Being Poor Is...
Being poor is hoping your kids don't have a growth spurt.Go read the whole list - it is well put together (via Alas
Being poor is stealing meat from the store, frying it up before your mom gets home and then telling her she doesn't have make dinner tonight because you're not hungry anyway.
Being poor is Goodwill underwear.
Being poor is not enough space for everyone who lives with you.
Being poor is feeling the glued soles tear off your supermarket shoes when you run around the playground.
One of the things that I find annoying amongst political activists is people who can't distinguish between having no money, or a low income, and being poor. I think this generally comes from young middle class activists who are defensive about their family background, and haven't learned to deal with it yet. I wish that everyone who had ever said to me "I'm not middle class - I have no money" would read this list.
For whatever reason I've never felt that particular brand of defensiveness about my decidedly middle class background (I do get embarassed at times, and self-concious at others - but generally I figure that as long as I'm not arrogant in assuming everyone had the privileges and options I did - then it's what I do that matters). I do have some sympathy for where it comes from, but I tend to think that the suffers should just get over it rather than inflict their insecurities on people who do know what poor is.
