Some background... I work in a grocery store part-time (full time 4.0 student otherwise!). I work in the produce department, which gives me and my co-workers frequent opportunities to vent while we're in the produce room (which is attached to the cooler). Most of our gripes are related to annoying customers, stupid questions, and general job-bitching.
Most of them...
And then there's the loudmouth, hard-headed, 19 year old conservative kid whose family is well-off enough that he's never had to rely on food stamps to eat. I'll call this guy Ralph.
During the first week of the month, we get very busy. This area is pretty impoverished, and people hit the grocery stores as soon as their food stamps come in. Cue Ralph bitching about people with, "nicer clothes, shoes, and phones" than he has, "buying all kinds of steak and lobster on food stamps!"
Considering that he isn't a cashier, I have no idea how he knows that the people he sees are using food stamps (but I can guess).
I've tried in the past to tell him about how if you're not working, you need to apply for a certain amount of jobs per week in order to not lose your benefits for "noncompliance." He says, "no, that doesn't happen." I say, "wanna bet? I've been at the county's dept. of labor before because they check up on your job search. Don't believe me? Let's take a ride over there after work!" He says he doesn't want to go near the place and see the "scum of society." So now people looking for work with the county's assistance are scum...
What really got me was the time that a family had to leave their cart because they forgot their Benefit card and didn't have enough cash to pay for their groceries. The cart was loaded with chicken (on sale, like it matters...), a few steaks, and one bag of shrimp. Ralph sees a cashier taking the cart back to the meat department, gets the story about it, and takes pictures of the contents of the cart and comes back with it as "evidence" that he's been right.
I usually try to keep my mouth shut, since talking to him is about as useful as talking to a rock, but this time I couldn't help myself. While he's going on about "his taxes being used to buy shrimp when he's working and can't even afford that," I ask, "well I have a serious issue with MY taxes being used to bomb people in the Middle East. I'd rather MY taxes go to feeding people than killing children. Would you rather feed people or kill them?"
His response made me lose hope for the world, "Kill them!"
Is this what it's come to? I can't believe that in this day and age, in what is supposed to be a great and bountiful nation, we have people shitting on the most unfortunate members of society.
Now I don't really watch TV, but I do watch some stuff online. Recently, I saw a clip from Countdown about a guy who wants to disenfranchise people on welfare. The Young Turks also just did a piece on some dipshit who said people on welfare should, "have the common decency to feel a deep sense of shame for leeching off your betters instead of paying your own way."
Maybe I don't get it because I actually have compassion and empathy for my fellow humans, but what the hell is going on here? I have never seen such hatred for people who have done nothing except be poor.
When did needing help become contemptible?
6:39 PM PT: Rec list? Yay!!!!!!! Thank you all.
Tue Mar 27, 2012 at 9:21 AM PT: WOW! I am completely floored when I look over the list of the 500+ of you who rec'd this.
Again, thank you all. It's really good to know that I'm not the only one thinking like this.