One out of four children live in poverty. How can America, land of endless opportunities, be a place with such statistics? Easy, America has many ideologies that are used to rationalized any situation. In the case of Gwendolyn Mink's article on welfare, she mentions the stereotypes society hold about poor women on welfare. There are two overarching types of people that comes to mind when people think welfare: 1) the single mother (usually a women of color with numerous children) and 2) the poor rural white women (the "hillbilly" image). Society's negative depiction of women on welfare as "reckless breeders who bear children to avoid work" is reinforced by the notion of the American Dream and meritocracy. In our nation, anyone can success if he/she work hard and have a positive mindset--the idea of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps." These ideologies in addition to society's non-fondness of poor people have allowed society to justify why welfare isn't or shouldn't be provided. However, Mink's totally disagrees and believes that welfare is a fundamental right. Society has often ignored those that really need help and often times policies don't have the best interest of the ones suffering at heart (such as the Personal Responsibility Act).
As I read this article, I couldn't help but to think of the different views we have of American women and women in other countries, in relation to giving money. In America, we don't want to provide single mothers with welfare because women on welfare are seen as lazy and a burden to society and because of their laziness, they deserve to be in poor. On the other hand, in developing countries, if we were to give money we would give it to the woman rather the men. This is because, we believe that the woman would use the money more wisely (to feed the children, ect) whereas the man would probably waste it (to gambling, drinking, etc.). For example, I learned in my environmental studies class that microeconomics programs were starting up in developing countries and these programs give money to women to start business. I am struck by this contradiction. Women, whether in developed or developing countries, are all mother with their children's best interest at heart, so why is it that our society don't trust and want to give money to American women?
Like everyone else who was touched by Rosanna Eang's essay, I was too. However, I was probably touched in a different degree--I related to Eang's story because her story is common among immigrants who come to American. I also grew up in a similar situation. I had parents who worked their butts off so they could provide my sisters and I a better living standard, a better life, and a better future than theirs. My parents' lack of education, lack of ability to understand English (read, write, speak), and their long working hours, left my sisters and I to take care ourselves. My oldest sister probably bore the burden the most. I guess like Eang, growing up in these situations is what pushed and motivated my sisters and I to thrive. Yes, reading Eang's essay is powerful and inspiring, but we must think about all the other people who are also living her story. And to think about, how can we live in a country that allows for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. We kinds of stories are we telling ourselves to rationalized our actions?
I think she makes a really good point here. In this post, the American idea of "pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps" is definitely prominent in our culture. However, what I find really irritating about the welfare system, whether it is a right or not, is that it doesn't give people that opportunity. While women in other countries are given money to start small businesses, if women here can even get welfare it is often barely enough to live on. It is also taken away as soon as they make enough money to get by. This does not encourage or allow women (or men) to make something out of themselves. We discussed in class how it is a vicious cycle. Once you're on welfare, it is almost impossible to get off because although it is enough to survive, it is not enough to make a life out of.
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