Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbit
You don't have to experience poverty to understand it. I can't say I've ever been poor, but that doesn't mean I don't realize that there is poverty. Yes, even in Canada!  You just have to see it sometimes and maybe study it.
Also, you have to be a sympathetic kind of person. But some people have the whole capitalist "if you're poor, it's your own damn fault 'cause you're just lazy" mindset. No compassion. And they don't understand the structural aspects of it. |
I think there's a big difference though between the poor in Canada and poorer countries. The people here who are struggling financially are definitely in way better shape than people struggling financially in less developed countries. And those people who are living on the street here I'll bet 99 times out of a hundred are there due to substance abuse, mental health issues or by choice.
And I think we can understand poverty as outsiders looking in, but it's not easy to know what it actually feels like. I've gotten into so many arguments with hippies because they think they have some kind of 'insider's view' on the matter, when really they haven't got a clue.