Social Issues the Far Right Doesn’t Understand

Stop Calling Me Liberal

When I disagree with MAGAs, they call me libtard. This happens even when I can PROVE that the narrative they are engaging in is false. I am actually pretty much in the middle. But don’t slap a political label on me. I am a Christ-following realist.

MAGAs accuse me of getting my information from liberal fake news. This, when they watch FOX and NewsMax, both of which spread lies which are very easily debunked. I try to stick with news sources that are as close to the middle as possible. But even then, I don’t take their word for it. I fact check by seeking out court dockets, searching relevant government documents, watching interviews and C-span, watching Trump’s speeches and pressers*, as well as reading his TruthSocial posts, and whatever other legit sources I can find. (*It’s amazing. I can watch Trump tell an outright lie, and if I point it out to a MAGA, they’ll either deny he said it, or they’ll excuse it somehow)

We are all shaped by our own experiences. If we experience something or witness something, we know it happened that way, and that colors our perceptions going forward. But even so, we can be narrow-minded about a given subject.

If the ONLY Hispanic family you ever knew were low lifes who stole everything in sight, you might think ALL Hispanics are thieves. If the ONLY family receiving welfare you ever knew was a single drugged out woman who was neglecting her children, you might think ALL welfare recipients fit that mold. You need to learn to not paint a segment of society with a wide brush.

I am going to quote myself from the introductory post on this blog:

I’ve been homeless, and I’ve lived up the good life (when I dated a rich guy for a couple of years). And I’ve experienced just about every socio-economic status in between those two extremes.

I’ve been cold and hungry.

Some people would (and do) resent the bad experiences in their past. I do not.  Although some living experiences were miserable to get through, I am glad of them. My perspective is much broader than it would be if I’d had a stable life. I have interacted with people in every kind of situation. Because of this, I have learned to not judge those in whose shoes I have not walked. I have developed a keen empathy for others.

It’s this empathy that often makes other people judge me. Conservatives often accuse me of being liberal because of certain views I have. I am more conservative than liberal! But some of my views do not always line up with other conservatives because of experiences I’ve had, and because of experiences I’ve been involved with in others.

My wide range of experiences have taught me that no issue is black and white. My views on the issues I will be covering in this post are based on what I have personally experienced and/or witnessed, people I have personally known, and people I have encountered via volunteer work. Many times, these people have been the poorest of the poor, but do not assume those who abuse the system are representative of all poor people. The vast majority of poor people are honest and have jobs. The people with issues are the ones who are visible, which results in undeserved judgement by those who don’t have a clue how things really are.

Gun Control

It’s a common outcry from the far right: Democrats want to take away our guns! If you believe that, you need to listen to what Democrats are actually saying. The small faction that wants to outlaw all guns are the far left extremists, and they are few, but loud.

A great many of my Democrat friends own guns. Some have a Concealed Carry Permit. Many of them hunt.

Most Democrats, Independents, and the more moderate Republicans, want to find a way to keep guns away from criminals and the mentally disturbed with a known propensity for violence.

I’ll be doing a separate post on this subject when I can get to it, but for now I’ll just point out that the vast majority of ideologically motivated shootings (mass shootings, targeted public figures, etc), are committed by troubled people who are in state of mental crisis in the days or weeks leading up to the shooting, and most are either apolitical or on the extreme right. Guns need to be kept away from these people, but Republicans always vote down legislation that’s intended to achieve that goal.

LGBTQ

In the course of some of my volunteer work, I got to know the most wonderful young lady. She had a heart of gold, and was up to the challenge of helping anyone she could help. She dreamed of finding a husband, having children, and living in a pretty little house with a white picket fence and flower beds. But that dream was a far away fantasy.

Her drug addicted father sold her into prostitution when she was a toddler. She grew up enduring horrific abuse in that life. She could not overcome her fear and hatred of men. She seized on the first opportunity she found that offered love, acceptance and security – by entering into a lesbian relationship.

I can’t judge that decision.

Of course most LGBTQ persons don’t have such abominable backgrounds, but they all have a story. Many have had difficulties socially because of what they are. Many were badly bullied at school. Some were disowned by their families.

I’ve known trans who regretted changing, and I’ve know those who were happy they did so. I’ve known gays who insist they were born that way, and others who didn’t figure it out until high school.

Here’s the thing – I can’t look inside their hearts like God can. I figure their lifestyle is between them and God. I prefer to follow the example of Jesus. While He never spoke of homosexuality, He did have a habit of reaching out to those who were religiously and socially outcast, exemplifying a pattern of compassion and empathy that challenged social conventions of the time.

Homelessness

I’ve written a separate post on homelessness. See it here.

Abortion

The thought of abortion is distressing to me. But it’s not the simple issue that the far right seems to think it is.

Maybe you know by now that I have both lived in slummy neighborhoods, and done volunteer work in them. I’ve seen things that the average person living in an average middle class (or above), neighborhood can’t even comprehend.

Picture this: single mother, or sometimes both parents together, in a constant alcoholic and drugged out haze. The children are neglected and run wild. The 12, 13, 14 year old daughter comes up pregnant. Maybe the inceptive incident was her choice. Maybe she was coerced. Maybe she was raped. Regardless of the circumstances, now there is a baby on the way.

Abortion is an option. Sometimes that’s the outcome. But very often the little girl has the baby, and then the situation gets all kinds of convoluted. I’ve seen or known of several different scenarios:

• The girl’s mother will take care of the baby so she can stay in school (is it really a good idea for an addict to care for that baby?)
• The girl’s mother refuses to take care of the baby, so she has to drop out of school.
• A nearby relative will babysit the baby so the girl can stay in school.
• Nobody is taking proper care of the baby so CPS takes it.
• Nobody is taking proper care of the baby, but CPS doesn’t catch on so it grows up neglected, while the young mother keeps having more babies. All these children are growing up in an environment of drugs, alcohol and crime, and the cycle continues, generation after generation.

I hear a lot of criticism about CPS, and I agree they sometimes overstep boundaries, but they are valuable to have around in many situations.

One more point I need to make. It’s not just lowlife parents whose teenage girls get pregnant. It happens all too often in families where the parents are working long hours, and the children are left on their own much of the time. Unsupervised teenage girls do tend to get in trouble.

Now, putting aside the age of the mother…

Some babies are born addicted to drugs. They are placed in the foster care system. They have severe physical and mental disabilities, making them almost impossible to adopt out. They are a drain on society for their entire life.

Many babies are not born addicted, but badly neglected. I have personally become well acquainted with several appalling cases in which children (from infants to older children), have been haphazardly fed – when the parents can be bothered – and never bathed. By the time these children are attending school, the ONLY meals they receive reliably are free breakfast and lunch at the schools. Many school districts, churches and charity organizations try to make sure these children get fed during summer vacation. Yet, Republican lawmakers want to cut the funding for all these programs.

Should children have been aborted instead of being born into these awful situations? I desperately want to say no. Every baby conceived needs a chance at life. But these babies have miserable childhoods, and almost all of them grow up to be criminals, alcoholics and addicts. Abortion should never happen, but what is the answer?

Before I leave the subject of abortion, I want to bring up Planned Parenthood. MAGAs are celebrating the funding cuts to PP clinics, but they do not understand what a Planned Parenthood Clinic is!

The Hyde Amendment was passed in 1976. It expressly forbids the use of federal funds for abortions (except when a woman is pregnant as a result of rape or incest, or when her pregnancy endangers her life).

If a woman wants an abortion outside of these exceptions, in almost all states she must pay for it herself! Only a few states will cover the cost. Women seeking care at one of these clinics is invariably living in poverty, and they have a very hard time coming up with the money for an abortion, if they can at all. It’s complete nonsense that women use abortion as a form of birth control.

Planned Parenthood Clinics are for the entire family- men, women and children. Some of the services provided include: cancer screenings, well-woman exams (pap smears etc), routine checkups, pregnancy testing, pregnancy planning, and prenatal and postpartum services, birth control, STD screenings and treatment, HIV testing, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes screenings, telehealth services, sexual health education, and mental health services.

In many poor communities, Planned Parenthood is the only clinic available for basic health care. If one of those clinics closes down, the community has nowhere to go. Ironically, this also means the community loses their access to free birth control.

Welfare & the Working Poor

To clear up a few misconceptions about food stamps: The majority of food stamp recipients are the disabled, the low-income elderly, and the working poor. Able bodied non-working adults cannot get food stamps. Illegals cannot get food stamps, although some states offer state-funded food assistance programs to immigrants ineligible for federal SNAP benefits. Most food stamp recipients are white.

Both IRL and on the Internet, I’ve seen and heard so much unfair judgement about the poor by people who have no clue.

They are lazy and don’t want to work.

As I said, able bodied non-working people don’t get welfare, with only a few exceptions, such as caring for a disabled child. Poor people work full time jobs, and sometimes multiple jobs just to make ends meet. These are low-skilled workers in low paying jobs. I’ve seen people lose their jobs because their car broke down and they couldn’t find a way to get to work.

They are irresponsible with money.

Poor people don’t have money to waste on frivolous things. All too often they must choose between paying rent and utilities. When they don’t have enough for both, they will pay rent to avoid homelessness, and their utilities will be shut off. An unexpected medical expense throws everything into chaos.

They are alcoholics and substance abusers.

Several states have tried testing welfare recipients for drug use. So few test positive, that it costs far more to do the testing than they save in benefits. The fact is, most working poor are not alcohol and drug users. Many of the ones I’ve known seldom or never use any of it. Some will try to have a six pack of beer or a cheap bottle of wine for a special occasion.

I have absolutely known a few who drink far too much, and maybe also use drugs. These are the ones who can’t keep a job for long, and often neglect their children. In fact, the only reason they can get welfare is because they have kids. These are the visible welfare abusers, and are the ones by which all welfare recipients are often judged, but they are very much in the minority.

They have brought their poverty on themselves due to poor choices.

This is a very complex social issue. Most poor people have generations of poverty stretching behind them, and it’s embedded in the culture. Schools in poor areas are severely underfunded, providing below par educations. Most jobs available to poor people provide wages too low for an adequate living. Being poor is not a personal failing, it’s a lack of skills and opportunities. Also, many poor people can’t afford a car, or have a car that doesn’t run half the time. It’s difficult relying on buses to get to and from work, especially when one is working two or more jobs; scheduling conflicts arise. And if small children in daycare is a factor, it’s all but impossible.

A small number of poor people manage to pull themselves out of poverty, but to achieve this, they need to overcome a formidable number of obstacles, which is difficult for most.

They want to stay on welfare.

The majority do not. They are embarrassed when they have to rely on it. Most of the ones I have known are constantly striving to get off welfare. When their situation improves, they get off of it. Then they get in a bind, and have to get back on it. It’s a constant on again off again struggle. Some working poor manage to avoid welfare most of the time, often by working more than one job. Some are on it most of the time.

They are a drain on taxpayers.

Welfare amounts only to a tiny percentage of the federal budget. Plus, welfare received is being plowed back into the economy, which ameliorates the burden on the tax payer.

Why don’t they go to college or trade school so they can get a better job?

A few do manage to go to trade school. Fewer still manage college. Most can’t pass the college entrance exams due to the substandard public schools they attended.

Once they are working and raising children, it’s almost impossible to carve out any time to attend any kind of classes, let alone find the money to pay for them. And of course, there’s that transportation problem…

Judging Doesn’t Help

From the time I first got on the Internet, and continuing until now, I’ve spent a lot of time at homestead-oriented forums and Facebook groups. I’ve seen an incredible amount of judgement and criticism of inner-city poor people.

Why don’t they grow a garden and freeze or can the produce so they can eat good all year? Why don’t they stock up on grocery sales? Why don’t they cook from scratch so they can make their food stamps go further?

So very many live in apartments and can’t have a garden, but some of those with a yard do grow a few veggies. I’ve seen some make a genuine effort to grow a garden, but they give up when all their time and effort comes to nothing; thieves raid their garden during the night or when they’re not home.

But canning the produce when they manage a successful harvest? They can’t afford a new canner, and even if they get hold of a used one, who’s going to teach them how to use it? Besides, they often don’t have a working stove to use one on.

Some manage to have a freezer, but a freezer can be hard to come by. Ofttimes they have enough difficulty just keeping a working refrigerator. And then there’s that problem of keeping the electricity on. When it gets cut off, they lose anything that was refrigerated or frozen.

Some do try to stock up on grocery sales when feasible, but the slummier the area, the more expensive the stores are and the more non-existent the sales get.

As for cooking from scratch, many don’t know how. Some do, and cook from scratch when they can, but they need a working stove and electricity.

Poor people often get judged for bad food choices, but there are many reasons they buy unhealthy foods. Many know nothing about nutrition because nobody ever taught them. They may have insufficient cooking facilities or no refrigeration. They may only have only minutes to feed the kids before they have to leave for the next job. So they get something that’s fast and easy, and it’s frequently something less than wholesome.

Another big problem is the complete lack of grocery stores in some areas. People will try to open a grocery store, but quickly shut down again due to an extremely high rate of shoplifting, frequent robberies, and all the carts get stolen. In these areas, liquor stores and convenience stores will pick up some slack.

In one neighborhood where I was doing some volunteer work, there were only two businesses that carried groceries and took food stamps: a liquor store and a gas station/convenience store. Both of them were practically encased in burglar bars. One day I went in the liquor store just to see what in the world a grocery section looked like in such an establishment. They had an aisle with things like bread, milk, some canned and packaged foods, breakfast cereal, lunch meats, and lots of junk food. I vaguely recall they had a few bananas and apples. The convenience store was probably much the same.

Some people will shop grocery stores in other parts of the city if they can, but some people have no transportation and must depend on that meager selection of foods.

A garden, preserving the produce, cooking from scratch – these things take time, and working long hours at one or more jobs, often with transportation difficulties getting to and from work, leaves little spare time to clean house and take care of the kids when one has to do everything the hard way. Like laundry, for example. It takes time to go to the laundry mat. And if they have no transportation, it’s a long, frustrating ordeal trying to get there and back. If they can’t get there, or don’t have money for the machines, they’ll wash clothes in the bathtub, which in itself is a drawn out exhausting process. After work and all the basic chores have been done, there’s little time or energy left for anything else.

Of course, it’s not just the working poor who are struggling. I’ve known way too many elderly and disabled who are truly suffering. It’s not a cliché that they often have to choose between food, utilities, rent and medicine.

Before leaving the welfare section of this post, I have one more issue to bring up.

I have often seen the declaration that poor people vote Democrat because they want to keep getting welfare. No doubt this is true of some, but for most, they are voting for those with whom they can identify.

The message they get from the Republicans: You could do better if you tried. Get a better job. Get an education. You are a drain on society.

The message they get from the Democrats: You are a worthwhile person. You just need a hand up. We will help create opportunities for you.

Where is the Church?

The Bible contains hundreds of verses about taking care of the poor. Ancient Israel had a law mandating that farmers tithe part of their crops and livestock to the priests. The priests in turn distributed part of this bounty to the poor, widows and orphans. This was an example of a social welfare system. Jesus commanded that His followers assist the poor. Most church congregations are not doing so. Many make a token effort – food boxes at Thanksgiving and shoe boxes for Christmas. Some go further and have a busy food pantry. These are very good things, but…

Jesus said: for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me… Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.

Just handing out food isn’t enough. A very tiny number of churches and church-sponsored organizations are “on-the-ground”, so to speak, right here in the United States, in the slums finding solutions. Bypassing the inefficient federal government (and sometimes in partnership with city governments), they are building affordable housing, providing medical services, job training, and other supportive services. They are opening community hubs for everything from teaching cooking skills, to providing safe activities for children to keep them off the street. Volunteers clean yards, carry out repairs on houses and arrange transportation for those who need it. These are the churches making a real difference.

In the areas where churches and organizations are implementing these projects, teen pregnancies go down, school attendance goes up, crime drops, and economic growth occurs as new opportunities are provided. Entire neighborhoods are transformed.

Those are the things the Church is supposed to be doing! If all churches would get involved, we would be living in a different world. If you’re attending a church that isn’t participating in these types of programs, then go volunteer with one that is. Not a church attendee? You don’t believe there’s a God? That should not stop you from doing your part to make a difference. Find a charity organization that’s out there in the field and see if there’s some role you can fill. If you have kids, include them where appropriate. It’s a wonderful way to get them involved in the community. For you Christians looking for ways you can make a difference, I published a blog post HERE with some ideas.

Don’t Be a Hypocrite

All my life, I’ve heard people say things like: Charity begins at home. We need to stop helping other countries and take care of our own in this country. Yet, the same people who say things like this complain about tax dollars going for welfare. These hypocrites don’t want to feed hungry children in other countries, and also don’t want to feed hungry children in this country.

Many of the same people who insist this is a Christian country also complain that it’s not the government’s job to help the poor. More hypocrisy. The government is trying to do the job that churches aren’t doing.

To those who claim to be Christian, I will remind you: Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Go to church, worship, read the Bible: these are all good things that you should be doing. But if you aren’t actively trying to help the poor, the hungry and the downtrodden, you are not obeying Christ’s commandments and thus you aren’t experiencing the fullness of God. Somewhere out there is a task waiting for you.

If you can’t or won’t do anything to help, then stop voting for politicians who try to cut funding that aids the poor, and start voting for politicians who want to make this country a better place for everyone.