“Money doesn’t buy happiness” ok and poverty buys what exactly
where is the lie
Out of poverty creates strength and compassion. It’s weird how that works.
i sure wasn’t feeling the strength when i was skipping class because i was too weak to walk there after going 2-3 days without food, and i definitely wasn’t compassionate when i was checking every time i walked home to see if there was an eviction notice on the door. stop trying to fucking make it seem like a good thing.
Poverty is not a virtue. It doesn’t make you a better person. Poverty doesn’t make you “strong and compassionate” it makes you insecure and stressed the fuck out. Poverty makes it so you can’t live your life without the everything being undercut by fear. It makes you hard and angry. We need to do away with the bullshit myth that being poor is somehow better for you as a person. You know who wants you to believe that? Rich people, so you don’t question them.
Mental health worker here. These are things I’ve heard different clients say about being poor:
- the only reason they’re considering suicide is because they’re terrified of being poor again and if they’re dead then at least their kids (whom they love) would get their life-insurance payout and not have to live in poverty while growing up
- that the poverty they live in is inescapable except by desperation sex work they hate, because they’re so mentally ill that they can’t work other jobs–but the sex work makes their mental illness worse because they hate it so much. So it’s an inescapable cycle of mental illness–>poverty–>mental illness
- they’re so poor that they can’t stop their anorexia because they literally don’t have the money to buy food anyway and at least this way they feel good about not eating
- that they can’t come in to therapy that week even though they need and want to because they can’t afford the session
Poverty teaches and reinforces misery and self-hatred. It does not teach strength, it leaches strength until there is nothing left and healing is difficult if not impossible. Often, healing, recovery, and the building of true strength and resiliency are reserved only for those who have the money and leisure time to pursue them.
Poverty did not teach me to be strong and compassionate.
Poverty taught me to eat out of trash cans even when people judged me for doing it, because otherwise I threw up and passed out from sheer hunger.
Poverty taught me to let a “friend” treat me like shit because his mother thought we might start dating so she made steak every time I came over, STEAK, and one meal at his house could mean saving enough food at home to feed my sisters twice.
Poverty taught me that the police were never on my side.
Poverty taught me I deserved what I got.
I was nine when we plunged into deep poverty, and I would not wish that on anyone, and I especially would not wish it on a child.
There is nothing positive about being poor. Growing up in an emotionally abusive household was more positive.
I’m not having this “character building” bullshit. Get back to me when you’re 40 and have had to beg for money so you could buy new shoes.What part of that “builds character”, hmm?
I’m always baffled by people (who presumably have never experienced real grinding terrifying poverty or they’d have their heads out of their asses already) who stage ~poverty~ as some kind of Chosen Simplicity lifestyle. Headdesk one million times.
Jesus fucking christ, poverty is NOT – for example – choosing to live with a minimal carbon footprint, pare down your stress by having only 3 changes of clothes, one book shelf, one sofa, no clutter, simple organic veggies in the fridge, no electronics in evidence in the livingroom, and one car (a hybrid of course)….WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, being in possession of a savings account with a good cushion; having health insurance; having reliable birth control; having sound mental and physical health; and, having steady employment that doesn’t suck your fucking soul dry. THAT IS SIMPLICITY – NOT POVERTY. THEY ARE AT COMPLETE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM. POVERTY IS A STATE OF INSECURITY AND GRINDING UNREMITTING FEAR; SIMPLICITY IS STATE OF SECURITY AND SELF GROWTH. SIMPLICITY IS CHOSEN – IMPLYING EMPOWERMENT; POVERTY IS UNCHOSEN, IMPLYING COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER. OPPOSITES, GET IT?
Yeah, if you’re choosing to live a Chosen Simplicity life [further examples – starting your own cottage industry! trying out organic farming! living in a tiny home!], you actually can be using that lack of distraction to build character and enrich yourself, it’s true! You could also be a self righteous bigot without an ounce of wisdom – it could go either way really.
The romanticizing of poverty, the conflation of poverty with salt-of-the-earth we-can-feed-ourselves-from-our-own-farm-land-actual-independence-from-capitalism has got to be one of the single most destructive pieces of malicious social engineering I can think of. It must be eradicated, actively battled against – because it is used to keep the rich rich and the poor poor, WITH THE CONSENT AND AGREEMENT OF THE POOR THEMSELVES.
And all you artists out there? Here’s an addendum for you – starving in a garret (romantically! in Paris!) does not make you a better artist. Suffering does not make you a better artist. You have been told these things – they are corrosive lies.
What does make you the best artist you can be? Having the economic stability to have mental health (an endemic problem among the creative), a secure home, enough food, no fears for your security or safety – and, hey, the cash to go do cool challenging things like travel or rock climb or learn new media or scuba dive or any one of a thousand ways to stretch yourself as a human being – THOSE things? They will make you a fucking AWESOME artist.
Kick this ‘romantic poor’ myth to the curb, people. Do not ever let anyone try to sell it to you, try to justify ‘market forces’ or capitalism or WHATEVER. Challenge this myth aloud. Be heard.
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Thoughtfulfangirling 