Welfare Queen Asks For Too Much (page 15)

AGuest

You WILL note that I corrected the statement

I did, dear Sammie (peace to you!). Apparently, our posts crossed in transit. Sorry about that!

Peace!

A slave of Christ,

SA

I'm not falling apart Shelby. I get that education is the key, but the details were already laid out. The complexities were right in a post. The solution? Use condemns. There does come a moment when one just needs to be called out. Conservatives have skewed this conversation long enough. It must be laid bare---the underlying attitude that is ripping us apart. When someone can look at the suffering in places lilke Haiti and blame the victims, it must be challenged. I believe there is a reason that conservatives disdain education. Why calling our president a professor is a bad thing. Why the department of education will be first on their chopping block. Why teachers have been demonized and blamed for all that ails us. Because education shines a light on the lie. It teaches critical thinking, which is never satisfied with bumper sticker solutions. It peels away prejudices and stereotypes. It calls bullshit!

When a mind has closed, it can't be educated. It can only be challenged.

NC

AGuest

I hear you, dear NC, truly (peace to you!). Didn't get that you were falling apart, per se... but as "incensed" as I was. Looking back on it, perhaps my attempts to calm YOU down were actually for myself. Hope you can understand/accept that.

Again, peace to you!

YOUR servant and a slave of Christ,

SA

NewChapter

I've told this story before, but I will tell it again. I had some artwork in a gallery once, and while I was there a primary school teacher came in. I started talking to her and she like that some of my figures were brown skinned. She told me that she worked in the highest risk school in the city. She asked me if I would come in and talk to her class, because she saw that those kids would never fit into our rigid system, and she was looking for untraditional ways for them to set goals. Art is untraditional. Other artists came over to talk to her and volunteer. She told me that it was so bleak. She said she has one boy whose father is in prison (war on drugs---really a racial war) and he was now waiting for his step father to be sentenced. She has little hope for the boy. She told me that she has a young girl in her class who she was trying to encourage, but the girl was very frank with her. She related her family history and said that if she finishes 8th grade, it is enough for her. She aspires to nothing more. In those moments, I was given a look through a window of such a complex problem that it overwhelmed me. Tell that girl to use condems and that will solve her problems? Tell that boy to sweep up after his classmates, and will that make it all better?

It's time to call out all those that think these problems are simple. To call them out for sitting back on their thrones of prosperity and judging that if those ignorant poor would only do THIS their problems would disappear.

I didn't get to talk to her class---my illness was just getting rolling and right after that I spent all of my off time in bed and had to pull out of the gallery. But others had volunteered. It won't be enough. But at least we didn't just turn our backs and say "blame yourself". At least we recognized our obligation to our fellow man.

NC

JeffT

Duderino

Would you please just stop posting your crap. Some of us would like to try to have intelligent conversations representing both sides of an argument. Given your screen name and the quality of posts you are either about twelve years old, or never matured after that age.

BizzyBee

Thank you, Jeff. That needed to be said.

Robdar

I feel badly for the woman because she is obviously mentally or emotionally deficient. The government needs to take her kids away and super glue her legs together. They should also get her off her back and into school.

Noboby gets rich on welfare, it's true. But I don't think that's the point. This woman cannot provide for her kids even with assistance and, imo, shouldnt have custody of her kids at all.

AGuest

This woman cannot provide for her kids even with assistance and, imo, shouldn't have custody of her kids at all.

You're right, of course, dear Rob (again, peace to you!); however, sometimes the alternative (foster care) isn't any better, unfortunately. Depends.

On another note, I'd like to share with you an experience I had this very afternoon! After taking the puppies to the park for a walk/run, I decided to stop at the grocery to get dinner (pork chops for hubby; a roasted chikkin for the pups - yeah, they eat pretty good... and I won't apologize for it, dang it!). Anyway, I pony up to the line and this youngish (late-20s to early-mid 30s) lady sees my two items and says, in perfectly articulare English, "Oh, that's all you have? You can go in front of me!" I was, like, "You sure?" and she reaffirmed. I was grateful because her basket was loaded!

Since the older lady in front me us had a lot of groceries too, I had a chance to check this youngish one out. She was pale-skinned, with long dark hair, but I couldn't tell her nationality. She may have been hispanic to some degree (although, there are several other communities of European descent in my area, including Romanian, Russian, Iranian, etc.), but she had no noticeable accent when she addressed me, so she wasn't a recent immigrant. She wore tortoise-framed glasses and looked quite intellectual/academic. She carried herself very well... was slim... and dressed very neatly (although I could tell her clothes weren't expensive - black wide-legged bottom and gray top with "frills" around the cuffs, neck, and down the front. Fleece, both, but clean. She smelled like fabric softener).

Now, I don't usually spend so much time checking someone out in that fashion (you'll know why I did in a sec) - but I do tend to look at what's in their basket (I like to see whether what's in a basket is indicative of the person; often I find it isn't - I see heavy people buying pretty healthy stuff, and skinny people with baskets full of ice cream, candy, chips, and soda, so...). Her's was filled with lots of fruit, green vegetables, two kinds of "good" bread (not that soft, delicious "fluff" stuff that been passing for bread since I was a little girl!)... "good" cereal... milk, eggs, cheese... and a carton of strawberry ice cream and some cones (the only "junk").

She was alone, NO kids in tow, and I thought, yeah, not only does she look smart, but she shops smart, as far as her food choices go. GOOD for her!

And then... she pulled out her WIC vouchers and foodstamps!

Omigosh... if you all could see the smile that spread across my face! I couldn't help it! I realized that she might think I was smiling ABOUT her, and so I gave her a "kind" smile and commented on one of her items (persimmons - "Does this store sell good ones?"). I've never had a persimmon in my life, so I wouldn't know a good one from a bad one - LOLOL! - but I didn't want her to get the wrong impression, that perhaps I was secretly laughing at her or judging her - I truly wasn't!

What I WAS doing... was thinking of this thread, wondering where the photos of THESE women were, and wishing folks like the Dud(e) could'a been there! It was PRICELESS! Of course, I secretly looked her over real well then... 'cause I KNEW I was gonna tell you all about it - LOLOLOL!

Goes to show, dear ones... don't go judging books by their covers! Even if they LOOK like "smart" books!

Peace... and I hope everyone of you never has to undergo anything that you "hate" as to others. 'Cause that can be pretty rough on a spirit.

A slave of Christ,

SA

NewChapter

You shoulda gotta pic!

tec

Awesome e x perience to have today, Shelby. I love when something like that happens.

I look at people's groceries too. Sometimes to try and get ideas for something new. Sometimes hoping to find that others have as much cookies, chips and treats as I do (the skinny girl with the skinny kids), so I don't have to feel so guilty about it, lol.

Peace,

Tammy

Welfare Queen Asks For Too Much

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