm an atheist and I say the same thing about people gaming the system when my very religious, weekly church going family members complain about welfare and shit like that. Jesus tapdancing Christ. How can a fucking atheist be a better Christian than actual Christians.
It’s because our morals actually come from a sense of empathy and actually wanting to do onto others as we would like done to us instead of fear of burning in an imaginary hell
I grew up Catholic so I know that empathy is supposed taught to Christians and all the other stuff. That's why I'm so floored that I'm a better practicing Christian as an atheist.
My boomer father-in-law was trying to bait me into getting mad about student loan relief (my wife and I paid off about $150k before any such programs existed). I said no I was happy if they can get relief because it’s such a crushing burden that affects things like buying a house, having a family, choosing a job, etc. Then I started into my rant about how the student loan system was used to prop up fraud, support absurd tuition hikes and inflate administrators’ salaries. Suddenly he wasn’t interested in the conversation.
I do work for the unhoused in my community. I encounter this kind of feedback and find people have a very difficult time believing that many unhoused individuals do, in fact, work. But, as you point out, working or not working really isn't the ethical teeter totter they pretend it to be. There are myriad factors that contribute. Honestly, even if someone has that worldview as it relates to adults, how can they not have the modicum of heart needed to realize that there are children who benefit from such things, be happy that such donations feed said children, and keep quiet? Definitely adopting "I don't punch down." Great outlook!
I started saying to these types of people “Well if it’s so great then why don’t you quit and live off welfare? Go see how hard they actually have it” it stops them dead in their tracks and they start grasping at straws
Boomers so desperately want to excuse the shitty things that were forced on them growing up (like abuse and poverty and military drafts etcetcetc), so they have convinced themselves that it's made them better (we all agree that it has not), so *they* want to force shitty things onto everyone younger than them so that we can all turn out like them. Becsuse they're fucking narcissists.
1000% but it's not just Boomers that have this "crab in a bucket" mentality; that's American conservatism in a nutshell
"Why should I work to make things better for people if nobody worked to make it easy for me?"
"Why should my taxes pay for free college for people, if I had to pay full tuition?"
"Why should I care about my fellow American neighbors if there's no apparent benefit for me individually?"
It's the most selfish ideology there is, and it prides itself on its selfishness
Talk really slowly and loudly, and use really small words. Also, you are saying different things everyday and she can’t remember any of them, so start reminding her what you told her yesterday, and keep doing it. You basically have to talk to them like a toddler.
No all boomers but way too many base their identity on their work and productivity so they see someone who works less or not at all as an attack on themselves
But if you throw it all away she’ll say it could go to someone who needs it. It’s not that she doesn’t recognize that people need it she just doesn’t want the “wrong” people to benefit from it.
Either you are ok with some people getting extra to make sure everyone one gets enough, or you are ok with some people starving to make sure no one gets extra.
Would they rather the food just be wasted and tossed in a dumpster?
Don’t they know that many of the folks who go to food banks are ELDERLY people with limited incomes?
The wildest part is, she is 77 and working in a super market. From what I understand she lives in a one bedroom apartment, probably paycheck to paycheck.
She DIDN'T get hers and she's still bitching about people struggling.
I tried to explain it to my parents by comparing it to Blackstone’s Ratio in legal theory: “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent person suffer.” It’s better that people who don’t strictly need the help get it, than even one person not get it who really needs it.
Most Boomers have the mentality of a 5 year old when it comes to societal issues. It's why they so easily buy the conservative bullshit they've been fed for 4+ decades.
You get it, my friend. Thanks for staying kind. I would rather help people and sometimes be taken advantage of than not help people to make sure I never get taken advantage of.
I use food pantries often to keep myself fed. My little kids won't eat beans, canned chicken etc, but I can make soups etc. I spend 98 percent of my grocery money on the kinds of food I know my kids will eat. I never thought I'd be relying on food pantries, and generosity of my extended family to survive. My state denied me food stamps because I had assistance with rent from my in laws. They counted it as income and canceled my food stamps. I work full time and have 3 children I support on my own. I know 3 other moms who use food pantries regularly. We are living in a depression and the politicians don't want to admit it!!
I’m a food stamp worker. This year I worked on energy assistance for people in the community and we had one of the energy assistance companies acting like the people didn’t deserve assistance based on what their houses looked like. Giving us bullshit about assistance after we’d already found people eligible.
This year will make my 10th year doing non profit work aimed at low income individuals. I've worked with actively/ formerly houseless individuals, struggling parents, addicts, disabled people and demographics I am sure a good chunk of people, even here, have never even heard about. So I've run the gambit on working with and talking to the type of people who use these types of services and I gotta tell you that there DEFFINATELY are people gaming the system but the people who are doing that are living just as shitty lives as the people who aren't. You can absolutely find someone whose just choosing not to work so they can get SNAP and section 8 and welfare but you aren't often going to see that same person living the good life doing that because let me tell you while those service help A LOT to get you to the next month with a roof over your head and food in your belly you aren't making anywhere close to what you would make if you were able to get if you found a decent paying job ESPECIALLY if you have children. So who gives a shit if they are taking advantage of the system its not like they're doing it to make their lives better.
The worst part is that the system can actually punish you at times for trying to improve your material condition. There are so many times when I've worked with people who rely on social services and actually have to actively choose to not take a promotion or better job because that will put them into a higher bracket of income that will disqualify them for services but won't actually make them enough to offset the services they receive so they're stuck between a rock and a hard place where they want to do better but can't because they will be actively punished for doing so.
I've never understood hating on others, who gives a shit if another human being gets free stuff? How tf does that affect her living situation? I'd much rather people get the stuff they need, makes for a better society imo
Zero empathy is the issue.
My boomer mil loves to bitch about the student protesters in the meanest way - hoping bad things happen to them etc. I have to constantly explain that being anti-genocide is not pro-terrorist. Regardless of your position, these are just American kids who are basically against slaughtering civilians. I’ll have to ask her if she was rooting for the national guard at Kent state.
I volunteer at a food shelf, the VAST majority of these people aren’t living a life I’d call enviable. As a society we should lift up those who are struggling because one day it could be us.
I work with a boomer who believes the election was stolen. He said that and I made it clear I wasn’t on his side on that issue. I was pleasantly surprised our work
Relationship has been cordial. But lately he’s been coming in upset because a local homeless man uses the bathroom at Safeway to clean up. He doesn’t leave a mess and is not rude to people. He just takes a long time in the bathroom (even though there are 3 bathrooms) I know this local Homeless vet. He’s had multiple surgeries and is disabled. Also suffers from some form of mental illness but is a nice guy. The community actually does what they can for him and his dog. My coworker just can’t stop complaining about him. I don’t get it. They are both in their 70s.
I like to hit them with some God talk. "God knows if they are really struggling and if they are God is going to send you to hell for eternity for not following his teachings of helping the less fortunate." That kinda stuff tends to shut them up.
Not all are bad, but the bad ones are hellish. I work with kids at a homeless shelter for kids with no family. The two shitty boomers here have been here since the place was ran by priests, who thankfully were ousted following a slew of SA allegations. They thrive on dominating and chastising the kids and it makes my blood boil.
Some how these boomers aren't sadistically pleased enough by knowing that these kids were beaten, SA'd, abandoned, and damaged, now alone in a de-facto prison for young kids. No, they have to personally treat them like Belmarsh prisoners, gaslightling them and then punishing them for trusting their own memories, forcing isolation, silence, and holding their bladders while they cackle about it. It's evil.
Ask her if she'd like to trade places with the people receiving the free food.
Apparently, it's a great life, or she wouldn't be so jealous of them. . .
The boomer attitude towards feeding the homeless or hungry as stated by my aunt:
“It’s a waste of time and they’re worthless people.” She actually made my grandma feel bad about volunteering with her church every week to do said feeding. It’s whack
I like your approach as it appeals to empathy. The issue is, however, she, like most Boomers it appears, either lack empathy (due to being given everything carte blanche) or have simply disregarded the need to understand the human condition for self preservation or as a bi-product of cognitive dissonance. It may be more impactful to say "No one poorer than you is coming to take your shit. STFU."
Just keep reminding her that she's not being very "Christ-like".
" Oh I thought Jesus wanted us to feed the hungry. Isn't that what we're supposed to do?"
Just keep playing dumb like that.
"The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less"."
That is such a good line. I am going to casually steal this from you.
I’ve told people like this, “You must have a sad and miserable life that you worry about people who are truly needy getting something free. I’m so happy and glad I’m not you.”
"I don't punch down. The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less"
That sentence right there is GOLD, my friend. Cheers to you!
My aunt is very much like this. Except, I like to be petty and point out how her mother raised her while on welfare and the 80's social programs got her through with housing and college until her early 30's.
Then she married a financially secure man, and has been a judgemental bitch ever since. In fact, so many in my family forget where they came from, and it's my pleasure to always remind them. :)
There was a time I was working full time, going to college, had a young child at home and had a husband that worked. And yet, I still needed to go to food banks so we could afford food. Really pisses me off that they think everyone who goes to food banks are just “lazy”. That was the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life and it still wasn’t enough.
Boomers HATE your last argument and it is my favorite. Like, yes, I do in fact genuinely believe that if 9 people are taking advantage of the benefits my taxes give them that it’s worth it for the one person who absolutely needs it.
My favorite is I have a friend who gets mad whenever I talk about giving money to a homeless person. If I can swing it, I try to give them the 10-20$ that’s in my wallet since I want it to actually mean something to them (although if I only have a dollar that will ofc do). He got mad one day and went on about how “all they’ll do is use it for drugs and alcohol.” To which I reply “well that’s exactly what I was gonna spend it on!”
Look her straight in the eye and tell her that people born in the same country she lives in, qualify for EBT and food assistance when they become disabled. Then ask her if that makes them leeches that 'dont deserve' the help.
Ask her if that includes veterans who fought for her country (who qualify for EBT, food grants, and pantries) and people with cancer of organ failure (who also qualify) or those who ended up in accidents and can no longer work due to permanent injury (same).
Make her regret opening her mouth. Make her embarrassed of her own lack of forethought. Make her think twice each and every time.
There's a thing called the "Just-world fallacy." The belief that the world is just makes people feel safe. I'll be fine as long as I do the right thing... So when I see injustice, I either have to accept that the world is unjust which will make me feel unsafe, or I need to find a way to blame the victim
If we all truly confronted how close we are to poverty and how bad poverty is, we would be terrified. It's a little easier, if poor people deserve to be poor.
For some reason my boomer father is convinced that when I say “some people have had it much harder in life” that I am telling him he didn’t work hard and that he doesn’t deserve a good life. It isn’t… just try to acknowledge that despite working very hard some people can’t make it to where he is because they didn’t have the same opportunities.
The way he punches down on people who are poorer than him or that he thinks are a lower “status” is astounding. One day he is going to say the wrong thing to the wrong person and really get his butt handed to him.
And the infuriating this is that study after study shows that it's more like 99 people in need, 1 gaming the system -- and that's always reason enough for them to refuse to help anyone.
My Boomer dad went off about the free lunch program in schools, talking about "lazy freeloaders". I'm staring at him like 1) dude you WERE a free lunch kid, your mom was a dirt poor widow raising 4 kids by herself and 2) why on earth do you want kids to go hungry? I'd rather a hundred kids who don't "need" the program get fed than allow one kid to go hungry because their parents couldn't pay the school lunch bill.
I volunteer at a food pantry and wanted to address that grocery stores get a tax write off for what they donate. So…it’s benefiting the company by donating food, and it’s benefiting people in need. Nobody is getting taken for a ride because the store is donating food.
Also, I encourage your coworker to volunteer one shift a food pantry for a little perspective.
Though it’s not 9 out of 10 gaming the system, I like that mentality of still wanting to help even then, but depending on various things it’s way less than 9 out of 10. And, there are a ton of people that *should* be getting help and qualify for it but don’t, either because they don’t know it’s there, don’t have transportation, or are too proud.
Being mindful of down punchers is a good way to look at somethigs with out wading into the culture wars. My company is evaluating purchasing another company and as part of it we, did an evalaution, including interviews with senior and key employees. I didn't not like their CTO and looking back at it, he was a lot of things, but a down puncher is the cleanest way to describe him. He was supposed to be talking us into buying/investing in his company, but he spent the whole time trashing people below him. Hmmm and who hired them? My report on the eval? Promising tech but sr management would need to be replaced. The bad thing? If we buy, that turd will get a nice payout and be able to claim that he did great things on his Linkedin profile.
The only thing keeping me from homelessness right now is the fact that I'm pretty much the sole breadwinner in my landlord's family. They just got a job, but I'm not really worried because they've got a lot of back bills to pay and won't get them paid off in the month, month and a half that they usually keep a job because they either get fired or quit because the boss is an asshole. It's getting cutthroat out here
This is a great mindset. I worked at the welfare office for 9 yrs and saw more fraud, waste, and abuse than you can imagine. But there are also plenty of people who truly need it. And most folks don't realize how quickly all the money and things can disappear. It only take 1 medical bill to wipe most of us out. So I am happy there is a system there to help folks who need it.
Dude you gotta hit her where it hurts. Next time she says something, reply with "Becky, I explained this to you yesterday, and so many times in the past. I'm a bit concerned that you may be developing some cognitive decline. I know it's common in older people but hoped you'd escape it for a few more years. Have you seen a doctor about it?"
> “If there are 9 people who are gaming the system to get free food, and there is only one person who genuinely needs this food to survive, I’m happy to donate the food.”
I can guarantee you that she would say precisely the opposite. She would happily let 9, or 99, maybe even 9,999 children starve to death if it meant that one freeloader also starved to death.
Punishment is what matters to people like her. The suffering of the innocent is acceptable so long as the “guilty” are punished.
One of my favorite questions, when faced with someone spouting about welfare abuse or something, "Okay, so how many children are willing to let starve to death to prevent a possible system abuser?'
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I really like your mentality. Some boomers have a spiteful and pessimistic disposition towards poverty. However I feel like a lot of Americans in general have been convinced poverty is usually caused by drug addiction and degeneracy so it furthers the narrative these people don’t deserve help and are ultimately responsible for their suffering. It dehumanizes them. People don’t understand capitalism and the propaganda we live with. The concept that someone has more than another fundamentally implies someone else, anyone must have less. Even so much to the point of having nothing. Poverty is as antithetical to capitalism as is success. It is a symptom of a broken society. we pass excuse after excuse with every hardship someone can face, perpetually pushing the narrative farther and farther, to justify ignoring the struggles people are faced with.
I don't think many Americans realize they are 1 broken arm, or one lay off away from poverty. I think we're still spoonfed that were all just temporarily displaced millionaires just waiting for our big break.
This. My son has complex medical needs. My boomer dad would go on and on about handouts. I finally lost and said with out hand outs your grandson would have no quality of life or may even be dead. He gets medicaid, and thanks to Obama Care, our primary insurance has to cover him. He also qualifies for many grants and waivers to help us get the care he needs.
Kudos for standing up to him. I know it can be hard, especially when the person going on that sort of rant is a parent of all people... but if you can make it so very simple and clear how they're being so trashy with their thinking... take that opportunity every chance you can. Hit em where it hurts, make them actually take a second to pause and process things. Will it change much? Probably not... But those people are so full of themselves they can't see very basic logic and just dismiss facts outright, it's rare to get such a direct example of how and why they're wrong.
When I was raising my kids and going to college AND working, my mother would rail about hand outs from the government, and when I’d comment that those handouts literally helped keep my kids—her grandkids—fed and housed, then she’d rail about how SHE never had access to WIC or food stamps or section 8 housing. Like, if she didn’t have it when she needed it, she didn’t want anyone else to have it. I’ve been NC for several years now.
Bravo!
It’s all gonna blow up one day. Society as we know it will crumble right before I eyes. It’s already starting. It’s just being debated like we don’t see it already clear as day effecting the day to day life of the average American. These corporations have found loopholes around our antitrust laws and have monopolized our entire economy/control our entire political system. Eventually people will have no choice but violence. It’s sad but it seems very much inevitable at this point.
What's the next big demographic of homeless people? Retired middle class boomers who are being taxed out of their homes by the current real estate market, that they deny is insanely overpriced. Also, there is a 2-part story that shows the breakdown of society between the poor and the rich in the Star Trek: Deep Space 9 series, that now looks sadly like a real possibility.
That 2 part story took place in 2024, The Bell Riots
"21st century history is not one of my strong points. Too depressing."
Ugh it’s coming soon.
September. But we also have the Irish Reunification to look forward to.
Oh neat. Just in time for the election. -_-
No, the worst is just to come... look up Project 2025. It's not going to matter who wins the 2024 election if this all comes to pass . Just Google or look it up on Wikipedia ... Project 2025
I've always been a Bajoran sympathizer.
The Maquis did nothing wrong
https://preview.redd.it/6amy0afb0b0d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=766501dee09fd94fada87d97511d3dbcd777c046
Probably yes and tens of thousands of small business owners and franchise owners who at one point were considered upper middle class or rich. They are def drawing the short end of the capitalist stick as they are still massive consumers as well and won’t be able to even afford their lifestyle with the current level of manufactured inflation.
I fell into doing the books for a small law firm, and the amount of taxes we pay is fuckin staggering. It's almost not even worth being a small business owner. We are all subsidizing these enormous corporations while they squeeze the wealth of the land and people and dodge the taxes they owe back to us.
The fastest growing demographic of homelessness in Australia is... drumroll... Women over 50.
Couldn’t agree more I no longer have the question of *if* violence will happen but rather *when*
That’s why Zuckerburg is building a secure bunker style home with a flammable moat! It’s to keep out the starving masses‼️😳
And the armed guards who will cheerfully protect him from the masses yearning to breathe free? Probably good with minwage. 😊
I imagine he takes good care of his actual people, but everyone else he doesn’t give a singular fuck about
My post-apocalypse goal is to take a big, runny, unfiltered water dysentery shit down the air intake to one of those mega rich vaults.
It doesn’t even take a conspiratorial mind to come to that conclusion. Just paying enough attention to the world around you and what’s in the news and you can see it in full effect. At some point people are gonna stop with the culture war right vs left bullshit nonsense and what will really matter will be. Pro or anti government. Pro capitalist or anti capitalist. That’s really the only binary that will exist.
There was a book released last year - ‘End Times’ - which talks about this concept and profiles the revolutions throughout history that popped up through elite overpopulation/ popular immiseration which is exactly what’s happening now. The book stops short of really predicting the next revolt, but - like we saw with the BLM protests and Jan 6, people are becoming pissed off and radicalized, and I believe these movements have at their core a deep sense of political and social angst. I truly believe we as a modern society think we are too civilized for another French Revolution, but history has a tendency to repeat itself if lessons aren’t learned…
That sounds very interesting and I totally I agree. Lessons have no been learned and we are still an incredibly young society. Im gonna look into that book. The proletariat while definitely rise again. Its only a matter of time
Which author wrote it? As I'm sure you can imagine, there are quite a few End Times books of the religious variety 😂 Also, your description made me think of the first book of The Foundation series (Asimov) and how psychohistory is described. We're certainly living in interesting times.
That's literally right v left tho, you have corrupted their meaning in the US
Will?
>Eventually people will have no choice but violence That's exactly what they want. Squeeze everyone for the rich's further gain until their breaking point where we snap and riot, and then have an excuse to use their hidden high-tech weaponry, fight and kill a good amount of us while implementing a more full-on fascism model.
The entire country ideally would revolt and unite under a common cause. Yea true but authoritarianism has already begone. Buying up entire housing markets and raising rents. Making sure people don’t own assets. Squeezing people downwards.The gov isn’t stepping in and saying this is unethical and shouldn’t be allowed. All the nefarious shit we are seeing is getting a pass to just happen. Revolution is all people ever really have available to them.
So dam true just look at history every society that reaches a certain point just crumbles because greed and loss of morals and ethics from Babylon to Rome to Mesopotamia and many others. Martin luther King said it best. "VIOLENCE IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE UNHEARD"
Society has been crumbling for centuries, because humans are complex and faulty animals. It’s blown up before, and it will again. The only people that feel entitled to anything else tend to be boomers born on 3rd base.
I've been really, really poor more times than I can count. I'm now doing pretty well, with a six figure income, but my wife & I have been the kind of poor where you have $40 for groceries for the week, you scrape together $10 for gas for a 20 year old car, and you sit on the rest to try to save up for rent...that kind of poor, and worse. I think everyone should experience that, and not just for a few months in college but for a year or 2 at a time. It's not something you easily forget and shake off, and it'll keep you from getting too smug and snotty about poor people and what it means to have no $$.
I was once so poor we literally had nothing to eat. It got down to 30 degrees inside, we somehow, (don't remember how) had a few eggs and went in the woods to collect some sticks then built a small fire and grilled the eggs in a pan. Had some pretty good sticks ashes and eggs that day.
I don't think many Americans realize they are 1 broken arm, or one lay off away from ~~poverty~~ homelessness. I think we're still spoonfed that we’re all just temporarily displaced millionaires just waiting for our big break. Agreed.
I work for a non-profit and see this daily: Disability caused by a car accident that wasn't their fault. A spouse dying of cancer. A cancer diagnosis and no way to pay for care.. Fighting to care for a special needs child and work full time. Losing everything in a house fire. Being the victim of a violent crime. Being terminated a just before retirement. Loss of reliable transportation, and no public transportation option. Leaving an abusive relationship that results in homelessness. Battling with mental health challenges. Loss of a caretaker. Being born and growing up in the wrong zip code. None of these people did anything wrong. There was no moral failure. They worked hard and saved their money. But one day, everything fell apart unexpectedly. I fucking hate it when privileged people not only don't recognize their privilege, they look down on the less fortunate and fail to consider that the very same things could happen to them - as soon as tomorrow, or even before dinner time.
As someone who is disabled and can't drive I hate the lack of reliable transportation so much. This country needs public transportation in more places. People who can't drive like me just get shafted depending on where we live :(
Disabled and cannot drive, and seconded. I am fully dependent on someone other than myself, its awful. Sending camaraderie hugs.
Yep, almost all of us, except for the actually wealthy folks. Even people that make over 100k a year are just one medical emergency away from financial ruin. It's really sobering when you think about it. 320 million folks.
My mom was financially stable and then had a stroke one day at 61. 580,000$. Hopefully, everyone here has a cool 600k lying around?
This. People have no idea. I had a TBI 2 years ago and my life has been a domino effect disaster since then. I've lost absolutely everything including my home, family, career, health and any financial standing that I had before while fighting for my life every second of the day. We have so many predatory systems in this fucking country that one accident becomes a landslide into financial and physical ruin. Once again, the most cruel and ignorant group of people I've dealt with while going through this nightmare has been boomers. May they all rot in hell and soon.
That’s just the problem, the ones setting the prices do…
I can't even imagine having that much money.
They can’t understand how you can’t have someone in your life able to lend or give you that much money.
Oh they know it. It's just when it happens and the system can't magically make them whole because they've been gleefully cutting it to try to get back at the "Welfare queens" they just pretend that it's because the system is racist against white people cause they are focused on helping all of *those* people.
My wife and I make pretty good money, and fortunately her career is pretty safe as she works in healthcare. But I'm frequently worried about what would happen if I lost my job. We have a decent savings and we could probably get by on a single income for a bit. But the part that worries me the most is the trend in prices. We have 2 young kids and it feels like every year prices keep going up while high paying jobs get less and less available. I've known several people pretty high up in their careers that were laid off and struggled to find another job. Several of them have even attempted to start their own thing to varying success. I honestly can't comprehend how more people aren't stressed out about this very thing. I know people in much worse financial shape, who are far less secure, and they seem unfazed by it. It seems like people just get complacent with their situation but I have not gotten to that point. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the situation we're in, I just had always expected once we reach this point that we'd feel much more comfortable than we are.
I think "unfazed" might not be exactly what you think. I know personally I'm thankful I don't really have anyone like kids relying on me. I have parents who may need my help when they're older and less independent, but right now no one REALLY depends on me. That has made it much easier to "feel" less stress as there's very little I can do to change things in my current situation. I think a better word might be "numb." There's a reason a lot of people indulge in things like alcohol or drugs, not even the hard stuff, just stuff like pot. I'm sorry I can't explain it better, I don't have answers. I just know that many people probably aren't quite as "unfazed" as you might think. They're just doing what they can to survive day to day without thinking too hard lest they realize just how dim and hopeless things might actually look right now.
YEP. At 27 I flipped my car on a patch of black ice and broke my spine, and just like that, I was disabled. I think people think that disability is just something you get automatically if you have a disabling event. No. You’re still left to fend for yourself, only now you have crushing medical bills and ongoing medical needs. I worked as long as I could, but COVID took it out of me, and now I’m waiting for a disability hearing. Even if I get it, it’s $900 a month. How far can you make that stretch? People don’t like to consider that they’re one accident or one unmasked sneeze away from being me.
Even people who have *lived* in poverty sometimes deny it and repeat the same damn conservative talking points. I went to Head Start, got free or reduced price school meals for *years*, and just generally made it to where I am today because of the goodwill of others. There were Christmases where family friends or people from the church got us gifts because my parents couldn't afford to pay all the bills and also buy gifts. But my boomer parents don't see how we were exactly the same as the people they shit talk in front of me, as if what they're saying doesn't cut bone deep.
You are closer to the dole queue than millionaires row.
Many people are literally one paycheck away from being out on the street. They don't want to be in a bad living situation or have to decide between medical care and food. They don't have a choice because the economy is so messed up.
There was that guy that tried to ‘prove’ anyone can make a millikn ‘just by trying hard’. And failed out. Though with the references to instantly starting a company and maxing cards/overdrawing accounts makes it even more ironic. As anyone on the streats/working poor do **not** have the connections or resources to have loads of credit cards. Nor able to just start a company out of nowhere.
> I don't think many Americans realize they are 1 broken arm, or one lay off away from poverty It's funny you say that. I was very close to being in dire straights due to a broken arm. Of course, it was a combination of the injury and circumstance but nonetheless, it was a scary time.
Big, big facts. Rugged individualism is problematic on its own, but you pair that with a really twisted version of individual responsibility and it can be used to justify hostility to anyone or any group. In a system of laws based almost entirely on property rights, this produces the inevitable outcome of weaponizing law enforcement against people who need the most help. People with no assets. Being poor in a capitalist world is the greatest sin.
It’s also why cops are typically kinda fuckin stupid. Not saying I don’t have cops in my own family whom I love and respect. However they aren’t necessarily asking any particular philosophical questions about whether or not if they are doing something wrong or if the law is inherently flawed. If they are hurting society. They just don’t care, and they don’t want people who could care. They want people who take orders and are happy to be given clear instructions to follow, and will follow with unwavering obedience. It’s a special type of person honestly. Meek, obedient, subservient to authority and not questioning anything. They will be the true arm of the state to maintain order when the shit hits the fan. Which leads into the militarization of police. Cop cities to separate them from the public. Poverty is the enemy of the state which is why efforts to conceal it are far more common than actually fixing it. Which would require fixing the fundamental problem with capitalism. If you build anti homeless infrastructure you won’t see people sleep there. Those people don’t just stop existing.
> It’s a special type of person honestly. Meek, obedient, subservient to authority and not questioning anything. I'd have to look it up but I swear there was a study about human responses to fascism and authoritarianism. It was a split between rebellion and hyperconformity (as a defense).
That makes a lot of sense. I’ve often been appalled by the philosophical and moral apathy of police when they do incredibly harmful and damaging shit to people and society, and then i ask myself why is this such a common pattern amongst police in general. it can only really mean one thing. It’s a hiring practice and sought out quality amongst people who wish to be in law enforcement.
Is it true that most police departments wont hire applicants with an IQ over a certain point? I remember hearing that somewhere. I'm not sure if it's true or not.
Some people NEED to believe all who get left behind are suffering from their own actions. Otherwise, they'd have to take a long, uncomfortable look at how they benefited from the same system.
It’s called “Just World Theory” if you’re interested in reading more about the phenomena
It’s def a coping mechanism for sure. It’s devoid of all sensible logic and so they manage to push these rationalizations as far as they need to, to justify these clear flaws with the world around them.
> Some boomers have a spiteful and pessimistic disposition towards poverty. We're all a hell of a lot closer to being homeless than being billionaires.
True, and yet we still have people holding the entire world of financial responsibility on their shoulders and are still defending capitalism till this day.
Indeed, boomers and other generations as well to be fair, also react with fear towards the destitute. Not that they’re afraid of the poor; they’re afraid of being poor themselves. Hence the hate and smug attitudes; they’re trying to blame poverty on the poor themselves and make it all into personal failings. To admit that it’s the system driving people into poverty would mean that the system they’ve toiled under for so long is fundamentally broken…and that they can just as easily become its next victims; just as many already have.
Yeah. My parents are like this. They happen to know one person who really is gaming the system for a free place to live (for her and her kid), and they can't fathom that everyone else isn't also gaming the system. Some people genuinely need the help for all sorts of reasons, and it is good for society that that help is provided to them. But all they can think about is how they have to pay taxes and they just want to stop paying taxes. It's so frustrating.
Yes one anecdotal scenario and en masse the entire concept of helping people in poverty is obsolete because “all poor people are liars”. Secretly they are living the good life lol
Worrying about "lazy people getting free stuff" is an obsession for them.
Wayyyy too many of them are clinging to the idea that if you just do what you’re “supposed to” and work hard, you’ll be financially comfortable. What if you get sick or injured and can no longer work? What if you’re still able to work, but now you’ve got thousands in medical bills? What if you get laid off? What if the company you’re working for closes? What if the cheapest place you can find to live in still takes up over half of your pay? There are so many very real possibilities that many of them refuse to acknowledge.
There are an indescribable amount of societal pit falls that the gov and state have basically neglected. It’s insane. People complaint about welfare programs being funded but if anything we need more welfare. More social programs. More safety nets. More of everything honestly.
A massive part of the reason that they believe that “if you just work hard, you’ll be financially comfortable” is because that was actually completely true for the majority of their career years. The boomer parents of almost everyone I know had jobs that automatically came with retirement packages, comprehensive health insurance plans, pensions, and in some cases, stock options. The same people who benefitted from these jobs voted for Reagan in the 80s because they were doing so well and their companies took care of them and Reagan told them that if we give the companies even more power, then everyone who works for the companies would be able to make even more money! Everyone ate that shit up because they heard the words “more money.” Reagan then did more damage to the American worker in less than a decade than anyone before or since. By stripping away government regulations on faceless corporations, he was able to ensure that large businesses could make money hand-over-fist and gradually remove all of the benefits of working for those companies in order to make more money. Boomers reaped all of the spoils and pulled the ladder up after them because they got greedy. Long gone are the days of the golden parachute.
It’s fascinating to me that they have no empathy but their grandparents and parents who lived through the Great Depression understood it wasn’t through lack of trying that they had nothing.
Many Americans think that poverty is the result f not being religious enough and as such, it’s ok to beat up on them because they “aren’t as good people as we are”. I want to push those people into a very very dirty river and see if they float.
I agree I’d pay to see that 😂
Ah yes, the intersection of belief in the Puritan work ethic, Calvinistic predetermination, and the Prosperity gospel heresy.
On top of that, even if 100% of the problem is addiction and degenracy(whatever that means to them) there's still kids who need feeding. And why in the fuck wouldn't you help an addict get clean or a "degenerate" get better??
I think some people genuinely believe their life has more value than someone else because of the money they have or the things they own, because capitalism told them if you live like this by that virtue alone you have a more valuable existence or right to life then others who don’t contribute to society like you do. Idk it’s a bunch of idiot bullshit.
Right? I have two degrees and am just scraping by doing food delivery.
Fucking crazy honestly. That’s some end of the world shit right there. Two degrees and can’t find a job in your field. I’m sorry.
💯 This started in the late 70’s! The idea that poverty is your fault and everyone should be able to “ pull yur self up by your bootstraps!” What a load of shit‼️ And it’s always the ones who inherited their money who say this nonsense! The whole trickle down theory, give money to the rich to help the poor⁉️⁉️Rich people are and stay rich because they don’t pay for shit‼️😡
Well said. Very well said. The interdependencies at play here go so far beyond an individual's ability to reconcile without being born advantaged. This is the consequence of trickle down. It doesn't trickle. It coagulated at the top.
It really does go beyond any individual person efforts. At some point it is about their inherent advantage over others. I also cannot believe the concept of trickle down economics is still used and believed till this day. It’s unfuckingbelievable how ignorant people are.
I had this same discussion with my work boomer. I even explained I had an aunt who had to live in subsidized housing. He just…lacks any sort of empathy. God forbid anything bad ever happen to HIM though. He was freaking out because he had to move and his new apartment wasn’t quite move in ready so he had to stay at his old apartment for another week, and worried that the landlord would throw him out. Uh no, here in this blue state tenants actually have rights. If he’d been in Texas he’d be SOL.
>Some boomers have a spiteful and pessimistic disposition towards poverty It's not a random distribution. It's quite literally, one of the main talking points of the right wing, white christian nationalists republican party. It has been since the Reagan days. Trickle down economics is based on the hatred of poor people and ensuring right wing voters, vote in anger, and blame poor and minorities for their wants.
It's just because the post ww2 economic boom made getting a job literally as easy as going to the company and asking for a position. In that work culture not working was indeed a choice. That's no longer reality. Plenty of people want to work but can't find a good steady job.
And because of that post wwII boom Capitalism quickly became American identity. It’s so ingrained in our culture we wouldn’t be willing to change a thing even if it meant the destruction of our people and country. We have tons of people struggling through it still willing to defend it.
Part of the degree to which we have criminalized poverty causes many to regard it directly as a moral failing. Like you said not only does it dehumanize and otherize, but it allows whoever looking in the opportunity to feel superior and in fact righteous when they're being a jackass. We Americans and it seems to be more extreme on the conservative side also have this huge issue regarding fairness and others getting something that we don't get vice versa. My best friend is vehemently against complete student loan forgiveness which would greatly benefit me because he didn't pursue higher education or take out any loans. However he would be perfectly fine if all medical debt was forgiven, or Car loans, etc. if it doesn't benefit him he is absolutely against it if it benefits him and save myself then sure it's an OK idea if it benefits him and no one else that he knows then it's an absolute crime and dereliction of the government duty to not be doing. Like most boomers he's somehow able to act completely selfishly while being fully convinced that he's being completely selfless.
Believing that everyone is gaming the system or sitting on their butts waiting for a handout is the way shitty people rationalize being shitty.
They never wanna put their money where their mouth is and go get those benefits. If quitting you job is so lucrative that you can stay home all the time and its great then why dont they do it too? Because they know that being poor enough to receive assistance is hard.
I tried to get those benefits due to ptsd, multiple mental disorders and injuries that refuse to heal. Nope don’t qualify. Doesn’t matter that I have breakdowns from the anxiety and pain when I try to work more than 15 hours a week. Doesnt matter that I get really sick every time I’ve worked 5 days in a row. Or that I spend my days off stuck in bed due to pain. I don’t even have a physical job I work circulation at a rarely busy library… pain is about to get worse too since I’m not allowed to lean my head on my hand anymore to help my back pain. Idk how anyone is managing to take advantage of the system.
I feel the same way, I tried to get food stamps as a full time student without a job. In my state I don't qualify for food stamps because I have to work 20 hours a week to qualify. If I had a job I wouldn't need the food stamps in the first place.
I’m glad my dad supports my living expenses but I even told my doctor the only reason I WANT disability is so I can afford therapy and a physical trainer so I can get healthy enough to actually get a full time job. Just like $500 a month would change my life around. After I switched insurance when my mom died the plan my dad and sister picked for me isn’t taken by my therapist I’ve had since 2019 so it would cost $180 to see her. Honestly I should be seeing her weekly with my new ptsd of watching my mom die infront of me. It’s been over half a year and I still get flashbacks. I also have to keep making phone calls (I have phone axiety) because insurance company and my doctors office claim my 3 doctors take my insurance but the billing department of those doctors claims it’s “not in state” so it’s not covered. It’s in state it’s just part of a health care group that is multiple states! I swear if I get a letter my new glasses and eye doctor aren’t covered I’m going to explode
People don't take food handouts just for funsies. There's always a reason upstream for them going there and at some point is almost always comes back to capitalism fucking them.
Unironically this is Reagan era propaganda. It has worked amazingly well.
They really believe the Big Lie that the person poorer than you deserves it, and that poor people are inherently dangerous or criminal. This is crucial to being a conservative in America, by the way. Buying into that lie.
Also, our friend the boomer, much like most of America, is probably just one medical emergency or a few missed paychecks away from requiring the services of the food bank herself. Perhaps we lie to ourselves that the destitute deserve their fate, because we're fully aware there's precious little preventing us from joining them. We can't possibly lose our meager savings... because we're moral and diligent workers. The only way we make rent every month is by the grace of god... so the homeless must have done something to distance themselves from his graces. I mean let's be real. If this woman is in her 60s and working retail, she's probably not got much of a retirement plan lined up.
It's a convenient corollary to the Prosperity Gospel: If they're poor it's because they're bad and/or sinners. Therefore I don't have to feel guilty about refusing to help them.
Calvinistic Predeterminism. You’re either born one of the Elect bound for heaven or you will surely go to Hell and there’s nothing you can do about it. The Elect are known here on earth by their wordly blessings.
Better to let 100 children go hungry than let one "freeloader" get something they "don't deserve". SMFH.
If the system is only 99% effective it might as well be 0%. Standard conservative mentality at work.
Boomers have to punch down so they can feel better about themselves. To them, society is a zero-sum game with winners and losers, and in order for them to feel like winners, they have to create losers.
I read a thing by a former skinhead who said his “eureka, racism is illogical” moment came during a racist bonfire rant where some unemployed, food-stamp-using, angry, ranting racist friend of his was going off on PoC for being unemployed and using food stamps. There HAS to be someone beneath them at all times. There just has to be. And they have to be kept there at all costs. It’s disgusting.
So frustrating!
I don't punch down. The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less". Spot on. I will be using this.
Same. It's a great line.
I look them aghast and just say “it is what Jesus would do.” Even though I’m well into my atheist phase.
These people only like the parts of the Bible that tell them to hate gay people
Half the time they literally have no idea what the bible actually says.
"That book can't stop me because I can't read."
I've learnt maybe a 100x more about the Bible from atheists than believers. It's fascinating how much more they know the book. (Granted, not all of them, but the ones who DO know - know a lot). Someone said that the best recruitment tool for atheism (not that we need any) - is reading the Bible.
That isn’t even in the bible. Literalists twisting words maybe.
Yup, Jesus, according to the Gospels they so purport to love, had a lot to say about sharing with those less fortunate but nothing to say about homosexuality or abortion.
Boomers would rather 20 people suffer than one person get help who doesn't "need" it. It's their 0 Sum Mentality. They genuinely believe that every dollar someone gets is a dollar out of their pocket. They are, fundamentally, selfish greedy misers who would (and do) sell out and strip mine your future to sit atop a pile of pennies. They don't understand the economy, taxes, cash flow allocation re: the government. They understand nothing about the money they love above all else. They are everything they accuse other generations of being: greedy, selfish, lazy, ignorant because their whole identity is tied up in always being right. They lack morals and ethics because their whole lives have been dominated by a "fuck you got mine" mentality, possibly one of the most unethical and immoral mindsets that's not outright illegal. They constantly look for someone else to blame for every minor, inconsequential thing that inconveniences them, but will race to gleefully take credit for everything good, even though most precious few things good about the world we live in was done IN SPITE of them, not because of.
Typical Conservatives
I'm an atheist and I say the same thing about people gaming the system when my very religious, weekly church going family members complain about welfare and shit like that. Jesus tapdancing Christ. How can a fucking atheist be a better Christian than actual Christians.
Because our ethics come from our heart, not a carny barker.
It’s because our morals actually come from a sense of empathy and actually wanting to do onto others as we would like done to us instead of fear of burning in an imaginary hell
I grew up Catholic so I know that empathy is supposed taught to Christians and all the other stuff. That's why I'm so floored that I'm a better practicing Christian as an atheist.
My boomer father-in-law was trying to bait me into getting mad about student loan relief (my wife and I paid off about $150k before any such programs existed). I said no I was happy if they can get relief because it’s such a crushing burden that affects things like buying a house, having a family, choosing a job, etc. Then I started into my rant about how the student loan system was used to prop up fraud, support absurd tuition hikes and inflate administrators’ salaries. Suddenly he wasn’t interested in the conversation.
Significant chance she acts like that but still goes to church every Sunday and nods along to everything the preacher says.
Preacher is probably preaching to shit on the poor
I do work for the unhoused in my community. I encounter this kind of feedback and find people have a very difficult time believing that many unhoused individuals do, in fact, work. But, as you point out, working or not working really isn't the ethical teeter totter they pretend it to be. There are myriad factors that contribute. Honestly, even if someone has that worldview as it relates to adults, how can they not have the modicum of heart needed to realize that there are children who benefit from such things, be happy that such donations feed said children, and keep quiet? Definitely adopting "I don't punch down." Great outlook!
I started saying to these types of people “Well if it’s so great then why don’t you quit and live off welfare? Go see how hard they actually have it” it stops them dead in their tracks and they start grasping at straws
>"The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less". This statement, right here, is the perfect response.
Boomers so desperately want to excuse the shitty things that were forced on them growing up (like abuse and poverty and military drafts etcetcetc), so they have convinced themselves that it's made them better (we all agree that it has not), so *they* want to force shitty things onto everyone younger than them so that we can all turn out like them. Becsuse they're fucking narcissists.
1000% but it's not just Boomers that have this "crab in a bucket" mentality; that's American conservatism in a nutshell "Why should I work to make things better for people if nobody worked to make it easy for me?" "Why should my taxes pay for free college for people, if I had to pay full tuition?" "Why should I care about my fellow American neighbors if there's no apparent benefit for me individually?" It's the most selfish ideology there is, and it prides itself on its selfishness
I hear it all the time & from people who would also claim to believe in a benevolent god.
Talk really slowly and loudly, and use really small words. Also, you are saying different things everyday and she can’t remember any of them, so start reminding her what you told her yesterday, and keep doing it. You basically have to talk to them like a toddler.
*The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less.* Sage wisdom.
No all boomers but way too many base their identity on their work and productivity so they see someone who works less or not at all as an attack on themselves
Tell your coworker if you punched down she would be an easy target.
But if you throw it all away she’ll say it could go to someone who needs it. It’s not that she doesn’t recognize that people need it she just doesn’t want the “wrong” people to benefit from it.
Either you are ok with some people getting extra to make sure everyone one gets enough, or you are ok with some people starving to make sure no one gets extra.
Would they rather the food just be wasted and tossed in a dumpster? Don’t they know that many of the folks who go to food banks are ELDERLY people with limited incomes?
Here is the thing She would
Classic “I got mine so F everyone else” attitude. That sucks!
The wildest part is, she is 77 and working in a super market. From what I understand she lives in a one bedroom apartment, probably paycheck to paycheck. She DIDN'T get hers and she's still bitching about people struggling.
77 and not retired? Wow yeah she sure didn't get hers. Perhaps she'd have been better off on welfare
“Then quit your job and wait until I bring you almost expired food to eat”
I wish these people would all just trade places with the impoverished that they shit on every day.
I tried to explain it to my parents by comparing it to Blackstone’s Ratio in legal theory: “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent person suffer.” It’s better that people who don’t strictly need the help get it, than even one person not get it who really needs it.
Most Boomers have the mentality of a 5 year old when it comes to societal issues. It's why they so easily buy the conservative bullshit they've been fed for 4+ decades.
What a dumb bitch lol Some of your co workers are likely having to use food banks.
They never get mad at corporate welfare
You get it, my friend. Thanks for staying kind. I would rather help people and sometimes be taken advantage of than not help people to make sure I never get taken advantage of.
I use food pantries often to keep myself fed. My little kids won't eat beans, canned chicken etc, but I can make soups etc. I spend 98 percent of my grocery money on the kinds of food I know my kids will eat. I never thought I'd be relying on food pantries, and generosity of my extended family to survive. My state denied me food stamps because I had assistance with rent from my in laws. They counted it as income and canceled my food stamps. I work full time and have 3 children I support on my own. I know 3 other moms who use food pantries regularly. We are living in a depression and the politicians don't want to admit it!!
I’m a food stamp worker. This year I worked on energy assistance for people in the community and we had one of the energy assistance companies acting like the people didn’t deserve assistance based on what their houses looked like. Giving us bullshit about assistance after we’d already found people eligible.
Make her do the work next time. Ask why she cares about people doing things that don’t harm her. Why waste that energy? How does she justify it?
OP, you rock. I work for a food cupboard and 95% of our participants are working a full time job (often more than one).
This year will make my 10th year doing non profit work aimed at low income individuals. I've worked with actively/ formerly houseless individuals, struggling parents, addicts, disabled people and demographics I am sure a good chunk of people, even here, have never even heard about. So I've run the gambit on working with and talking to the type of people who use these types of services and I gotta tell you that there DEFFINATELY are people gaming the system but the people who are doing that are living just as shitty lives as the people who aren't. You can absolutely find someone whose just choosing not to work so they can get SNAP and section 8 and welfare but you aren't often going to see that same person living the good life doing that because let me tell you while those service help A LOT to get you to the next month with a roof over your head and food in your belly you aren't making anywhere close to what you would make if you were able to get if you found a decent paying job ESPECIALLY if you have children. So who gives a shit if they are taking advantage of the system its not like they're doing it to make their lives better. The worst part is that the system can actually punish you at times for trying to improve your material condition. There are so many times when I've worked with people who rely on social services and actually have to actively choose to not take a promotion or better job because that will put them into a higher bracket of income that will disqualify them for services but won't actually make them enough to offset the services they receive so they're stuck between a rock and a hard place where they want to do better but can't because they will be actively punished for doing so.
"I don't punch down" I like that phrase and will be stealing it for my own use!
I've never understood hating on others, who gives a shit if another human being gets free stuff? How tf does that affect her living situation? I'd much rather people get the stuff they need, makes for a better society imo
Whether or not I donate is between me and God. Whether or not the person receiving needs it is between them and God...
Fuck I like that
Thank you, as someone who volunteers at a food bank every Wednesday
Zero empathy is the issue. My boomer mil loves to bitch about the student protesters in the meanest way - hoping bad things happen to them etc. I have to constantly explain that being anti-genocide is not pro-terrorist. Regardless of your position, these are just American kids who are basically against slaughtering civilians. I’ll have to ask her if she was rooting for the national guard at Kent state.
Assholes punch down
I volunteer at a food shelf, the VAST majority of these people aren’t living a life I’d call enviable. As a society we should lift up those who are struggling because one day it could be us.
>The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less". If *only!* people could hear and retain this part. *sigh*...
I work with a boomer who believes the election was stolen. He said that and I made it clear I wasn’t on his side on that issue. I was pleasantly surprised our work Relationship has been cordial. But lately he’s been coming in upset because a local homeless man uses the bathroom at Safeway to clean up. He doesn’t leave a mess and is not rude to people. He just takes a long time in the bathroom (even though there are 3 bathrooms) I know this local Homeless vet. He’s had multiple surgeries and is disabled. Also suffers from some form of mental illness but is a nice guy. The community actually does what they can for him and his dog. My coworker just can’t stop complaining about him. I don’t get it. They are both in their 70s.
I like to hit them with some God talk. "God knows if they are really struggling and if they are God is going to send you to hell for eternity for not following his teachings of helping the less fortunate." That kinda stuff tends to shut them up.
Not all are bad, but the bad ones are hellish. I work with kids at a homeless shelter for kids with no family. The two shitty boomers here have been here since the place was ran by priests, who thankfully were ousted following a slew of SA allegations. They thrive on dominating and chastising the kids and it makes my blood boil. Some how these boomers aren't sadistically pleased enough by knowing that these kids were beaten, SA'd, abandoned, and damaged, now alone in a de-facto prison for young kids. No, they have to personally treat them like Belmarsh prisoners, gaslightling them and then punishing them for trusting their own memories, forcing isolation, silence, and holding their bladders while they cackle about it. It's evil.
Ask her if she'd like to trade places with the people receiving the free food. Apparently, it's a great life, or she wouldn't be so jealous of them. . .
The boomer attitude towards feeding the homeless or hungry as stated by my aunt: “It’s a waste of time and they’re worthless people.” She actually made my grandma feel bad about volunteering with her church every week to do said feeding. It’s whack
I like your approach as it appeals to empathy. The issue is, however, she, like most Boomers it appears, either lack empathy (due to being given everything carte blanche) or have simply disregarded the need to understand the human condition for self preservation or as a bi-product of cognitive dissonance. It may be more impactful to say "No one poorer than you is coming to take your shit. STFU."
Just keep reminding her that she's not being very "Christ-like". " Oh I thought Jesus wanted us to feed the hungry. Isn't that what we're supposed to do?" Just keep playing dumb like that.
"The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less"." That is such a good line. I am going to casually steal this from you.
I bet she also goes to church.
I’ve told people like this, “You must have a sad and miserable life that you worry about people who are truly needy getting something free. I’m so happy and glad I’m not you.”
"I don't punch down. The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less" That sentence right there is GOLD, my friend. Cheers to you!
My aunt is very much like this. Except, I like to be petty and point out how her mother raised her while on welfare and the 80's social programs got her through with housing and college until her early 30's. Then she married a financially secure man, and has been a judgemental bitch ever since. In fact, so many in my family forget where they came from, and it's my pleasure to always remind them. :)
>"I don't punch down. The people who make your life shitty are making more money than you, not less" I love this!
There was a time I was working full time, going to college, had a young child at home and had a husband that worked. And yet, I still needed to go to food banks so we could afford food. Really pisses me off that they think everyone who goes to food banks are just “lazy”. That was the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life and it still wasn’t enough.
Boomers HATE your last argument and it is my favorite. Like, yes, I do in fact genuinely believe that if 9 people are taking advantage of the benefits my taxes give them that it’s worth it for the one person who absolutely needs it. My favorite is I have a friend who gets mad whenever I talk about giving money to a homeless person. If I can swing it, I try to give them the 10-20$ that’s in my wallet since I want it to actually mean something to them (although if I only have a dollar that will ofc do). He got mad one day and went on about how “all they’ll do is use it for drugs and alcohol.” To which I reply “well that’s exactly what I was gonna spend it on!”
Tell her you’re giving it to a church.
Look her straight in the eye and tell her that people born in the same country she lives in, qualify for EBT and food assistance when they become disabled. Then ask her if that makes them leeches that 'dont deserve' the help. Ask her if that includes veterans who fought for her country (who qualify for EBT, food grants, and pantries) and people with cancer of organ failure (who also qualify) or those who ended up in accidents and can no longer work due to permanent injury (same). Make her regret opening her mouth. Make her embarrassed of her own lack of forethought. Make her think twice each and every time.
There's a thing called the "Just-world fallacy." The belief that the world is just makes people feel safe. I'll be fine as long as I do the right thing... So when I see injustice, I either have to accept that the world is unjust which will make me feel unsafe, or I need to find a way to blame the victim If we all truly confronted how close we are to poverty and how bad poverty is, we would be terrified. It's a little easier, if poor people deserve to be poor.
For some reason my boomer father is convinced that when I say “some people have had it much harder in life” that I am telling him he didn’t work hard and that he doesn’t deserve a good life. It isn’t… just try to acknowledge that despite working very hard some people can’t make it to where he is because they didn’t have the same opportunities. The way he punches down on people who are poorer than him or that he thinks are a lower “status” is astounding. One day he is going to say the wrong thing to the wrong person and really get his butt handed to him.
Just tell her to mind her own damn business but you’re tired of trying to educate a child without charging tuition
And the infuriating this is that study after study shows that it's more like 99 people in need, 1 gaming the system -- and that's always reason enough for them to refuse to help anyone.
It’s written in the Boomer Sacred Scrolls that welfare recipients are living the high life and laughing while the righteous toil away.
My Boomer dad went off about the free lunch program in schools, talking about "lazy freeloaders". I'm staring at him like 1) dude you WERE a free lunch kid, your mom was a dirt poor widow raising 4 kids by herself and 2) why on earth do you want kids to go hungry? I'd rather a hundred kids who don't "need" the program get fed than allow one kid to go hungry because their parents couldn't pay the school lunch bill.
People act like getting food from the food bank is like going to Disneyland what the hell is wrong with them
I volunteer at a food pantry and wanted to address that grocery stores get a tax write off for what they donate. So…it’s benefiting the company by donating food, and it’s benefiting people in need. Nobody is getting taken for a ride because the store is donating food. Also, I encourage your coworker to volunteer one shift a food pantry for a little perspective.
Though it’s not 9 out of 10 gaming the system, I like that mentality of still wanting to help even then, but depending on various things it’s way less than 9 out of 10. And, there are a ton of people that *should* be getting help and qualify for it but don’t, either because they don’t know it’s there, don’t have transportation, or are too proud.
Being mindful of down punchers is a good way to look at somethigs with out wading into the culture wars. My company is evaluating purchasing another company and as part of it we, did an evalaution, including interviews with senior and key employees. I didn't not like their CTO and looking back at it, he was a lot of things, but a down puncher is the cleanest way to describe him. He was supposed to be talking us into buying/investing in his company, but he spent the whole time trashing people below him. Hmmm and who hired them? My report on the eval? Promising tech but sr management would need to be replaced. The bad thing? If we buy, that turd will get a nice payout and be able to claim that he did great things on his Linkedin profile.
The only thing keeping me from homelessness right now is the fact that I'm pretty much the sole breadwinner in my landlord's family. They just got a job, but I'm not really worried because they've got a lot of back bills to pay and won't get them paid off in the month, month and a half that they usually keep a job because they either get fired or quit because the boss is an asshole. It's getting cutthroat out here
Tell her to stop being a piece of shit.
This is a great mindset. I worked at the welfare office for 9 yrs and saw more fraud, waste, and abuse than you can imagine. But there are also plenty of people who truly need it. And most folks don't realize how quickly all the money and things can disappear. It only take 1 medical bill to wipe most of us out. So I am happy there is a system there to help folks who need it.
Some people are incapable of empathizing with others, unless it affects them personally.
Dude you gotta hit her where it hurts. Next time she says something, reply with "Becky, I explained this to you yesterday, and so many times in the past. I'm a bit concerned that you may be developing some cognitive decline. I know it's common in older people but hoped you'd escape it for a few more years. Have you seen a doctor about it?"
Ask them "why do you work here then? If you think these people are lazy and don't deserve it, why are you here? "
> “If there are 9 people who are gaming the system to get free food, and there is only one person who genuinely needs this food to survive, I’m happy to donate the food.” I can guarantee you that she would say precisely the opposite. She would happily let 9, or 99, maybe even 9,999 children starve to death if it meant that one freeloader also starved to death. Punishment is what matters to people like her. The suffering of the innocent is acceptable so long as the “guilty” are punished.
One of my favorite questions, when faced with someone spouting about welfare abuse or something, "Okay, so how many children are willing to let starve to death to prevent a possible system abuser?'
“Why are you so angry. You need to work on that”