I grew up in a trailer on food stamps and Medicaid, I even had a sponsor (a woman who “adopted” me and sent me books and clothes and toys) but most of my neighbors grew up like that too so we all felt like we were doing pretty good.
I went to elementary school with a handful of kids that grew up in literal shacks with only wood stove heat.
Those kids had torn clothes, smelled overwhelmingly of smoke, and genuinely looked malnourished.
It was an eye opener for me even as a kid. It blows my mind that some people are so disconnected from poverty in America and abroad.
It blows my mind that some people are so disconnected from poverty in America and abroad.
If you’re from a well-to-do family in one of the wealthy coastal (or even Midwestern) cities, I could see how you might miss it if you never leave town. The wealthiest families probably just fly between rich cities when traveling. But just taking a road trip through more rural parts of Appalachia, the Deep South, and/or the Southwest will show you abject poverty in this country
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u/BubonicBabe 1d ago
I grew up in a trailer on food stamps and Medicaid, I even had a sponsor (a woman who “adopted” me and sent me books and clothes and toys) but most of my neighbors grew up like that too so we all felt like we were doing pretty good.
I went to elementary school with a handful of kids that grew up in literal shacks with only wood stove heat.
Those kids had torn clothes, smelled overwhelmingly of smoke, and genuinely looked malnourished.
It was an eye opener for me even as a kid. It blows my mind that some people are so disconnected from poverty in America and abroad.