Today in class we talked about oppression. Coming from a
fiscally conservative family in an extremely conservative town wasn’t easy. I
was practically brainwashed until I finally broke away from those I love.
However, because I have a deep understanding of both right and left, I
formulate my opinions while considering both sides. When the topic of welfare
came up, I expressed my frustration. I specifically used my friend as an
example because it really upsets me that her family can drive a fancy car but
be incapable to pay for her shoes. They could have easily traded in their Lincoln
for a Camry and been 20 grand richer. I was simply pointing out that I find
these decisions to be unwise.
Ironically I was feeling a little oppressed. It’s funny because
we came to a consensus that this was wrong. Being in the minority because of my
background and different beliefs sucked. Today I experienced these types of
oppression:
Violent- What I was saying was apparently judgmental, unsympathetic,
and that I was not “giving people who receive welfare the benefit of the doubt.”
This is attacking my character. These statements were intentionally said to
embarrass me and bring me down by telling me what a bad person I am. I especially
didn’t like the assumption that I was not treating others with compassion. When
you divide my parents’ income between the four of us, we qualify as being under
the poverty level (however we are not because when evaluating poverty one
counts all dependents in the household and there is some math stuff that I’m
not quite capable of explaining). I KNOW how it feels to not have spending
money… I know how it feels to not have fancy clothes, new school supplies, the
newest technology, and to have to eat low grade food. I understand how much
that sucks. My parents were on welfare until I was two. My parents lived in a tailor for the first three years of their marriage.
Marginalization: Quick definition for those who didn’t fully
understand what this term meant.
to treat (a person,
group, or concept) as insignificant or peripheral.
"attempting
to marginalize those who disagree"
I don’t mean to drag Madison in here but I completely
understand what she said about rich farmers taking advantage of the welfare
system. A farmer does not actually need
to OWN a NEW combine. Combines cost anywhere between $350,000 to well over
$500,000. Many farmers however chose to rent a combine from companies or even
borrow their neighbor’s. In small towns and rural areas everyone knows
everything about everyone, including their economic status. I personally spend my summers mucking hog
barns- grandma is getting a little old to do it by herself- this gives me some
pretty good incite about what goes down on a farm. These are not insignificant
issues, at least not to me. It bothers me that people who don’t need welfare
would lie and cheat. Also I would like to point out that I think welfare is
awesome (definitely not perfect though). I do not generalize people who get
food stamps as pigs suckling my parents’ tax money. Most people on welfare
truly need it and make great decisions for themselves and their family. The fact that some people do cheat the system is something that really bothers me.
Anyway, I just wanted to post this because I know it’s hard
to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Not many Augie kids are small rural
town girls living in southern Illinois.
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