This is a real life conversation that I had:
Ignorant Girl: My favorite quote is "Unemployment insurance is a pre-paid vacation for freeloaders." by Ronald Reagan
Me: Hate to ask what you think about welfare?
Ignorant Girl: Poor people get everything, free housing, free food, free medical, free education, more $ for each kid, why the f*ck would you ever want to be a contributing citizen & work? Everyone I know on welfare is scamming it, I never met any legits. Best qualified should always get the job, pisses me off there are quotas, best qualified period.
Me: Well, well, well….that's quite an opinion there. Don’t know if I should RETORT or leave it alone.
That was the end of that conversation. I am not sure that at the time I could of been civilized enough to continue speaking to her. What I wanted to do is grab her by her hair and slam it against the wall and ask her what world had she been living in for her past 30 something odd years. I attribute her ignorance to being white. Not to say that all my white friends are ignorant but I know they don't all think like this. Do they???
Now that its been a few days I will start with her first comment. How can unemployment insurance be a pre-paid vacation? Correct me if I am wrong? but don't you originally have to be working to collect unemployment insurance? Does she think that most people quit their jobs to get unemployment insurance, which is never the amount you were making in the first place? I am sure there are people who delay going back to work to collect unemployment but that does not apply to everyone. Plus who pays unemployment insurance? States set up trust funds to pay be able to pay unemployment insurance to certain qualified individuals. I think I pay enough taxes that if I am unemployed, I should be able to get some funds for a little while until my next job. And last I checked unemployment is not only for poor Black/Brown people.
Now for her welfare comments. "Poor people get everything.........." Is she suggesting that being poor is lucrative. Is she suggesting that people strive to stay poor so that they can continue getting everything? To this I say research your government reform laws on welfare. because the last time I checked ONE person on welfare gets 68.50 bi wkly and as far as free education and free housing,has she seen OUR school system and it's FREE education? NYC public schools are not havens of education. People send there children to NYC public schools because they can not afford the private ones. Has she ever lived in these so called free housing? The projects are no Trump Towers. Plus, it is not free to live in the projects. Rent is according to income. Which by the way does anyone know what it costs to live in NY these days. Rents are ridiculous. Thank goodness for public housing, shabby as it is and all.
Now about EVERYONE on welfare that she knows being scammers. Who are her circle of friends? I know several former welfare recipients, me included. The emphasis is on FORMER. I didn't strive to stay on welfare. I didn't even want to be on welfare. I used it because I needed it and I was working all the while. I just wasn't making enough to support myself at the time so it was a supplement. That was then and this is now. So here comment is pure bullsh*t.
As far as quotas go: If it wasn't for quotas black/brown people wouldn't get the job even if they were qualified. Most if not all jobs would go to the most qualified WHITE person. If it wasn't for quotas we might not get into certain schools. Segragation was NOT that long ago. If you have been reading the current news, segragation is still being fought in the courts. This is 2007.
To all who share the ignorant opinion: Educate yourself before you speak so that you can stop talking SH*T.
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Well first let me say: Ouch with the white people generalizations. There are idiots of all colors, shapes and sizes. Okay on to the very valid points you've made. At 24 even I have collected unemployement insurance, and I don't think anyone would ever accuse me of looking for a free ride. Apparently this person you were speaking to has lead an extremely lucky existance, but the rest of us have had moments in time where they were laid off, fired, or too sick/hurt to work, and in those times the wee little bit we get from unemployment insurance while we're looking for new employement, can mean the difference between being evicted or not. As for welfare, there have been unbelievable changes to welfare in the past 20 years, and it sounds like the person you were speaking to held some extremely old prejudices toward the welfare system. I'm a huge fan of the work that FDR did for this country and I think welfare is one of the most beneficial things to come into American society. That being said there have been times where the system was more easily manipulated than others, but those times have truly passed. The welfare reform of the 90s really made being on welfare an extremely limiting resource for most participants. And public housing is a godsend to many people and a hell for many others. There are so many buildings in need of proper ventillation,heat, cooking and refridgeration equipment, proper secuirty. Living in public housing is really a crap shoot, it really depends on the building you end up in. I think you should take the person you were talking with on a tour of some of the worse-for-wear buildings the city leaves to rot with their "You get what you pay for attitude."
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