Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Response to 11/4 Readings
I think society has a really skewed view about people in unfortunate and typically financially poor situations. The majority of society seems to think that unfortunate people are in such a position because its their own fault. Beggars and homeless people live on the street because they wasted their own money. They were not smart enough to invest it. Single, poor mothers are in such unfortunate positions because they couldn't hold onto the father and don't want to work. They should've used a condom etc. etc. The current welfare law reinforces these stereotypes by forcing single mothers to work. The law essentially implies that single mothers would not choose to work if they could. Thus, they must be lazy and inept. These assumptions are ridiculous. No one wants to be poor, strapped for cash, unable to spend time with their children. No one sanely consciously chooses that. It boggles my mind that society could actively tell such people that it's their own fault. One of my friends chastised me for giving money to a beggar one day. She told me it was a waste. It was his own fault and he'll probably just spend hte money on drugs. Until our society realizes that the way our society is built forces people into these positions and keeps them from being able to climb out, the gap between the rich and the poor will just continue to grow. Single mothers will become a class of their own. It's a scary thought. We need to provide welfare; give single mothers money to care for their children. Until we do that, we're going to have a positive feedback cycle. Children of poor single mothers will grow up in an almost parentless environment if the mother is working all hours. This is not an ideal or emotionally good situation. Thus, the child could end up with emotional or mental problems and will most likely stay in poverty.
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Exactly! I totally agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked by the fact that poor single mothers are forced by law to work outside. In my point of view, no individual or government has right to force anyone to do anything he/she does not want to do. And, the fact that poor single mothers may even receive punishment because of their decisions to bear children enraged; reproduction is the most basic human right! (I'll never submit fine to Chinese government for bearing more than 1 child.) According to the situation that poor single mothers are demanded the details of their intimate relationships, does the government think that these women are not able enough to even handle their relationships? Moreover, does America government think it is wise to require poor single mothers to make room for biological fathers in their families? Is the government suggesting that poor single mothers should raise their children with the men they even have no affection for? Why can't women just have sex and enjoy it with a random guy and bear children for themselves.
I think Maria hit the nail on the head with her post. The idea of this perpetual cycle that will end with the children most likely in the same predicament as their mother is true. If children are not watched properly all types of mishaps tend to happen. Providing parenting for youth is the backbone of this country and should be regarded as such but welfare in itself has become stigmatized and does not do enough for these single mothers. The idea that everyone chooses their situation is so untrue. It is just like the birdcage article multiple oppressions can lead someone to be in this predicament and not recognizing this leads people to become apathetic to these single mothers.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what Maria is saying here. Last year I took a sociology class called "Media and the Modern Society" and I remember reading about the news industry and how it is dominated by what is called "soft news," which consists primarily of human-interest, personalized stories, which are meant to stir the emotions and interest of the public. All of the emphasis lies on the individual person and situation and there is seldom any context or deeper analysis to connect the highly dramatized and personalized images and stories we see, hear, and read about to systematic or institutional problems. For example, the Iraq war has been made all about the troops by the American news media. Their focus on the personalized stories of soldiers and the call to support the troops has taken the emphasis away from the actual question and discussion of why we are at war (and whether we should be).
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