Poor Living Conditions example essay topic

Through readings and class discussion, I have gained a tremendous amount of insight about the characteristics of racism and oppression, which exist within society. After reading the article The Bell Curve, by Richard J. Henderson, and Charles Murray, I was enraged. This article was clearly written with a white, male's perspective, and rarely takes into consideration the cultural, structural and political strengths of oppression and racism. In order to fully understand welfare and the precipitants of welfare, we must take into account an individuals culture and the cycle of socialization. Culture is a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors and artifacts that members of society use to cope with their world and with one another. It is often transmitted from one generation to the next generation through learning.

Although many do not consciously realize, you become part of your culture, it is away of defining the society that you live in and come from. Culture helps mold a child into the person they will become. An individual born into poverty, is in essence, born into a culture were poverty is dominant. According to Harry, and his article The Cycle of Socialization, we are each born into a specific set of social identities, and these social identities predispose us to unequal roles in the dynamic system of oppression. These identities that are ascribed to us at birth, are handed to us through no efforts or decision. "Immediately upon our births we begin to be socialized by the people we love and trust the most, our families or the adults who are raising us.

They shape our self-concepts and self-perceptions, the norms and rules we must follow, the roles we are taught to play, our expectations for the future, our dreams". (Hallo p 17). Therefore, an individual born into poverty is inherently underprivileged and under served. An individual who is born into poverty is bounded by poor living conditions, inequitable supplies, and stressed out family members.

Those who are poverty stricken have limited health access and education. As results of poor schooling, individuals are less educated and receive lower skilled jobs, which are lesser paying. Due to poor health care, it's harder for individuals and their families to seek medical assistance; in addition, few have the option to take off work to seek medical attention. Inevitably, it is clear that an individual born into poverty is in constant battle for survival. This is an example of how oppression is structurally formed, rather than the result of a few individual's choices or policies. As Marilyn Frye puts it, "an enclosing structure of forces and barriers which tends to the mobilization and reduction of a group or category" (P 36) The system in which we live in today, discriminates against the poor, it requires welfare precipitants to compete in a world were they are not equally served and are systematically last.

The way our society is structured, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Our political system is structurally discriminatory. Those individuals who make the laws and policies are predominantly middle to upper-middle class, white, and men with high political power. They are well educated, properly nourished, live in big fancy houses and have all luxuries and necessities of life. These men, who know merely nothing of what it actually feels like to live in poverty, are the individuals writing and implementing laws and policies. Additionally, these individuals are faced with political pressure to implement laws that enable the powerful to remain powerful, where the individuals holding the most power, continue to hold power and are not threatened by others.

However, this is not to imply that these high standing political powers are purposely structuring society so that the poor are oppressed. Nevertheless, due to their culture and way of life, their perspective is altered, resulting in laws and policies, which oppress the poor. Having an invested interest in the culture of poverty, as well as understanding the dynamics of oppression and racism, I am completely disturbed by the article The Bell Curve, by Herrnstein and Murray. The authors state that, "Low intelligence increases a white mother's risk of going on welfare, independent of any other factors that might be expected to explain away the relationship" (article, the bell curve). I entirely disagree with this statement. I believe the authors are biased, and guilty of writing in racist and discriminatory fashion.

The authors pay little attention that living in poverty is extremely difficult. If an individual were to choose to be on welfare, or not to be, I am certain one would choose not to. However, the economic class that one is born into, ultimately determines the quality of life an individual will live. A person born into poverty is unfortunately born underprivileged and will be raised in a culture where basic needs are scarce. They will receive lower education, healthcare and poor living conditions. Individuals born into poverty are in a constant battle for survival.

The authors consistently state that lower IQ levels result in single mother's dependence on welfare. Although I agree that lower IQ levels may be evident amongst the women researched, I believe that there low IQ levels are a result of having been born and raised in poverty. As I discussed earlier, an individual born into poverty is lower served within society. They receive a lower education, due to the school systems that are populated within their communities. Children and adults living in poverty are receiving inadequate living conditions, including poor nutrition and hygiene.

These factors add to everyday stressor's that occur in the lives of poverty. After reading this article, it is obvious to me that the authors are definitely not social workers or liberal thinkers. The authors blame the poor for being poor, and then draw the conclusion that individuals are poor because they have insufficient intelligence. Individuals are poor because as a society, we make it virtually impossible to escape poverty. Being born poor is being born inferior in our society. When an individual becomes dependent on welfare, and has a family to raise, the problems that arise become overwhelming.

Due to the welfare system and the power of the structural political systems, the difference between rich and poor in this nation is tremendous. Our society consists of thousands of working poor. These individuals are in constant struggle for survival, they work to eat and barely have enough to get by. They work minimum paying jobs, earning less then $7/hr., working long hours. It is easy to point fingers and blame others for the problems that exist, however if our goal is to eliminate poverty, then we most take a more empathetic stance and work on ways that we can improve these conditions. This article was extremely sexist, and blamed woman for being poor.

Additionally, the authors make reference that women were unintelligent for having a baby out of wedlock. Who are these men to make such judgments? Never once did the authors blame the father. Although the father may be a deadbeat dad, it is just as much his baby, as it is the mothers. How come no blame was put on fathers? I believe that this article was poorly written, and demoralizing to women.

Both authors would benefit from being better educated on the cultural, structural and political powers of oppression and racism.