Do we ignore the poor people? : The Saturday Weekend Review #67

NOT SHY TO SPEAK UP BUT EASY TO IGNORE

Many of us have a helping hand when it comes to helping the poor by donating your time by volunteering, fund-raising etc.

I watched this video this morning called “F the poor” which I will share with you below but what is ironic in the video is how people react to a strong message and what they consider to be powerful words.

When people are on the streets going about their daily chores and actually see homeless poor people asking for help many turn a blind eye. No one asks to live in poverty yet circumstances are sometimes beyond our control.

Some people even shake their heads in disgust and have nasty words to say like, “get a job” or calling the poor “lazy”.

Most often it’s the opposite and they’d do anything for someone to reach out or recognize them. It’s true though, without a job how can you make any money?

I can’t tell you what life is like being poor as I’ve never been there and I won’t even try to explain to you what emotions some must feel. I’m sure their motivation has decreased and they feel like no one will care but how do we change that mentality with the poor so they believe that people DO care and are willing to help them find a job.

We do have friends that don’t have two cents to rub together and get on each month living pay to pay but what about those that don’t even have that.

All I know is for various reasons people who are poor get where they are because of situations in their life many of us will never understand. It’s up to the poor people to find a way to live and for many it’s asking people for money or donations.

It’s like we know they are out there because we give without seeing but when the visual is in front of our eyes we turn the other way. Why does this happen? How many times have you turned the channel on the TV when you come across program to sponsor a child in a third world country?

It’s that visual that makes us want to not believe that it’s happening but we know it’s happening.

What does poverty mean?

Poverty likely means all sorts to different people but for the most part it’s living without money, a roof over your, clothes on your back, head and food on the table or very little of each.

I like to think of it as not having the bare essentials in life. It all boils down to not having money which means you don’t have a job , too much debt or a job that pays well enough to keep the household going.

Again, this will be defined differently by many especially those who are living it as they can tell us exactly what life is like being poor and living under the poverty line.

F the poor

I won’t lie and say us Brits don’t like to get our point across and say what’s on our mind, because many of us do. We don’t hold back and if we have something to say, we say it. Before you watch the “F the poor” video below featuring a UK social experiment would you give much notice to a man yelling “F_ _ k  the Poor” and wearing a sign stating the same?

Many of you would likely have something to say to him because he uses a word that is what is considered a “bad word” in society yet the word “help” is not but doesn’t come across as loud of a message as the word “F_ _ k.

A UK charity hired a man to wear such a sign to walk the streets to send a powerful message which I believe to show how we are easy to recognize powerful words yet not so giving with a weaker word such as “help” by the same man.

A man asking for help is tough to do as we view it as a weakness. What would we do without You Tube or GPS? We’d be lost because asking for help is difficult. He changes his sign to “Help the poor” shaking a money can in his hand to show us how society reacts to him begging for help.

I was not surprised to see how many people had something nasty to say to the man but I was even more shocked to see how many people walked past him when he was asking for help.

Is it because many people just don’t have the spare money to give? That is a possibility because many of us struggle to put food on the table and keep up with the bills. The working poor can hardly pay their own bills let alone help other people out financially.

How much is too little to give? Can you spare a dollar? Can you forget about that coffee you were going to buy to help the poor out? If you are donating money yet your bills are going to collection agencies, you might lose your home or you are so far in debt than you may have to look at your own life first before you can help others. If you are putting yourself into debt for no reason except you are spending too much on “stuff” you don’t need then no one can help you but you.

The mentality that all poor people or homeless people on the streets begging for money and will just go to the shop and buy booze has been around for ages. Not all poor people want booze. Many just want the basics in life most importantly a job. A job where they can earn their own money and someone to believe in them.

For those of you who would say that poor people are lazy and to get a job, would you hire them? You should say yes because many people won’t especially if they don’t have a home address or clothes to look good for work. Although there are charities out there willing to help sometimes that help runs thin.

The real point here is how we are going to get these poor people off the streets and into a job and place to live with food on the table. Getting donations day after day isn’t solving the problem it’s only helping them live another day, week, month etc.

There is no reason that we should have homeless poor people on the streets as long as they are willing and able bodied to work, believe in themselves and believe that someone else will believe in them. Many times the poor are the happiest people you will ever meet and the most generous.

Your life

What if it was you? You lost your job, your home, everything and no one would hire you to work and you were the sole provider for your house. How would you feel and what would you do? It’s likely easy to plan it all out now but when you have nothing left and no one wanting to help that plan may take a backseat to reality.

Sure we keep sharing the voice of financial literacy, budgeting, saving money in that emergency savings and it’s true we need to have back-up money just in case. Ask yourself next time you go to buy something whether you need it or not and how that money can help serve you better in the event you have no money.

Most people live in the now and forget about the future and deal with it when it comes their way. That’s not a good way to think because you leave yourself vulnerable. If you can create a safety net for your life, why wouldn’t you?

The end of the “F the poor” video makes me smile knowing that there are still people out there that care to help those in need. You’ll see.

What did you make of this social experiment video? Do you think the “F the Poor” message was more powerful than “Help the Poor”?