Poverty

This post also has a bit to do with Hurricane Katrina. I don't know what has brought this on, but lately I have become concerned with poverty and social class. I came across an article in the Chicago Tribune which is quite powerful and should be an reminder for some and an eyeopener for others. It reminded me of how it seemed that being poor had much more of a presence during my childhood. We were not poor, but it seemed like I had more second hand experiences of being poor. We often did work with the Little Brothers of the Poor packing holiday boxes or delivering them.

How does this relate to my experiences here? I don't get the impression that the poor here are as poor as back in the states. Along with that, it does not seem like the rich are as rich. So there seems to be less disparity between the classes. Plus there seems to be less of the extremes and more of the middle class which some people argue is almost gone in the US. This lack of disparity also seems to reduce the animosity between the rich and the poor. It will always be there, but it seems to be to a less degree. I believe that the lower crime rate is also due to the fact that the poor are better off and less disenfranchised. The government takes care of them and doesn't leave people to the whim of capitalist society (did you hear that Walmart?). As mentioned in the previous post, I think poverty, crime, and the image of African Americans are intertwined all too closely.