Yesterday, someone complained to me that the victims of New Orleans expect the government to help them do everything, and that its the result of having things handed to them for generations. That instead of saving themselves and getting out of that hell, they expected others to do it for them.
It was hard for me to even begin to respond to them in a civil manner, but I had to. I mumbled something about the lack of access to transportation; if you don’t have a car, and there aren’t enough (if any) busses running, how can you get out? If you are sick, disabled, elderly, a family with young children, or just don’t have the money or the means to travel, there is no other option than to hunker down and bear it, as you have so many times before. And when things take a turn for the absolute worse, it’s not that you choose to depend on others, it is just the only option left. Period.
I think Trey had it right, with this story.
And Dawn, too, with her comments and a link to this piece, Being Poor.
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Beautifully said.
Thanks for posting this, Kristin, and yes, beautifully said. I had this same conversation with many people over the last week, but the main person, unfortunately, was my husband. The man is incredible, but has a really hard time thinking outside of his own reality. I think that’s the case for many people.