Archived How do we teach the rich to empathize with poor white people? (AskVoat)
submitted ago by goatboy
Posted by: goatboy
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Archived on: 2/12/2017 1:51:00 AM
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Archived How do we teach the rich to empathize with poor white people? (AskVoat)
submitted ago by goatboy
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[–] fleas 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
Its probably going to take more exposure. Serious looks into the lives of the white poor. For that to happen will take a shift in attitudes which causes a circular problem. Rather than focusing on color I would like to see a focus on the rural poor. Poverty is usually framed as an urban problem but some of the most destitute are in the sticks.
[–] goatboy [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
I agree with this, but worry that just looking into the lives of the white poor would end up being an exploitation like: "Here comes Honey Boo Boo." A show that allows the rich and hipsters to gather around their TVs to scoff and mock "at those fat hicks" and never truly understand their lives, motivations, hopes, dreams, and fears. What I want to see is something like the way the homosexual community have been able to gain broad acceptance in a short period of time. The public perspective went from gays being diseased sexual deviants to homosexuals being our brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters with the right to pursue happiness and protected with Legislative, Judicial, Executive, and private sector support very quickly.
When we teach the rich and powerful to empathize with their poor brothers and sisters and accept them on their own terms, then the world can evolve away from its current tribal feuding and a business model of infinite profit, infinite gain, maximum self interest for the purpose of power, privilege, and place. We could make a better world and a better future, but hatred for our roots could destroy us all first.
[–] ViolentlyMasticates ago
People will always look to an easy class to mock. Often those who don't seem to follow middle class societal standards will be those who we do mock. Or politicians.
It is slowly moving away from pure exploitative TV. I mean, Australia has moved from Housos (A brilliantly hilarious TV show about people living in housing commissions in Australia), to heart felt documentaries about those whom we were satirizing in that TV show. I think we need both the satirical and the real life, because honestly, when watching "Struggle Street" and "Housos" in one sitting, you realise the only difference between the them is the people in the satire have good teeth.
Empathizing with the poor has been an issue we've had for yeaaaars now. A really good book about the plight of the poor that has stark contrasts with the modern day is "Down and Out in Paris and London" by George Orwell. An upper middle class man willingly becomes destitute, when he used to be in the ruling class of Burma, seeing the stark differences. It's amazing. We need more literature like that.
[–] gnosticpostulant ago
Much as it would be nice to just show them and hqve it be fixed, study after study shows that sociopaths rise to the top. Its not that rich people don't know, it's that they don't care. How do you make a sociopath care?
[–] fleas ago
Make caring profitable or not caring costly. See the world cup advertising dust up as an example.