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How many brothers fell victim to the street?


Grim_Reefer

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fell "victim" to the street?

Lifestyles are a choice, not a victimization.

Move 300 miles away if you have to, it doesn't take that long to pay for a bus ticket.

I disagree lifestyles aren't always a choice, sometimes your forced into a situation that you can't get away from, no matter how hard you try. Kids in the getto for instance, and when some moron draws his gun and starts blastin, it's hardly a "choice" to get hit. And it's one thing to act gangsta, it's a whole different story to be gangsta.

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Generational poverty is caused by environmental brainwashing to a degree. For example ... some people will not lie... ever. Other people, since it was okay with their parents when they were growing up, will lie all the time. Now to the the point :

Some people consider welfare to be a part of life. In effect, we have welfare generations...

Some people think violent crime is a part of life. In effect, we have violent crime generations.

It is much to easy, and is the path of least resistance, not to change. If you are unaware life can be different, what would possess you to try to change?

In the end, it comes down to a moment of epiphany for any of this to change. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes a parent will save every dollar they have to put a child in a school far away from the slums (I don't say ghetto any more... because it has become a hollywood buzzword... a positive one at that.). Sometimes a child will witness his friend being shot and wake up to realize there is more to life. More often than not, most will live and die in the same style they have become accustomed to.

The question is, if you find it so simple to change, why not try to adopt a different way of life for the better. For most of us, why not go vegetarian for a month, or straight edge for some time. Although it wouldnt be as drastic a lifestyle change as moving and educating yourself... it would prove to be a challenge to anyone saying that it is just as simple as "hey... just change your lifestyle, your chose it in the first place."

....

By the way, none of the above is my opinion at all. I just like to play devil's advocate. Personally, I think if you are below the age of 35, poverty and such is a choice. There is a magical entity called the military that very few will be turned down for a job with, and will pay for education, housing, and food.

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I was turned down by the military.

I was locked up as a teenager for 184 days.

I was raised in a ****ty family.

Because I turned to the ethic of personal responsibility, instead of victimization, I make over 30,000 a year, with only a high school diploma. I have a 401k, A stock purchase plan, full insurance.....

People have a choice. You will succeed, or you will not succeed. It's your choice to do what it takes to make either happen.

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Hypothetical: born into a family in which the husband beats his wife, living in a trailer park. Your mother hasn't completed high school because she was impregnated by your father who also didn't finish high school. Neither family of your parents is supportive emotionally or financially. Neither parent can hold down a job because of alcohol/drug use. Because of the financial woes and an inability to pay rent, you and your family are forced to move from place to place, which means you're changing schools. It's hard to study because the places you move are the houses of generous friends and there are so many people in the house, it's hard to concentrate. Where you are there's no cable TV, internet, and you still haven't completely grasped the ability or the importance of reading. Your father beats you and eventually leaves you and your mother behind. You're older now and money is still a serious issue. Because of a terrible lack of education, poor eating habits, and lack of health care (all due to poverty), you're brain hasn't developed to its full potential and you don't have the ability to grasp abstract concepts very well, such as self-determination, perseverance, and the idea that education will eventually pay off. After all, you've never met anyone who has gone to college except your teachers, and the best thing they drive is a Camry. One night someone in the neighborhood offers you a few hundred dollars to run some product into another neighborhood, retrieve the money, and deliver it back. Now you're a dopeboy. You mean to tell me it's all your fault?

Being poor means so much more than not having money. It means you're linguistic abilities will be hampered, which slows down the development of your brain, causing you to basically not be as intelligent as you're average Joe. The same goes for nutrition and healthcare. Food that's good for you is expensive. Bad food makes you more prone to sickness, and doctors cost too much money. If you're forced to move from place to place and never see any stability or any exposure to the way other people live, all you know of life is your family, a family that is totally socially screwed up. Now you're socially screwed up.

People don't necessarily have a choice. If you're born resilient and can get yourself out of it, then you should thank God because you were born with above average intelligence and other personality traits which give you the ability to just hold on and do the right thing. Not everyone is born equal, not genetically nor financially. If you can't get that, you've probably never been poor.

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Situation makes it harder to overcome, not impossible.

If you truly desire to better yourself and you want to work, you can. That's america, if you want something...the only thing between you and it is hard work.

And WC, I wasn't trying to say that. ;)

I was trying to say more along the lines that the global economy and balance of wealth/power is ****ed up and that, if brought to equality, would leave the powers in a worse position than they are currently.

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I was trying to say more along the lines that the global economy and balance of wealth/power is ****ed up and that' date=' if brought to equality, would leave the powers in a worse position than they are currently.[/quote']

Then why don't you say that, because you big posts where you shoot off just plain wrong information says otherwise.

What you want can't happen. And it's not the 'rich' countries fault the third world exists, and it's not the 'rich' peoples fault the slums do. If things were as simply as you would like them to be, then no, no one would be in a tough spot, but unfortunetly its not that simple.

WC

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all I gotta say is this, No american citizen can claim they have it bad or live in poverty... If you wanna go live in "poverty" go to africa and stay in the germ infested villages with no clean water and nothing but crap around you. Think about it this way, no matter how bad you think you have it, someone has it 10 times worse. Instead of thinking about the negative focus on anything and everything positive that you could do to change what you feel is negative about your situation. Product of your enviornment? Please you can change anything you want to, except for your president;)

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