Archived 'I see no way out': Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common (philly.com)
submitted ago by One-Way_Bus
Posted by: One-Way_Bus
Posting time: 1.9 years ago on
Last edit time: never edited.
Archived on: 3/30/2019 10:00:00 AM
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19 upvotes, 0 downvotes (100% upvoted it)
Archived 'I see no way out': Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common (philly.com)
submitted ago by One-Way_Bus
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[–] HAESisalie ago (edited ago)
Well you in fact missed my point if you are boiling it down to "wahh, some people have it better than me..." I made it clear I understood and appreciated that despite my not having any advantage I was blessed not to have born into an almost impossible situation due to no fault of my own - having fetal alcohol syndrome, going to the shittiest of shccols, spending a childhood just trying to survive abuse etc.
I have know people like you and your attitude my whole life. They stubbornly cling to those notions and feel smugly that they will rise to the top and stay there, and struggling working class people all deserve to struggle. It isn't until they got knocked down and left behind (and they always do eventually) that they learn some humility and empathy for many who struggle in life. You are a DUI or a false spousal abuse claim, serious medical problem, car accident etc away from being one of those people you look down your nose at from your lofty perch.
[–] sonuvspam 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
You sit on a high horse and accuse me of sitting on one. You can't know if you have known people like me your whole life, because you don't know a thing about me, nor can you distill my "attitude" from a 2 message conversation. For your information, I have already had my "rise" and my "fall" and I do not "smugly" look down on anyone because of their place in the economic pecking order. I do, however, RIGHTEOUSLY look down on people for other reasons, one of which is peddling the bullshit that it's all "the system." I had my fall, prompted by an unjust event, i might add, but I didn't turn to self pity about it. I know full well that IF that thing did not happen to me, I would still be where I was...BUT I also bear in mind that IF I had made some better choices, I might have made myself more resilient against that fall. Even given some bad luck, and some admittedly bad choices, I HAD the opportunity, and on some level STILL have it...simply because I have access to the American economy and the system that created/upholds it. I dont look down on those who got knocked down, I look down on those who just lay there and cry about it. So, I will ask you again, WHERE is it better?
[–] HAESisalie ago (edited ago)
We are not going to totally agree, and we are not going to totally disagree either. We probably agree on 90%, but that last 10% still looms large.
I didn't pay attention and assumed I was talking with one poster, I see I was talking with 2 and didn't take that into account. My apologies.
You both seem intelligent and offer polite conversation. Thank you.
What you wrote made me think of the one real flaw I saw in President R. Reagan, though I admire him greatly and think he was a great president, the best president by far of my lifetime. His father was an alcoholic, which always seemed prominent in Ronald's view. Ron went on to be highly successful, despite of that. Because of this he held a lifetime attitude of disdain for those who don't succeed and accepted no reason for not succeeding or struggling in a system where he "pulled himself up by the boot straps.." Which sounds like what you are writing, in general.
The problem with Ronald's view of how "if I did it anyone can..." is: His father may have been an alcoholic and it probably caused problems within the family, but he continued to work and provided for his family. At no point were the Reagans down and out or disadvantaged. Reagan hit the lottery in several ways that also factored into his success. He was probably top 10% in brains, looks, charisma, articulation, and had a silky smooth voice custom made for the burgeoning field of radio. He had an amazing college education at a PRIVATE , well respected at the time, Christian University. Sure he worked hard, got the grades etc. but to pretend it was all MERIT, grit etc. and everyone has the same chance in life to succeed is extremely naïve and disingenuous.
Same applies with you. I am glad you were strong enough to never buckle under some harsh blows, that doesn't mean everyone has your strength and temerity and simply choose to not use it etc.
I won't belabor the point because you will not agree, but I think it stands.
Tanks for the good conversation. I will let you reply and have the last word. I will read it with respectful consideration.