Posts Tagged ‘Class’
4 Ways We Ignore Poverty and Blame Poor People and What You Can Do To Help
Unfortunately, most of us have heard anti-welfare sentiment many times before, from sources both expected and surprising. Many Americans would rather pretend poverty isn’t an issue in our country. Worse yet, they’d prefer to blame low-income people for their status while supporting plans to dismantle the safety net. So how did we get here as a nation? And what can we do?
Read MoreLessons from Boston: Racism’s Blindness to Violence and Peace as a Form of Privilege
In the wake of the tragedies in Boston, we must challenge ourselves to reflect on our reactions to loss of life, violence, and tragedy. Why don’t Americans express the same outrage when similar — and far greater — tragedies occur abroad, or even in our own urban neighborhoods? Perhaps the barometer to our reactions is grounded in racism and xenophobia.
Read MoreWhy There Aren’t Enough Legal Protections for Low-Income Women
With more cuts on the horizon and alternative sources of funding hard to find, there remain low-income women who don’t have access to any sort of legal aid. So even though we’ve come a long way in building our justice system, we still need to consider the ways in which it fails to serve certain populations. Low-income women often face a lack of legal options in many arenas.
Read More5 Myths About Tax Refunds For The Poor
For the first time, this year, my family is the one that will be getting a large refund. And it has really put some things into perspective. I’m a little ashamed at the privileged judging I did in previous tax years of cash-strapped people who get large refunds. Here’s what I wish I’d known before so that I would understand why some people get so much and others get so little back.
Read More5 Ways to Build Empathy In Our Communities
As social creatures, we thrive in community and rely on each other for our very survival and use empathy to connect and build that community. But we train empathy out of our bodies by shielding our eyes to what we do not want to see – ignoring the raw humanity and need that is right in front of us, that would make us ache if we would only let it. This has an impact on us as individuals and as a community.
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