Ok, I just want to warn you, this will be a rant. You can turn back now.......Readers beware...........
Ok, I warned you. If you decide to keep reading, read at your own risk.
Sunday night me and Hubby watched Dateline on NBC. Normally I don't watch it, but I figured there was nothing else on. Dateline was airing a show about the poor in this economy. To be exact, the poor in southern Ohio and the Appalachia Mountains. Well, this is where I live, eastern Kentucky. I know of the area that they were talking about. It is only 1 1/2 hrs drive from my house. To some 1 1/2 hours is a long distance, but to us around here who drive that far just to go out to eat, it's nothing . (Believe me, everyone does it.) On this tv program, they were talking about how poor people were and how they had to depend on a food pantry so that they could eat. They also showed how a family of 4 was living in a camper. (Oh, get ready, there's more.) There were (I'm not sure exactly the number) 11 or 14 people living in one house, because they had all lost their place to live. And then, to top it off, they threw in a young mother of 3 who lived in her van.
I'm sure there were a lot of people who were sitting on the edge of their seat, with a tissue in hand, dabbing at the tears that were rolling down their face. Not me. I was furious at these people. If you lived around here you would understand why. There is a lack of work ethic! No one wants to work!(Gerneralizing) They want everything to be giving to them. Where I live, McDonald's is always hiring. Wal-Mart is too. I know that they are not high paying jobs, but, they are jobs. On a lot of the corners there are people with signs that read, "Will work for food." or" Homeless please help" I have a friend that has his own business. He asked someone holding one of those signs if they wanted a job working at his plant. They said," No. They made more money holding their signs".
Priorities are wrong. Some people(I am just generalizing)don't want to better themselves. As long as they can get a four wheeler or their cigarettes, they are happy. They don't want a nice house. I've seen people living in campers with no water or sewer but they will have them a nice four wheeler or a sporty car. I just don't get it.
The couple that lived in the camper for example, the man wore a thick gold necklace around his neck. The last time I looked, there were people all over the place wanting to buy gold. The lady wore fake nails! Now come on!!!!! I KNOW how much those things cost. $20 to $40 every 2 to 3 weeks. Priorities people!!!
When they started to show the house that all of those people lived in, I was amazed. It was FILTHY! It had pizza boxes on the floor and counter tops. There was trash all over the floor. Broken toys stuffed in behind recliners. People, it doesn't cost anything to be clean! And with 11 or 14 people not working, I'm sure it's not because you don't have any help. Oh, and another thing, clean your kid's face!
The young lady who was living in her van with three kids,she said she had her first child when she was a jr in high school. Then she had a kid every year after that. (remember, she has 3 so far) Anne Curry asked her if she had been taught about birth control. She said,"Yes, but accidents happen." Now, I know they do. I'm not putting down anyone who has had a child by accident. But three times? I don't want to jump to any conclusions here, but the young girl had bad teeth. Around here we all know that if you have bad teeth and are young, there is a high possibility that you are on drugs. (They rot your teeth) That would explain a lot. They said that sometimes she can stay with her grandmother. But, relationships with her family were strained. HELLO! As the program was going off, they said that she had been arrested for domestic violence against one of her babies daddies.Please.
Now I will help anyone who truly needs help. I know they are out there. And I have a soft spot for them. We have givin cars to people just because they needed a way to get back and forth to work. But, "work" is the key word. Don't just sit around and expect me to do all of YOUR work. I will help people that help themselves, or(and I know they are out there) who REALLY can't help themselves.
What I found interesting, was out of all the people that they showed that proclaimed to be starving, not one of them had a garden in their back yard. They had room for it. They just didn't use it. This area is known for it's backwoods ways. People KNOW how to grow gardens around here. A lot(just generalizing) won't do it. I just don't know about them.
So if you happened to watch Dateline that night, please put away your tissues. They are not needed.
So now that that is off of my chest. We return you to your regularly scheduled program.
So until next time,
Small Farm Girl, ranter
20 comments:
AMEN SISTER!!
I hear ya! I feel the same way,great minds think alike,lol!
Yes.....yes.....yes.....even this "city girl" has learn to plant a garden.....!!
you sure sound like your dad
Yup. You are absolutely correct. (nods sadly)
~Faith
I AGREE!!! I get tired of the "poor me" Attitude. Yes I know some people are really hurting. My Husband was laid off but we cut corners and did odd jobs and such till he went back to work.. You make do! You dont get your nails done or order pizza..
I dont like to watch shows like that because you know they are full of Crap! So I agree with you! Makes my blood boil when people whine and complain..
I agree with you! They wanted their 10 minutes of fame :). I didn't watch it, it does remind me however of a country song where they are coming to film this place so they try to become as backwards as they can :)
Well said (ranted,lol)I agree whole heartedly!
Doesnt just happen in America either,we have our fair share of them here too.
Hahaha. I think it's scarey how out of whack people's priorities are! I say the same thing. I told Hubby the other day that we should drive around to these people and hand them applications and directions to McDonalds. They hire EVERYBODY!!! And have you ever checked out their shoes? Look next time. 9 times out of 10 they are dressed poor...but their shoes are VERY nice. heh...also I agree...if you are poor, that is not an excuse to be dirty. Just my opinion!
Lori
I agree with you 100%!!! If you ever watch Food, Inc, the couple with the kids just kills me. They cant afford to buy food but can buy McDonalds!?! Now come on you can afford to drive around but cant afford seeds? There's free info available at the local library on how to grow a garden. As for starving, dont believe it for a minute cause it sure is funny that all these "poor" people can afford more than us working people can afford. And dont get me started on food stamps...steaks, lobster, shrimp, crab legs...what the ??? When we dont have any money we certainly dont get the most expensive things in the store and we have always grown a garden. It just tastes better :)
I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who thinks this way! Thanks for the comments guys!!!!
Amen SFG. We have much of that same kind of mentality here with certain people. I am always reminded of something my dad says when confronted with that sort of thing.
'No matter how poor you are soap and water are cheap.' Filthy homes and kids are not a sign of limited funds it`s a sign of limited concern. Heck we all have to cut corners in this economy but living in filth is something no child need experience.
Okay, I`ll hand you back your soapbox SFG. =)
I agree with you! It is pathetic how people just expect hand outs and don't help themselves. My husband is a temp mail carrier in a smallish city here in Central KY, and comes home with multiple examples a DAY like this! How people will hound him for their "checks" that they get once a month then turn right around and beg him for money to buy cigarettes or beer two days later when they have spent their entire checks. There are many businesses hiring out there too! It is just maddening. I know not everyone can have ambition, and people have learned how to live off the "system" for many years but still, enough is enough. Sorry this topic hits home with us. I know it tortures my husband to see people live like this when it would only take a little work to get out of the hole they were living in.
I didn't catch the program, because ... well, because we don't watch television, but being from SE Kentucky, it really ires me to see these sensationalist stories that seem to portray the proud and strong people I know from Kentucky (my relatives, my ancestors, my former classmates, myself :) as backwards, infantile, and helpless, when I know that most of the good folks from the mountains are anything, but helpless!
Diane Sawyer, who hails from Central KY, did a piece of few years ago "exposing" the poverty in SE Kentucky, and it was just like you say this program was. They picked the worst of the worst non-doers possible as a sampling of what people from that region are like. How about showing my uncles or cousins (or you ;), most of whom are hardworking and resourceful?
What struck me funny about your description, though, was that the program was focusing on how people there are "starving", and yet, you say when the cameras showed their houses, they had "empty pizza boxes" on the floor. Hey, if you can afford to buy a pizza, you're not starving or destitute. I'm just sayin'.
The worst thing that ever happened to southeastern Kentucky was Lyndon Johnson's War On Poverty.
Agreed you hit the nail on the head! Just this morning I took 14 dozen eggs to our local food pantry. Now mind you this town and surround area has maybe a population of 800 people( that's in a 100 mile radius) and they have seen as many as 140 families looking for food assistance a month. Now many of these are elderly folks( fixed income) and I do feel very sorry for them, but a great many are young families with the mentality and lack of work ethic you speak of. I also noticed that 95% of the vehicles sitting outside the food bank were newer than my own vehicle. So I guess it sounds mean to say, but if you can't afford food because you're paying a payment and full coverage insurance( required here in MT) on a rig, you'd better consider selling it and buying something you can afford, or heaven forbid walk or ride a bike!
My neighor lady was whining one day about her son being out on a workmans comp claim and not having any money for gas for his car. Well... lets see withing a matter of minutes and with less than three questions I found over $300+ a month in money he could have in his pocket, but instead wastes it on luxuries like a cell phone, satelite tv and computer hookups, all the extras on their landline phone( call waiting, forwarding, messaging) as well as spending money on renting movies and eating out( a lot!)
Needless to say she's never whined to me about it again :o)
Maybe it will take them starving to death to decide to try to provide for themselves, instead of the entitlement mentality the majority these days seem to have, that includes, sadly, our Ds who was raised to know better but is now caught up in the "REAL WORLD" as he tells us*sigh*.
I know we'll be okay no matter what because we are survivors and it's my prayer our Ds wakes up, he does have work ethic, it's just on the back burner right now.
See why I don't watch TV, I didn't even see this show and now I'm all fired up*wink*
Blessings,
Kelle
I think it might have been a good thing my TV is iffy, and I didn't watch that. Having said that, I would tend to say, yes, I even have family members NO WHERE NEAR KY, that sound like they were right off the blueprint for the people they focussed on.
I have to chuckle, my husband and I commented on where we both used to work, there was a group that would slack whenever they could, and the minute paychecks were out, fresh cigs, beer weekend, (or they showed up the next day hungover), and they were asking for loans for lunch money by the end of the week. (Payday was every two weeks.) I asked why they didn't just brown bag it. After the shocked look, the response was, but it's just easier to go to McDonald's. As I recall, some of them didn't last too long, so they might be the next ones on Dateline, possibly.
Just a thought.
Cat
I saw some of that and felt the same way. Lazy. Probably generational welfare recipients. They are all over America and it's their choice.
Hubby and I squeaked by during the years we raised our kids on his pay so I could be home to raise them. We had a garden (still do) and bought quite a bit of what we needed from the thrift store. If things would have gotten too hard I could have worked a few hours in the evenings while he was home with the kids. I did that during Christmas season at a store that hired for that reason.
Where there's will, there's a way!
Amen. And I love your comment about them not having a garden out back ;-). I'm so tired of every time Kentucky makes the news it's always something like this. Unfortunately we keep giving them plenty of fodder. Sigh.
You go girl! I totally agree with you. I have people in my family who are just like that. We can make more living off welfare than working at MCdonalds they say how pathetic. Makes me so dang angry! Thanks for the post. Have a great night. Rebekah
Rant on SFG! You said it like it is, and trust me, it isn't just in your state either, it is rampant throughout the country! Where did the old fashioned work ethic we all were taught by our folks (or at least should have been taught) go anyway? R Dean
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