"Disenfranchised?"

To: Superconsciousness@listbot.com
Subject: Re: less violence?
From: David G. McDivitt <dmcdivitt@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 03 Jun 2001 10:12:52 -0500

I don't disagree with what you're saying. There are different solutions for any problem. There are different viewpoints for any problem.

Assume we have all these disenfranchised people sitting out here, and a politician proclaims the desire to help them. Why? Why would the politician want to do that? Is it out of the goodness of his heart? Is it because he's like Jesus? After all the difficulty, favor trading, and legal bribes it took to get him where he is, now we should trust his generosity with money taken from other people, and assume his motives are pure. Does that make sense to you?

I can understand. If a person is poor, anyone who stands up saying "jobs" or "money" will be noteworthy. It would seem there's nothing to lose by taking the chance more jobs or money might come. But there is something to lose. It is called pride. The extent to which supposedly disenfranchised people have been conditioned to jump each time they hear "jobs" or "money" is Pavlovian. Their votes are not bought. They do not get money. They only get the hope of money. This is what I refer to as the "indigence threshold". When enough people become intelligent enough to recognize this, better people will be elected into office.

I disagree poverty is an unbeatable market. It takes work. I'm sorry the words of politicians have not come true, when gullible people were told things would change without work on their part. So you say work is not the problem, but opportunity, as in "I would work if I only had the chance"? But people must make their own opportunities, also. Once the point finally gets across no one is going to do anything for you, no one has to do anything for you, and if you want anything you must do it yourself, maybe there will be new incentive in that regard.

Managing people as cattle through social programs cannot take the place of personal pride. Picture some fat bureaucrat in Washington DC. How is he supposed to feel your pride for you? Does that make sense?

As mentioned above, there are different viewpoints for a problem. No viewpoint is better than yours for your own life and your own problems. Jealousy of other people who apparently have a silver spoon is not beneficial is it?

I dropped out of high school. In the military I got a GED, then I took some college courses interesting to me. I came from poverty and a broken home. I may be white, but I had severe stuttering and anxiety problems. I could not care less about "poverty". I did what I had to do to take care of myself. I still do what I have to do to stay on top of the technological issues of my profession. I don't give a goddamn if the hatred of the poor evolves or not.

I deal with a lot of people regularly. One thing I've learned is not to feel intimidated by someone apparently more educated, more prosperous, or having more authority than myself. It leads to reactionism. It leads to insecurity. My brain shuts down and I cease responding effectively to my environment. I have learned no one does anything to me, but I do things to myself if I allow myself to feel intimidated.

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