Source: LA Times
A reporter for L.A. Times found that instead of experiencing compassion and sympathy for families who are living in poverty, many Americans respond to such situations with hatred, disdain, judgement and many questions.
Journalist Steve Lopez wrote about an impoverished family of five — a mother and her four children. Steve noted that many readers wrote in after the story was published, slamming the story and situation, and some even wanting the mother and her children “deported.” The Latina mother and her children were all born in the U.S., however, Steve writes.
There are stark and difficult complications that make poverty a difficult cycle to not only be trapped in, but to escape.
Steve writes that though there are tons of Americans who choose to judge and make things more difficult for families who are living in poverty with several children, there is more to this type of story than is obvious to anyone who isn’t in that situation. Research by St. Joseph’s University sociology professor Maria Kefalas has shown that impoverished Latina, white and black women feel more confident in being able to have children, and “believe it will make their lives more stable.”
Kefalas has found that though this logic may not resonate with most middle-class families, impoverished families find a lot of hope in children.
While Americans do have a say in how their taxes are being used, there need to be bigger systematic changes to help impoverished families avoid situations of being caught in a cycle of poverty instead of singling out individual mothers who have had their children.
Read Full Story: LA Times