From my recent observations on the news, and my past experience living in the south, I observed a common situation with those whom are considered "poor" or lower/working class. A considerable percentage are seriously overweight. Not just the parents, but the kids too. We hear about taking care of the poor and the needy and that is a good thing. But there is rarely ever spoken of the idea that if these people are poor, then there should also be a measure of them taking care of themselves. How poor are they really when they are eating so much food that they are overweight? I know this idea sounds cruel and that is not my intention. But I do have an issue with a person having their house going into foreclosure and being obesely overweight. I have a problem with the children of low income parents spending more time eating than they are being educated. Perhaps there is a need to bring priorities back into alignment.
This title/topic also has another layer in reference to something less physical and more in a political/economical sense as well. The United States was once considered a great nation. Today I see a country where the government is getting fatter, yet we are spending more money than we are bringing in - we are a poor country governmentally speaking. Yet we are getting fatter. How can we as a people justify being fat and poor? Should we not seek to become a healthier nation? What is our priority as a country? Is it debt service, or is it is essential public services?
On the one hand, yes it does show what plenty there is in our nation. And priase God for that!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it does show a lack of education about health, diet, meal planning, excercise, etc. among the poor.
If you are poor, then you have to eat cheap food and most likely you don't have a lot of time to prepare it because you are working long hours for not much money, and you can't afford to drive around looking for bargains and healthy food options.
ReplyDeleteThe fact of the matter is that poor people eat the worst food because that is what is cheap and available. You want people to eat better? Give them more time and money and educate them.
I don't buy that for a second. There are books at libraries, there are public TV shows, all of which can educate these individuals on how to cook healthy and cheap. I have checked the public TV schedule and there are cooking shows during the day and even into midnight that focus on healthy cheap cooking.
ReplyDeleteI can give examples after examples of how a meal deal at KFC is more expensive and just as time consuming as healthy alternatives. When someone can justify spending $1 on a 2 liter of soda instead of $.25 on a gallon of filtered water, both taking the same amount of time to buy, we are dealing with priority issues.
I can feed a family of 6 for $4. I don't do that for a living, I am not some grocery guru. And I don't shop with coupons. I just took the time to learn. I have the same 24 hours in a day that everyone else has. RIch people have a 24 hours day, middle class people have a 24 hour day, and poor people have a 24 hour day. So I am not sure where or how someone is going to be able to "give" someone more time?
I wasn't getting paid well at my job so I got a new job - I started my own company with virtually no money, no bank funds, no credit cards, none of that. Now I feed my family on my own dime. No one had to teach me, no one needed to give me any time to be educated on how to cook healthy and cheap. I just spent the time I had learning it. They can do the same.
The same is true for Government. There is a better way to function than getting fatter, and bigger. People are just unwilling to figure it out. Instead they chose to be complacently fat.
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ReplyDeleteAlso why is that "poor people" always have the most stuff, lots of cars and trucks, houses overflowing with belongings and fast food wrappers? I just moved one of my siblings the other weekend and by far this sibling has the least out of all of my brothers and sisters financially speaking but their house was packed full of belongings that no one ever uses and are bought with money they supposedly don't have? On top of this why is it that "poor people" find money for pot, cigarettes, and beer? And NASCAR stuff?
ReplyDeleteJames, you seem bound and determined to blame the poor for their condition. Are you giving them a ride to the library in your car because public transit takes hours, and by the way, the library's hours are probably curtailed because you refused to vote for that tax increase or bond issue. You have time to learn and time to shop and time to prepare good food because you have a good job that pays well and provides free time - that's nice but don't blame other people who don't have that advantage.
ReplyDeleteThis is standard issue "blame the victim" nonsense from conservatives. No it's not their fault - it's your fault. You are the ones who champion cheap labor and put the rights of employers above those of employees. You are eager to stereotype poor people, but you probably are mad when someone stereotypes Mormons.
This is not a "victim/perp" thing. That kind of thinking on everything must be madness! People have latitude to make their own choices.
ReplyDeleteLibraries in utah are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. And they are open on saturdays. I am not sure elsewhere but that is pretty impressive from what I can tell.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, the time that I had to go to the library was at a time in my life when I was working 12 hours a day at Guitar Center trying to make ends meet. I didn't have a good job, I had a down right sucky one and that is why I tried so hard to get out of it. Rising above mediocrity requires effort. That is an effort that is available to most of those that are poor. While I am not saying that all poor people are lazy or that society has had no effect on the circumstances on some individuals. But I am saying that there are thousands of stories of individuals, like Chris Gardner, who have not given up regardless of their circumstance.
Ultimately the point here is that if you are poor, you should not also be fat. Otherwise, I have a hard time thinking that if you are all that hard up. When I see homeless people drinking alcohol, I feel the same way. Why is it that you take what little money you have and spend it on something like that? Perhaps there is a better way... Help people to help themselves.
I may be upset with certain stereotypes when they are not true. But guess what, certain stereotypes are true! For good or bad. Mormons are not perfect people. Some stereotypes are that way because they are true. Some are not. I am willing to accept the good with the bad. Plus I am not making blanket statements about all poor people, just the fat ones.
Whatever rights we may think we have to be fat, it is not societies fault (and therefore have to pay for their services) if you are fat and poor. Re-prioritize. Society is not forcing you to eat so much that you are obese, therefore why should society have to pay for your food stamps and health care?
You are certainly have admirable resourcefulness and tenacity. Not everyone is like you, and they never will be. I'm not a fan of obesity but not everyone who is obese has the ability to lose the weight and keep it off - for a variety of reasons.
ReplyDeleteWhat I object to is the idea that poor people are poor because of their own failures. This is the flip side of the individualistic credo that I read here so often. Government should leave me alone so I can succeed (or at least not be poor and fat), and government should care less about poor people, sick people, and fat people. So your religion says you should not be your brother's keeper, you should not join with your fellow citizens to change the system no matter how bad it is, and you should go to church every day and thank God you are not as those poor fatties who drink and smoke. Have I got that right?
I think I can clarify my own position on things in general and consequently has application to what we are talking about here. There are ideals in life, standards that life should be lead by. There are rare exceptions to these rules, but I think they remain the exceptions. Much of what I see in your response is an attempt to discredit these standards based on the fact that not all scenarios meet these exceptions. Sure not all poor people are fat, and not all fat people are poor. I never made that statement, nor would I. Most people are poor either because their own actions have caused it to be so, or because they don't choose to do what they need to. Not all, but most. How can I say that? Because I have been poor. I have lost my house due to employment issues. I worked hard but I still was not able to make ends meet. But, I did not rest back and wait for the government to take care of me. It was not America's fault that times were tough, so it is not America that needs to pay for living
ReplyDeleteI am not rich as to the things of the world, but I am not poor. I know that people can make their way through a low standard of living should they decide to.
Sure, things do happen TO people. But how does that absolve an individual of future responsibility? There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that states that "there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon." In this life, things happen to us, and we also can act upon those things as well. So I believe that even in cases where bad things have happened to good people, that is not a death sentence. That is not the end. Therefore, I believe that when bad things happen we still have the ability to chose how we will act or not act for that matter.
Of course our religion teaches that we should be our brothers keeper, but how that is done is very subjective. As an ideal, we embrace the idea in our charitable efforts to help others to help themselves. Being our brothers keeper is not to lax on standards and enable them to give up.
Just because government is not in a position to help poor or sick people does not mean that we as individuals, or even non-profit organizations should care less. Please know this as clearly as it can be said, GOVERNMENT IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO TAKE CARE OF ONE ANOTHER. In fact, it is one of the worst and most inefficient ways to do so. If my neighbor needs help, I go help them. I don't need to fill out a form, call in a public official to survey the situation and see if they qualify for my charity. If my neighbor has need of help, I help them. Simple and without government intervention. GOVERNMENT HAS NO MONOPOLY ON CHARITABLE ACTS. I see no way to help a "poor fatty" as you put it, if they are not willing or see any need for change in the first place. That is why we take the position of helping people help themselves. Mainly because we don't see any benefit to try and help people against their own will and choice.
Government should care about poor, fat and sick people as people, not as poor, sick or fat.
ReplyDeleteCharity does not belong in the realm of federal government. Part of that whole "local decision making process". States and counties and cities can make those decsions for themselves.
Being a brothers keeper is in the realm of organizations such as the LDS Church where the participation is voluntary, not compulsory. Being your brothers keeper should never be compulsory. It has NOTHING to do with federal government. Please dont ever conflate the two in discussion here again since the diffeence has now been delineated.
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