Black folks, poverty and mindset...

[tjolims]

Ok...so over in the black folks and traveling topic, QuickSilver said...

Also....I seriously doubt that MOST black people can afford to travel like this. Most black people are poor. The people in the projects with spinning rims, Coach heels and $98657 weave installments either have some sort of DL undercover deal with cousin pookie or a ridiculous amount of credit that they'll never pay off or they're slacking on real necessities (like baby formula) for the fripperies. None of those currencies translate well into travel.

Which to me, brought up the question of ...is that really true? I mean...as I said in the other thread...

I should probably start a spinoff topic on this, but the whole "most blacks are poor" argument is seriously flawed(speaking in general, not just targeting your post QuickSilver). It isn't financial poverty in the truest sense of the word, it is poverty of skills and mindset. I'm not rich, at all. But I still travel, still eat well, still have a social life, still dress nicely, and still have a full and varied life in all senses of the word, really. It's not always about the amount of money you make, it's the way you view that money and what you choose to do with it. If "we" choose not to build wealth(both materially and experiential), that's a whole different issue than actual poverty. I've been places where people literally have no options for either--that's not what most black Americans are facing.

So I guess my question for this thread is, how much of Black American poverty is actual and material? And how much is situational/cultural?

[Intellexual]

From what I've seen in ghettos, it's 99% situational/academic/cultural, %1 actual/material. Hood rich is serious. If you're on the GA/EBT/Section-8 public assistance system, there's a glass ceiling and you must dispose of all your income to remain eligible. To escape, you have to shoot so high up that you either take the time to figure out how to land or figure you'll get up so far as to have time to figure out before you come crashing back down into "need". I've rarely seen real poverty.

[chachadiva]

So I guess my question for this thread is, how much of Black American poverty is actual and material? And how much is situational/cultural?

I think it's more cultural. Black people are prone to see ourselves as being poor and poverty stricken.

Real poor people don't have:

1. Flat screen TV.
2. Cell phones
3. Internet/computer
4. Ipods/Iphones
5. Fancy jewelry or clothes
6. Regular weaves/wigs/tacky nails
7. Cable/satellite TV
8. Standing hair appointments
9. Smoke cigarettes, etc.

While there is real poverty among some of our people, there are a lot of Black people in the "'hood" who have more fancy stuff than I do.

[bhop13]

I think it's more cultural. Black people are prone to see ourselves as being poor and poverty stricken.

Real poor people don't have:

1. Flat screen TV.
2. Cell phones
3. Internet/computer
4. Ipods/Iphones
5. Fancy jewelry or clothes
6. Regular weaves/wigs/tacky nails
7. Cable/satellite TV
8. Standing hair appointments
9. Smoke cigarettes, etc.

While there is real poverty among some of our people, there are a lot of Black people in the "'hood" who have more fancy stuff than I do.

Right.

IDK know how many really poor and poverty stricken people have all of that isht. If people didn't buy the latest and greatest of everything they could travel. It's about priorities and many of us have some pretty screwed up ones. You really don't have to be well off to travel. If you find deals, plan and put money aside folks could travel.

[Fuzziwuz]

I think it's more cultural. Black people are prone to see ourselves as being poor and poverty stricken.

Real poor people don't have:

1. Flat screen TV.
2. Cell phones
3. Internet/computer
4. Ipods/Iphones
5. Fancy jewelry or clothes
6. Regular weaves/wigs/tacky nails
7. Cable/satellite TV
8. Standing hair appointments
9. Smoke cigarettes, etc.

While there is real poverty among some of our people, there are a lot of Black people in the "'hood" who have more fancy stuff than I do.

Exactly. The majority of Black folks in the hood don't know poverty until they step out of the country. The projects look like a palace in comparison to some communities. Basic things that we take for granted: water, electricity, an umbrella (social services) - are nonexistent in real poor communities.

[Diane8783]

I think it's more cultural. Black people are prone to see ourselves as being poor and poverty stricken.

Real poor people don't have:

1. Flat screen TV.
2. Cell phones
3. Internet/computer
4. Ipods/Iphones
5. Fancy jewelry or clothes
6. Regular weaves/wigs/tacky nails
7. Cable/satellite TV
8. Standing hair appointments
9. Smoke cigarettes, etc.

While there is real poverty among some of our people, there are a lot of Black people in the "'hood" who have more fancy stuff than I do.

I'd like to add another

Real poor people are not FAT!

There was a time in history that being overweight was a symbol of prosperity. Sometimes I hear the older people refer to someone who is extremely skinny as " looking or being so poor".

Now, it seems things have reversed.

So, again I say real poor people are not FAT!

[chachadiva]

I'd like to add another

Real poor people are not FAT!

There was a time in history that being overweight was a symbol of prosperity. Sometimes I hear the older people refer to someone who is extremely skinny as " looking or being so poor".

Now, it seems things have reversed.

So, again I say real poor people are not FAT!

Whoa. This is not bash the poor people. I think being fat can be linked to economics and eating choices. Forget all of that rubenesque bs. That only applies to white people.

There are some real economic reasons affecting food supply in lower income areas. There are also the real problems of depression, compulsion, and other emotional/mental health issues that are going unaddressed.

I think your comment is out of line and has nothing to do with economic choices, materialism, resource allocation, or poverty.

[soapinphilly]

Whoa. This is not bash the poor people. I think being fat can be linked to economics and eating choices. Forget all of that rubenesque bs. That only applies to white people.

There are some real economic reasons affecting food supply in lower income areas. There are also the real problems of depression, compulsion, and other emotional/mental health issues that are going unaddressed.

I think your comment is out of line and has nothing to do with economic choices, materialism, resource allocation, or poverty.

naw I beg ta differ, real poor people can't possiblely be fat, they can't afford the addiction of buying more food than one should eat, storing it and having it readily available for consumption daily.

[Diane8783]

naw I beg ta differ, real poor people can't possiblely be fat, they can't afford the addiction of buying more food than one should eat, storing it and having it readily available for consumption daily.

Thanks, soapinphilly. So true.

The issue of availability of food in poor areas has been debated here in the past.

My point still stands...fat people are NOT poor.

[nickib]

I think part of the problem is that some people seem to define poverty in relation to what OTHER people have. If I'm gonna compare my house to the houses on RHOBH then, yeah, I'm poor too.

My working definition of poverty is "the inability to access needs due to lack of resources."