Granny Eating Cat Food vs. Welfare Queens

[MicroBrew]

How about a therapist student who told us during his clinical session that he and his wife were going to have a baby before he graduated so the state would pay for it? That’s a firsthand abuse account right there. Didn’t happen though right? Dozens of families I’ve seen keep someone alive on life support to get a check, I know because they said so. I mean I could easily go on. Unlike most of you I actually work with the public. People who live together but don’t get married so they don’t lose benefits, again they tell me this.

Cat ladies? Seen it but it’s not for the reason people give in the meme. They are unable to care for themselves but family doesn’t come around. They go hungry. Seen this a few times too.

I actually know/knew 2 couples who were married for all intents and purposes but did not officially marry so that they could get government benefits.

Re. the cars at the trailer park.
It depends on the year and model of the cars. A Mercedes or Audi or BMW can be an old beater or a late model vehicle that , generally speaking, only a middle class and higher income family can afford. And some pickup trucks can often cost way more than some models of luxury cars. I have a storage building in a working class area of the city. The neighborhood is mixed Black and White, more Black than White. No one has a luxury vehicle except 1 retiree with an expensive pickup.

 

[spamking]

No. I no longer understand that perspective. It can only come from a self-selecting mindset. If someone has seen the welfare abuser then they have to have seen the truly needy. And as a percentage of the relevant groups, the truly needy swamp the abusers in huge numbers. So if someone is hellbent on their anecdotal bad actor to the extent that they are ignoring the needy that they've also encountered, I can't understand that.

You seriously believe that someone complaining about a known abuser of "the system" automatically puts everyone who uses the system as an abuser and not as someone who might actually need the assistance?

People complain the loudest about the abusers . . . while I haven't seen those same people bash all users of the system I'm sure they exist, but I believe you're currently pulling that self-selecting mindset you mention if this is your stance.

It is possible to become frustrated with abusers of the system and also be empathetic and supportive of those who truly need the help.

It's like someone going to a club. One guy pulls up in a Ferrari. Everyone else pulls up in regular cars. It makes no sense to then treat everyone in regular cars as if they are also in Ferraris. And anyone who says "They're all driving expensive sports cars," despite the obvious evidence that they are not is foolish, imho.

Again . . . it is possible to see that one person is driving a Ferrari and the rest aren't . . . are a lot of folks characterizing all welfare recipients as "welfare queens" in your opinion?

I think some people are wilfully stupid. They see one person abusing welfare and then ignore the 99 people they see who are not. If they're paying enough attention to spot the welfare mom buying steak and lobster then they had to see the welfare mom buying milk and eggs too. Ignoring the scores of needy to get a hard on for the one recreant is either selfish or stupid.

I agree . . . there are those who are willfully stupid. Just as I believe there are those who are smart enough to recognize the abusers and separate them from the many people who truly need the help . . . but I'm trying to see what this has to do with the discussion. Why do you think folks who complain about one situation automatically ignore the other?

Either way, I can't support it.

You can't support what? Someone who complains about those who abuse the system? Or you can't support the views of those who fit into your neat little box of characterizing every welfare recipient as an abuser of the system?

 

[spamking]

I'm not talking about some of them, I'm talking about all of them.

Those benefits would tank if they didn't also pay into the system . . .

If you have gained personal retirement benefits worth exponentially more than the government provided benefits your share should be kept for others.

Uh, no . . . it shouldn't. If you think you have the right to keep those benefits then I should have the right to not pay towards this particular system.

 

[hillelslovak87]

I'm reminded of the character from GLOW whose wrestling name is Welfare Queen.

"I let the government pay for all of my shit, and I lives like a queen"

that is funny as shit.

 

[Letssnuggle]

Granny Eating Cat Food vs. Welfare Queens

Spoiler

In reflecting on our political discourse, I keep coming back to a quote by Carl Jung: “People don’t have ideas; ideas have people.”

The meme is probably the most potent force in politics – not memes in the sense of just internet images, but memes in Richard Dawkins sense of the term: “cultural analogues to genes that self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures.”

Memes are shorthand—that often becomes substitution – for thinking.

I think some of the difference between the left and the right in American politics can be boiled down (to some extent) to two memes that have existed for decades.

Which do you find more likely: someone getting something they don’t deserve (Welfare queen) or someone not having the basics they need to survive (Granny eating cat food)?

Which of these two memes creates a stronger emotion for you?

I’d love to see a field psychology study done measuring the “emotional potency” of these political memes and others like them.

Mods can we get a poll? (I’ve actually never once been granted a poll request, and I’d really love to see one here.)

The person made a choice to eat cat food rather than ask family, neighbors, church, or one of a thousand different charities for assistance. Who are you to judge!

 

[panamaican]

You seriously believe that someone complaining about a known abuser of "the system" automatically puts everyone who uses the system as an abuser and not as someone who might actually need the assistance?

People complain the loudest about the abusers . . . while I haven't seen those same people bash all users of the system I'm sure they exist, but I believe you're currently pulling that self-selecting mindset you mention if this is your stance.

It is possible to become frustrated with abusers of the system and also be empathetic and supportive of those who truly need the help.

Did you read my original post when you responded to it? I said that I do not understand people who lack empathy. It seems to me that maybe you didn't read my post in its entirety. None of what you're writing makes any sense in the context of my first post.

Again . . . it is possible to see that one person is driving a Ferrari and the rest aren't . . . are a lot of folks characterizing all welfare recipients as "welfare queens" in your opinion?

See above.

I agree . . . there are those who are willfully stupid. Just as I believe there are those who are smart enough to recognize the abusers and separate them from the many people who truly need the help . . . but I'm trying to see what this has to do with the discussion. Why do you think folks who complain about one situation automatically ignore the other?

See above.

You can't support what? Someone who complains about those who abuse the system? Or you can't support the views of those who fit into your neat little box of characterizing every welfare recipient as an abuser of the system?

See above.

You have to be kidding me with this shit show of a post.

I wrote something specific, you argued with it. I responded, in line with my original post. And now this post of yours demonstrates that you have no idea what my original post said. You must have seen some key words and just fired off some irrelevant garbage.

I'm sorry for responding instead of correcting you then. I'll do it now. Here's what I wrote:

I will never again understand people who lack empathy for those people because they believe that some miniscule percentage of the welfare population is "getting over".

Now re-read 90% of your post and see how it doesn't make any sense considering the above. Okay, at the chance that you still don't understand. I will never understand people who lack empathy for the needy just because they believe that some small portion of the welfare population is abusing the system.

Jeez louise.

 

[Rational Poster]

Those benefits would tank if they didn't also pay into the system . . .



Uh, no . . . it shouldn't. If you think you have the right to keep those benefits then I should have the right to not pay towards this particular system.

Nope. No one can predict future success, if your success reaches a certain threshold the benefits should be withheld for the good of the system.

They already succeeded without access to those funds, why waste time and money paying them back?

 

[cincymma79]

I actually know/knew 2 couples who were married for all intents and purposes but did not officially marry so that they could get government benefits.

Re. the cars at the trailer park.
It depends on the year and model of the cars. A Mercedes or Audi or BMW can be an old beater or a late model vehicle that , generally speaking, only a middle class and higher income family can afford. And some pickup trucks can often cost way more than some models of luxury cars. I have a storage building in a working class area of the city. The neighborhood is mixed Black and White, more Black than White. No one has a luxury vehicle except 1 retiree with an expensive pickup.

Well clearly you’re lying on the first part or are saying all poor people are stealing and deserve to be poor. Also you just don’t want them to have nice things because trump. They said so in here

 

[Fugazy]

Possible. Extremely unlikely

Meh. I see people with nice cars pulling up to regular ass apartments all the time. Some people truly are idiots when it comes to money. I was for more than a while.

 

[Fugazy]

Welfare checks are not paying for expensive cars and banks are not giving out tons of small loans to these people either.
I don’t believe any of this bullshit

The people who were living that way were most likely involved in other kinds of fraud id theft etc.

 

[cincymma79]

Meh. I see people with nice cars pulling up to regular ass apartments all the time. Some people truly are idiots when it comes to money. I was for more than a while.

All six or seven of themselves in he same neighborhood?

 

[Fugazy]

All six or seven of themselves in he same neighborhood?

It's not rare, especially in some white trash or hood areas.

Hillbillies will spend every cent they have on a souped up pickup, ghetto trash will spend every cent on a foreign car and rims.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

The people who were living that way were most likely involved in other kinds of fraud id theft etc.

I would agree with this. I’d imagine they sold drugs.

The average welfare recipient doesn’t live like this

 

[nac386]

It's not rare, especially in some white trash or hood areas.

Hillbillies will spend every cent they have on a souped up pickup, ghetto trash will spend every cent on a foreign car and rims.

I was just in Louisiana. I drove from Houston to New Orleans. We drove through some very poverty stricken areas, but it seemed like everyone still had a $40k pick-up truck out in front of their trailer.

 

[MicroBrew]

Well clearly you’re lying on the first part or are saying all poor people are stealing and deserve to be poor. Also you just don’t want them to have nice things because trump. They said so in here

The folks I know/knew weren't poor. They were lower middle class to middle class. We are not talking working class folks who need government assistance to survive.

I certainly wouldn't say that the majority of poor people (lower working class) are stealing ; I obviously don't know for sure but my own personal experience is that they aren't livin it up, cause I have only seen said folks living in modest accommodations and driving modest vehicles.

 

[cincymma79]

The folks I know/knew weren't poor. They were lower middle class to middle class. We are not talking working class folks who need government assistance to survive.

I certainly wouldn't say that the majority of poor people (lower working class) are stealing ; I obviously don't know for sure but my own personal experience is that they aren't livin it up, cause I have only seen said folks living in modest accommodations and driving modest vehicles.

Well then you saying some people abuse the system obviously means you’re lying if you follow the posts above. You just said all poor people need to be exterminated and are bad people.

One maybe some people suck and each person stealing is an expensive piece of shit

 

[MicroBrew]

Well then you saying some people abuse the system obviously means you’re lying if you follow the posts above. You just said all poor people need to be exterminated and are bad people.

One maybe some people suck and each person stealing is an expensive piece of shit

Ofcourse some are going to play the system, that would be found in all socioeconomic classes, much more so amongst the super rich. But in general I would not say poor people are abusing and gaming the system.

 

[indo80]

I used to get very angry at people who abused the welfare system but once you get to know people who are literally worth million (5+ million) and they are paying absolutely nothing in taxes thus have successfully applied to subsidized benefits than you really dont get mad about these things.

 

[Trotsky]

I remember the time I ate cat food, it was a while ago. It wasn't born out of desperation, but rather curiosity (the overpowering smell that it always had was all too tempting), with a sense of having to prove my manhood to my older cousin spliced in.

I took a bite, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it didn't taste as bad as I imagined, at first. As soon as it all settled in, in my mouth, I realized that not all was good in Wonderland, that the world was not black & white, that not all things are how you expect them to be, that fantasies are just that, and have no way of becoming a reality, because even if you manage to luck out, and get to your dream scenario, it will just be an approximation of what you've imagined, not the real deal, but most of all, I learned that my palate was quite different to that of a feline.

You see, the flavors that exploded in my mouth were nothing short of vile, and while they did not make me gag, I still wish to this day that I had spat it out, but alas, my machismo was working to its maximum effect that day.

As soon as I swallowed, I felt like I had been liberated, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, because, even if I could still taste the remains of the cat food, it wasn't anywhere near as strong as before. After that, I decided to never partake in dare or challenge like that ever again, except for the time I snorted salt in my classroom, but that's a story for another day.

This is such a good post.

I'm reminded of the character from GLOW whose wrestling name is Welfare Queen.

"I let the government pay for all of my shit, and I lives like a queen"

Yeah, crazy how stupid people were in the 1980s that they believed that moronic racist shit.

 

[Kardashians]

The person made a choice to eat cat food rather than ask family, neighbors, church, or one of a thousand different charities for assistance. Who are you to judge!

I work at a church that runs many different programs to help the community. My area is the food bank. And it’s really not as simple as you put it.

Although I would like to think if somebody reached out to us, and told us they were living on cat food, that we would offer them some food. On occasion we make exceptions. But every place is different. Run by different people, or capable of only so much. I know one food bank here only gives each person about three cans of soup and then something odd that most people don’t eat.

Most areas don’t have “a thousand” different charities. And even if they did, youve got to take into account that people have to apply first to see if they qualify. Sadly a lot of people and families that are barely making it (if that) won’t qualify if they’re making even just a tiny bit over what that charity allows. Or if they qualify, that charity may not be able to provide enough of what that person needs.