General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Missing White Poor
The Missing White Poor
PAUL WALDMAN MARCH 17, 2014
Guess who makes up a plurality of America's poor?
The point of this chart is that even though blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately poor, the largest group of poor people in America is ... white people.
Despite that fact, when you say "the poor," what pops into most people's heads is an image of a black person, probably due in no small part to the fact that poverty in America is represented in the media as a largely black phenomenon (I'm not just saying that; there's research backing that up).
the rest:
http://prospect.org/article/missing-white-poor
The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)bigwillq
(72,790 posts)They're nothing but privileged brats if you ask me.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)Study the eugenics movement of the 20's and 30's and you'll find it aimed at poor whites. Look at jokes about poor whites, even here on Du; pejorative references to hillbillies, country folk being inbred, white trash, trailer park trash, people of Walmart etc.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)It's called class warfare. And I've been posting about it for years. The last time I read this kind of mockery on DU I alerted but to no avail.
A thread from 2006, as an example:
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/theHandpuppet/51
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Number23
(24,544 posts)Guess you did.
JI7
(89,264 posts)and instead complain about being oppressed by the beyonces of the world.
Number23
(24,544 posts)far more poor whites than poor blacks, black people are still far more likely to be represented as the face of poverty than whites and he and his little high fiving pal want to whine about "privilege".
Percentage wise, poverty is far more likely to afflict a black or Hispanic person but it comes in all colors. The fact that the media seems to really enjoy portraying blacks as being impoverished more than any one else is a prime example of the sort of thing this person seems to find so terrifying/annoying.
JoeyT
(6,785 posts)23% of our poor are African American. A bit less than 13% of our population is. 28% of our poor are Hispanic, 16% of our population is.
41% of our poor population is white. 72% of our population is white.
White folks are the only people that buck the trend of having a higher percentage in poverty than they represent in the population. You can either take one of two things from that information. Either systematic racism has made life harder for people that aren't white, or white people work harder. Only one of those choices is the sane one.
Number23
(24,544 posts)Very nicely stated.
DebJ
(7,699 posts)so they don't want to hear that in the media. Because only those who 'deserve' to be poor are poor, and
therefore, they have complete control of their financial lives. Denial.
The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)The media recognizes that whites are privileged and are not truly poor or downtrodden so they show groups that are.
The media is portraying truth - blacks are affected by poverty because of whites and whites cannot be affected to the same extent so why show them as poor/victims?
Makes sense I suppose....
JI7
(89,264 posts)AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)You really believe that there *aren't* white folks who are truly poor or downtrodden? Seriously? GTFO, man! Maybe you oughta visit the Appalachians sometime; hell, the poorest county in the U.S.(or at least was; it's still in the top ten at least.)is in eastern Kentucky.....and it's 95% white!
JI7
(89,264 posts)when they see a person of color.
just look at what the entire republican party campaign has been about.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Warpy
(111,339 posts)living in unpainted shacks that were indistinguishable from the ones poor black folks lived in. I probably do that because of the rigid segregation in the south when I was a kid.
I never think of that many inner city folks, they're much better fed and dressed than people in rural areas, if only because charities are concentrated in the cities along with second hand stores. Neither group can afford dentistry, though.
We need to claw back all the wages the 1% stole from us over the past 40 years and we need to do it quickly and permanently.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)MFM008
(19,818 posts)so OBVIOUSLY im rolling in dough.
wandy
(3,539 posts)Could it be possible that the white poor have somehow been deceived into voting for an ideology that is not in their best interest?
Why So Many Whites Vote Against Themselves
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/why-so-many-whites-vote-a_b_1342425.html
Or is it just the "Lady Writer on the TV"
JI7
(89,264 posts)while attacking certain others for getting the same.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)JI7
(89,264 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)JI7
(89,264 posts)AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)As a liberal, it still saddens me that some white folks still continue to vote against their own best interests, just because of "them others". Sad shit indeed. Thanks for posting that.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)White poverty is hard to miss in some parts of the country...
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)I posted an article about it earlier!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024677394
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)find:
overweight smokers with multiple children...and of course a southern accent...and tattoos & piercings.
The "name of the game" is perception.
If they can present "the other" as someone you cannot identify with, you will be less likely to vote for things "those people" need.
I watched "Paycheck to Paycheck" tonight, and although I did feel sorry for the woman in the documentary, I also found myself cringing a bit when she spent $88 at a beauty parlor for a hair dye job, and with the callous way she treated a kitten.