This is a long one so I've snipped quite a bit out to preserve the readers sanity.
Two Americas (1000+ posts) Fri Jan-23-09 05:00 PM
Original message
Listening To Those Closest To The Problem
Edited on Fri Jan-23-09 05:17 PM by Two Americas
Poverty in America:
"Listening To Those Closest To The Problem"
I am honored to have been asked to write the third essay in the Poverty in America series, in honor of January as Poverty month. This series is produced by the Can You Hear the People Sing? project, founded and managed by Democratic Underground's own Bobbolink. Her tireless advocacy for those who have been left behind and forgotten, those who are paying the price for all of us, the price that is an inevitable and inescapable consequence of a society that has gone mad, and turned the reins over to the most rapacious and predatory few among us, is a constant source of inspiration for all of us.
The subject of this essay is listening, specifically asking whom we are listening to and whom we are not listening to in our activism and advocacy, and what the implications of that are.
[snip]
We can see that from a moral standpoint, as well as from a practical standpoint, it is important to listen to those who are closest to the problem. But is there more to it than that? Is there something we all lose when we do not listen? Rather than look at what "they" need, perhaps we should look at what we need.
If we all took vows of poverty...
A DUer recently wrote a very interesting thing. "If we all took vows of poverty, no one would be poor." That says in a few words, what I am trying to say with this essay. Those suffering from poverty and in desperate want and need are merely a manifestation of a much bigger problem, one that none of us are immune from, that all of us wrestle with every day.
[snip]
What is it that people are asking for?
I think that often the only thing poor people have ever truly asked for - what all people who are suffering ask for, as we saw recently regarding the Warren issue and the reaction from people in the GLBTQ community and their allies - is to be heard and not to be dismissed or ignored. That is the only way that we can overcome the gap - to understand the reality other people are living with. The resistance is not what some claim it to be - "don't get me wrong, I am on your side but I don't like the way you are going about this" - the resistance has been to listening, to hearing people. When people are not heard, are not listened to, naturally enough that is very frustrating and demeaning, and the inclination is to ramp up the rhetoric and to express resentment and anger. When those expressions of anger and resentment are then portrayed as the cause of the problem, and the original provocation is ignored, people justifiably feel even more marginalized, more dismissed and more mistreated. They ARE being dismissed and ignored and mistreated.
[snip]
I think that what happens for many people when discussions about poverty and the homeless begin is that they immediately start thinking about themselves, rather than about the issue, let alone about the people who are closest to the problem. "Am I compassionate? Am I not? No, no, no I am nothing at all like those callous Republicans. Am I a good person? Am I not? How dare people imply I don't care? I don't think I am a bad person. Why should I have to defend myself? I probably can't say anything without someone jumping on me. That isn't fair, is it? Why should I be abused? I don't hate poor people. I am opposed to poverty."
It is impossible to listen to others when we are so obsessed with ourselves, when we can only see the issue in terms of what is going in for us internally. I think people start experiencing fear, confusion, shame, guilt and doubt in their minds about the issue of poverty, and then project that out onto others and blame people for causing those feelings they had. This can quickly become blame heaped onto those who are poor.
People want to be heard, need to be heard. It is a fundamental human need, and it is everyone's right to be heard. People who are poor are often saying nothing more than "why can't we be heard? Why is our reality being denied? Why do we have to jump through hoops when others do not? Why are we permitted no mistakes? Why can't we be full partners, equal members of the community? Why are we always put into a separate category, held to different standards?"
Let's start listening
Let's stop trying to solve poverty by "fixing" those who have fallen into poverty - seeing them as the problem. Let's start listening.
When we confront the national travesty of poverty and homelessness, we immediately have the urge to start applying solutions, immediately think that we have the answers and that those who are poor do not. We assume, often without realizing that we are, that if people knew what they were doing or had anything to offer they would not be poor. So we lecture them about self-esteem, we try to "help" people to become more like us, we give out advice as to how an individual can "get back on their feet." We quickly move away from any deeper discussion, we are resistant to hearing what poor people are saying.
I think that the "self-esteem" idea, as well as the advice as to how one can take steps as an individual to get "back into the system" are part of the pervasive right wing agenda of rugged individualism and "look out for number one." That is the cause of poverty, and can never be part of the solution. Yet too many of us embrace that agenda. If we listened to poor people, we would know that.
[snip]
Poverty is not the result of there being something wrong with the poor that we need to fix or improve, it is the result of something wrong with the system, a system for which we are all responsible and from which we all suffer. Those who have fallen into poverty, or have been driven into it, know better than any of us what is wrong with the system.
The problem is that we do not esteem other human beings, not that people lack self-esteem, and lecturing the poor about their "self-esteem" and advising them how to adjust to a brutal and inhumane system just adds to the cruelty. We treat our pets better than we do each other. We don't blame and judge our pets. Too often, an abandoned or abused dog story here gets far more attention and sympathy than an abandoned or abused human story does. In the case of the person, we ask what they might have "done wrong" or what might be wrong with them. We place no such burden on our pets, no such conditions on our love and compassion toward them.
[snip]
Let's look at the perpetrators, not the victims. Let's look at those who apologize for the bullies, for the predators, for the selfish and greedy who are driving this abomination, who profit from it. Let's look at those who speak of "survival of the fittest" and "poverty will always be with us" and "the free market" and "competition" and "social Darwinism." Let's look at the conditions, not the individuals. Let's look into our own hearts, and not at what "they" should be doing to "get better." We should look at those who are profiting from these conditions in order to see what is wrong, and listen to those suffering from the conditions to find solutions. Yet we do the opposite.
Where do we stand?
Let's start with this, shall we? - all human beings have a right to housing, heat, clothing, and food, without qualifications or conditions. Let us remain steadfast to that program, without compromise. That should be our public, political stance. But then let us be flexible, forgiving, non-judgmental, and open-hearted with those among us who are suffering. They are suffering on all of our behalf. They know. We do not. They have more to give us than we have to give them.
[snip]
In solidarity,
Two Americas
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4898212
From what I can gather from the above, The DUmmy is saying that we just don't listen to the poor people enough. Presumably because they are experts at being poor.
The primitive suggests that rather than to try and find out major malfunction is causing the poverty and deal with that, we should just
listen. No longer should the poor be told that with hard work and clean living their lives can be improved. Apparently that's not what the poor want to hear. We should instead just
listen, while of course still providing them with their "rights" which have expanded somewhat to being "housing, heat, clothing, and food, without qualifications or conditions". Remember when the primitives speak of "rights" , they don't mean one cannot be deprived of a "right", they mean that "right" must be supplied.
It took the primitive some time to construct it's missive but the only course of action they could come up with is that
everyone take a vow of poverty. One assumes this means that we all give away everything until everyone has the same and prevent anyone from attaining any single cent more than any one else. Doubtless they'd be happy for the government to assume the hefty task of ensuring everyone kept their vow. Only then there will be no more "poor people".
This is roundly cheered and approved by the primitives at the hive.
I wonder if they realize what they are advocating.
