Reply #34: Some reasons for the current "fuck the poor" attitude.

[raccoon]

1. Too much affluence. If you've never had to share and/or do without, it's hard to sympathize (for some people).

2. Lack of sense of community. People used to live and die in the same town. Many, if not most, Americans now live in a different city than the one they grew up in. Or even if they're in the same city, they're probably in a different neighborhood.

Somebody said that two things which have helped destroy Americans' sense of community are air conditioning and garages. Because both these things isolate us. (And I'm not against either AC or garages. :-) )

3. Compassion fatigue. Feeling that after the Great Society programs, the War on Poverty, etc., didn't work because there is still so much poverty.

4. Feeling that "the pie" is more limited than it was in the '60's or so. There isn't enough to go around; by God, I want to get mine.

5. WAY too much emphasis on wealth in the media, including TV, movie, even novels. So much of the time protagonists of movies, etc., are wealthy.

In the soap operas in the days of my youth, many characters were definitely upper-middle class: doctors, lawyers, etc. Nowadays most of the characters are ultra-wealthy billionaires.

Anybody out there who can think of more reasons, please chime in.

This almost deserves its own thread. Maybe I'll start one.