Clark 1
Brenda Clark
Professor Monique Williams
English 1A
Section: 014
19 December 2013
The
Rich and the Rest of Us: Poverty
Stereotypes
It is easy for us to stereotype others although not easy
to live the life of a stereotyped person. People often make judgments of others
without knowing all of the facts. It is difficult to make others believe and
understand one’s circumstances; therefore it is a challenge to live the life of
a negatively stereotyped individual because the stereotype typically stays with
the individual. Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, authors of The Rich and the Rest of Us, demonstrate the reality of the
existence of poverty in America in the book that they have written about their
travels throughout the United States of America. Through examples of real life experiences
of American citizens, Smiley and West prove to us that poverty has the
potential to affect all of us and bring us down, with the exception of the
wealthiest one percent of Americans. Most poverty stereotypes are inaccurate
and need to be done away with in order to increase the economic stability of
the United States of America.
Poverty
stereotypes are defined by the wealthiest Americans who have never experienced
poverty themselves; therefore they cannot be relied upon because they do not
originate from credible sources. Wealthy, upper class Americans do everything
in their power to remain separate from those who belong to the middle and lower
classes. Having never experienced poverty, they are
unable to sympathize with those who have struggled with poverty, so they stereotype
poverty as a negative element of society. They even tend to deny the existence of
poverty in the United States of America. As stated by Barbara Ehrenreich in The Rich and the Rest of Us, “‘The
theory for a long time – coming not only from the right but also from some
Democrats – is that poverty means that there’s something wrong with your
character, that you’ve got bad habits, you’ve got a bad lifestyle, you’ve made
the wrong choices’” (Smiley, West 22). The
Rich and the Rest of Us also confirms that “we deny poverty because we are
afraid – afraid that saying the word somehow puts us at risk” (Smiley, West
23). As with addressing any issue, denial helps to avoid the issue initially,
although it does not help to address the issue on a long term basis. As the
rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the rich do not want to admit the existence
of poverty because they fear that they will be required to assist the poor in
their struggle to overcome poverty. Just as the poor do not want to continue to
become poorer, the rich do not want to jeopardize their opportunity to become
richer. Wealthy Americans prefer to stereotype poverty stricken Americans as being
at fault for their own struggles, when the truth is that some of these wealthy
people are actually at fault for causing the increase in poverty rates because
they have reduced the amount of available jobs and foreclosed on homes, causing
people to incur large amounts of debt. Middle class individuals who thought
that they had done everything necessary to succeed in life, such as obtain an
educational degree and employment, now have to worry about becoming the newest
additions to the poverty class, even though the circumstances contributing to
this are out of their control. In reality, their stereotyped “bad lifestyle”
really may be no different than that of the wealthy people who feel that they
are entitled to stereotype
poverty stricken individuals. Middle class individuals now risk becoming
victims of poverty stereotypes and losing connections with their previous
social class.
Poverty stereotypes entitle people who belong to the
upper classes to disconnect from people who belong to the lower classes, in
order to redirect attention and responsibility from their own selfishness and
greed. It is easier for people who belong to the upper class to assume that
people in the lower class are uneducated or lazy than it is for them to admit
that they themselves are selfish or greedy. Stereotyping the lower class as
being at fault for living in poverty takes away any responsibility that the
upper class has for contributing to factors which contribute to the struggles
of these lower class individuals. America is a very materialistic country, and
people are concerned more about their own success than about helping others.
People often judge others based on their material possessions. “Because the
average poor American household has ‘luxuries’ such as a microwave oven, air
conditioning, cable TV, and Xbox video game consoles, the conservative think
tank argued that ‘poor’ really isn’t poor in America” (Smiley, West 84).
Focusing on the material possessions of the lower class is a form of
disconnection, because it allows the upper class to deny financial assistance
to people in poverty and ultimately deny the existence of poverty itself. Most
of us would not even consider the ‘luxuries’ listed to be luxuries compared
with luxuries that most wealthy people have such as fancy homes, cars, jewelry,
etc. The wealthy have no way of knowing
how the ‘luxuries’ of the poor were obtained. The items could have been bought
at a time of financial stability prior to becoming poor or they may have been
received as gifts, for example. Rather than focusing on the material
possessions of the poor, the rich should focus on the lack of opportunities available
to people struggling with
poverty. Providing people in poverty with opportunities to be self-sufficient
will not only help them out of poverty, it will contribute to strengthening the
American economy.
People who are currently living in poverty or that have
experienced poverty need to let go of their individualism and join together to
prove that most poverty stereotypes are inaccurate. They need to speak up and
demand opportunities such as education and employment in order to help themselves
out of poverty and improve the economy. Silence is like a bomb. It keeps on ticking
without notice until it explodes. The rich will continue to get richer and the
poverty class will continue to grow until people join together to accept that
poverty is a problem that needs to be addressed and speak up to demand
opportunities and equality. “Poverty is
no longer confined by class or color; like an unrestrained and deadly virus, it
doesn’t discriminate” (Smiley, West 10). Poverty is widely spreading throughout
the United States, with an increase in the amount of unemployed citizens and
foreclosed homes. Although as an individualistic society we are focused on
ourselves and do not want to admit that we have many similarities with others,
we are a very diverse country and need to face the facts. We need to move away
from our individualism and join together as a community of citizens to prove to
the wealthy that we are not at fault for our own struggles. We need to show the
wealthy that through their greed and selfishness they have contributed to the
crash of the economy, and we must demand that they create jobs to replace those
that they have taken away from us. With more people working in this country,
more taxes will be paid and all of us will benefit in the long run. The poor
will have jobs, and the rich will profit from the tax money that they desire.
We must not allow ourselves to give into the poverty stereotypes that the
wealthy are using to bog us down. We need to be strong and respectful in order to
prove to the wealthy that causing problems for others does not solve any
problems and even causes more problems in the long term.
One
problem is not solved by creating another problem. Although the wealthiest
Americans are defining stereotypes and disconnecting themselves from the rest
of us, we must speak up for ourselves and overcome the dread that they have
caused us. Most poverty stereotypes are inaccurate and need to be done away
with in order to increase the economic stability of the United States of
America. We need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and allowing the
wealthiest citizens to control our lives. With confidence and self-satisfaction
we can join together to speak up against the stereotypes that the wealthy have
created, and prove that we are worthy individuals who have been damaged by
their selfishness and greed. We are taught at a young age to treat others as we
would like to be treated, in order to avoid hurt feelings. If we hurt
somebody’s feelings we want to be made aware of it so that we can make amends
with that individual. Now it is our turn to inform the wealthy that they have
hurt us, in our best effort to teach them to make amends.
Works Cited
Smiley, Tavis,
and Cornel West. The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto. New
York: Smiley, 2012. Print.
