Poverty and Hunger in Ohio
July 26th, 2010Television, white bread and Pepsi… Sometimes cigarettes.
*shrug shoulders*
That guy trying to avoid freezing to death in the basement with his two sons… Man, that segment is going to haunt me for a long time.
The show is in multiple parts. If you click through, the links to the next clip are on the left. The commercials for Tide and BP add to the surreal horror of it.
Via: MSNBC:
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The lady who ran the food pantry made multiple comments about how the people that they help are DEPENDENT on them to get by. Yes they’re feeding people, but are they really helping, in a genuine sense? It comes back to the old saying about giving a man a fish. I know this is going to make me sound like an ass, but if you’re unemployed and not trying to grow some of your own food (even in containers on an apartment patio), it’s as good as saying “I don’t want to learn how to fish”. Dependency on someone or something outside of yourself for the necessities of life, whether it’s the government or a church food bank, is no way to live. And yet, it seems that so many people are content to do just that.
My initial commentary mentioned how much land appeared to be available there for gardening…
But then I felt like I couldn’t really imagine what would be going through my mind if I was as screwed as the people in this piece.
Poor Haitians eat dirt:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22902512/
Poor Americans eat white bread and drink Pepsi. Why don’t the Haitians start gardens instead of eating dirt? Why don’t the Americans?
My guess is there’s a point that’s crossed on the downside beyond which broken people’s actions only make sense to themselves. We look at the situation and we think, “Why not start a garden and put some food away for winter?” But that’s the rational response, for us. People eating white bread, drinking Pepsi and nearly freezing to death probably aren’t going to be winning many prizes in the “smart move” category.
I went to college near the towns profiled in the 1980’s and it was poor then getting poorer. Athens & Meigs counties are two of the poorest counties in a poor state. With almost no job prospects for the past 30 years, I’m somewhat amazed that the people who remain in the area can’t at least feed themselves. It’s rural and agricultural; heck there was a large marijuana industry there back in the 1970’s and still may be today.
It may be another depression, but back in the 1930’s people were just more self sufficient, I’m afraid. This does not bode well for the future when this country runs of of credit and can’t keep people on the dole.
This does not bode well for the future when this country runs of of credit and can’t keep people on the dole.
This does not bode well for the future when this country runs of of credit and can’t keep people on the dole.
This does not bode well for the future when this country runs of of credit and can’t keep people on the dole.
One could think of a step-by-step program out of dependence :
– Sure you can get food this time but here take these seeds and plant ’em before you come get some more.
…
I live in a radically normal middle class area where people are everyday complaining about this recession thing but at the same time wondering where it’s actually happening because it’s certainly not here. However I have recently seen 2 people, young, one man, one woman, clean cut and looking like they came from the rich side of town, with signs proclaiming that they have children and no job to feed them with. That’s kind of unthinkable here. I mean yeah, we have Chicago a few miles away where people beg in the streets all day long. But not here, you just don’t see that here.
I really, really hope that folks start learning a bit about self reliance. I know that’s a stupid hope, that we’re too far gone, if the feed machine stops working we’re all just going to stare at it until we starve. I know I’m staring.