The Degradation of the Poor

It's an interesting American societal thought that the right to be poor automatically means the poor have the right to the rich's money. This is not the case. Let me explain the right to be poor.

The right to be poor means the poor have the right to the same respect as the rich. If someone comes to town, they do not suggest I meet them at someone else's home rather than visiting me at my own. I do not have someone I went to church with assume I am afraid to walk out to my car after dark because of the neighborhood I live in. I do not have people that come to a birthday party at my home assume I want to have it at a different location because of the size of my house. I do not have someone sit in their car in front of my house to talk to me rather than come inside because my house is not brand new. I would not have a manager at a retail location treat me differently because I did manual labor - that is until they discovered I have a college education and then their attitude changed.

These are personal experiences. Every single one of them has happened to me.

I can only imagine what those who are really poor go through. 

 There is no right to be poor with a mindset that teaches the poor have their place. Classism evolved from the mindset of slavery. Just as the slaves had their place, the poor have their place. That place is out of the way of the non-poor.

It is very sad. 

Equal rights does not only refer to Constitutional rights.  The concept of equal rights refers to equal value, equal respect, equality in thought.  

If only our Americanized culture would realize this.  I will continue to stand against the mindset that degrades and devalues the poor.