After a long time pouring over internet articles and videos related to inequality in 2011 American society, I decided to share a video clip that covers both the assigned topic and addresses some of the issues in our readings for week 1. It is also absolutely hilarious. The Daily Show segment entitled "World of Class Warfare- The Poor's Free Ride is Over" depicts how conservative elements (Fox News) of the mainstream media assign much of the blame for the nation's economic and budgetary woes on its poorest citizens. This particular video focuses very heavily on Fox's stream of rhetoric depicting the poor as living reasonably well off of "our" tax dollars. The clips in the Daily Show video illustrate Gregory Mantsios' argument that the media depicts the poor as a drain on the nation's financial resources that are derived from the contributions of "us" productive citizens. Fox and other news outlets unquestionably contribute to the building of an "us" / "them" dichotomy in American society that makes so little practical sense.
The temptation to align oneself philosophically with those we perceive to be "like us" or those we would "like to be" makes sense. The belief in the "American Dream" drives some that have more in common culturally and economically with the poor than the rich to align themselves with the latter in the argument over how to fix the economy. When the news media distributes an image of the poor as a mass of unmotivated, jobless, freeloaders that goes largely uncontested, it is understandable that "we" prefer to be associated with those who contribute to the economy and create the jobs that the poor avoid doing.
An excellent illustration of this phenomenon occurred in my College Learning Strategies class last fall. One of my students who works in a local convenience store chain expressed his annoyance with the purchase decisions made by customers enrolled the state's Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP- formerly food stamps) This student was particularly annoyed by the fact that his tax dollars were funding what he perceived to be irresponsible purchases. His philosophy was similar to that espoused by Fox News that if you are receiving aid funded by the taxpayers then you damned well better use that money well! Ironically, this student had applied for the RIC Preparatory Enrollment Program which is designed exclusively for first-generation/ low income high school graduates. I pounced on this "teachable moment" and reminded him that (at that point in the semester) he had attended just 5 of our 9 class meetings and he was, therefore, failing a course which was being paid for, in part, by.....you guessed it......taxpayer funded federal and state grant money!
What was most striking about this situation was the fact that this student, who was unquestionably not wealthy and probably not, economically speaking, part of what he would have perceived to be a "middle class" would feel empowered to make judgement calls on how his customers spent their state aid. Perhaps the fact that he had crossed the barrier into the sphere of those in higher education led him to feel that he now had more in common with the responsible citizens who fund welfare than the unsavory folks that consume it.
But don't you think that we are taught to think of ourselves not only as not working class but better than the wc? And as a result, we somehow have the right to comment on how THOSE people make decisions. Because our society really does believe that if they just made better decisions, better choices, worked harder, etc. they would not be in that position. Just a thought
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