Last night, I watched the Motorcycle Diaries.
It's "The dramatization of a motorcycle road trip Che Guevara went on in his youth that showed him his life's calling."
The thing that stuck out the most for me, was also the main string running through Guevera's mind in the movie - how people are segregated.
This morning, while I was driving to work, I pondered the ways the U.S. does this.
Many, many years ago, I found myself in unfortunate circumstances, and had no choice but to accept public welfare benefits.
To make a long story short, I went to school, got a degree, and got a job.
Basically, I busted my ass and followed the path that you're supposed to follow, when one finds themself in this situation, and eventually got "back on the right track".
Not everyone does.
And it is unfortunate that most people assume that most welfare recipients choose "not to succeed".
My experience with the public wefare system has left me with things that I will think about for the rest of my life.
It opened my eyes to the many ways we seperate ourselves from others, and for what small reasons we do so.
It is not just by personal choice that we segregate our poor and unfortunate. It is also by law.
I remember that while I was on welfare, there were certain health food stores and farmer's markets that accepted food stamps.
Today, food stamps no longer exist in physical form to be traded.
Apparently, recipients have what is the equivalent of a debit card, with a food stamp balance on it.
I wouldn't think it likely that a small health food store or farmer's market would be able to afford the technology required to accept food stamps today.
What are the ramifications of this?
Suddenly, the healthiest food choices are no longer available to the poor.
They are forced to eat produce from the grocery store, where the likelihood that they will end up choosing a Monsanto product is much greater.
Sure, some grocery stores carry organic produce, which is great. But,many mainstream grocers do not carry much "healthy food".
Trendy foods, yes, like hummus and veggie burgers, but one has to really be careful and check the ingredients. Your hummus is probably not organic, and often, the veggie burgers aren't either, and may even contain preservatives!
So, the dilemma here is simple: A large section of the population; the poor, has just lost the ability to exercise the full extent of CHOICE previously available to them concerning the quality of their food.
It's just another form of segregation, and this country continually stands for it.
Let me tell you, the voices of welfare recipients don't mean squat to politicians.
And it's not just welfare recipients that are being screwed.
We seem to make a sport out of making life difficult for those who already need a little support. We're now sticking it to single parents in new, unprecedented ways by cleverly using technology against them also.
Recently, in PA, anyone recieving child support has noticed the switch to a debit card system. It used to be that you received a check in the mail, whenever a payment from the payor was received.
This option still exists, but you had to have specifically requested to keep it.
Otherwise, you automatically received a debit card in the mail, that carries the balance of your child support payments received.
Not only do they no longer send you any kind of notice when a payment has been posted to your account, but you are charged a fee when you want to withdrawal your money using an ATM.
It costs .95 whenever you use the card to withdrawal cash at an ATM, plus any fees the specific bank owning the ATM may charge you, and .50 every time you make a balance inquiry at an ATM. (you can use a Wachovia ATM with no bank fee).
I don't pay .95 to withdrawal money out my checking account, why should I be raped when receiving child support?
For God's sakes, the government won't TAX it, but they'll charge me to receive it?
Apparently, you DO have the option of tracking down a bank that has the Mastercard logo on their door, and the tellers are supposed to withdrawal the cash for no fee, but according to the specific wording on the website, it looks like you may have to educate them yourself on this matter.
(read it carefully- it's CYA wording if I ever saw it,with a number to call if the tellers don't comply...)
So let's just recoupe:
1. Welfare recipients no longer have the scope of access to healthy foods they once had, forcing them to use their "buying power" in places with food choices of lesser quality.
*Ask yourselves how this will echo across the healthcare system in a few years.
2. Single parents who receive child support now have to:
A Track payments on their own.
B. Do the following math to determine the best way to receive their child support payments in cash:
"Mileage To Closest Bank With Mastercard Logo" divided by "Cost Per Mile Considering Currently Overinflated Gas Prices" = X.
"Mileage To Closest Wachovia ATM" divided by "Cost Per Mile Considering Currently Overinflated Gas Prices" + .95 = Y.
"Mileage To Closest ATM" divided by "Cost Per Mile Considering Currently Overinflated Gas Prices" + "Closest ATM Bank Fee" + .95 = Z.
Choose the lesser of X, Y, or Z, and go get your child support payment, Sparky!
(Note: If you can get to an ATM, Wachovia ATM, or Master Card logo bank on foot, you're lucky!
Use the following formula:
"Closest ATM Bank Fee" + .95 = Q
.95 = W (Wachovia ATM)
0 = M (MasterCard logo bank)
Choose the lesser of Q, W, or M.)
If you think segregation stopped with Rosa Parks, think again.
Chances are, it's happening right in your own back yard.
A good example of this follows:
One year, my company had a Christmas party. They decided to throw it at a very nice banquet hall, which was fine. Either no one really thought it all the way through, or they had, and the results were intentional. Regardless, the warehouse workers, who make far less than the office workers, could not afford both the $50 dinner fee and the formal attire. Not many of them actually owned a good suit or tux, and couldn't afford to rent one, even if they coughed up the entrance fee. What a quick and easy way to "weed out" anyone who might be considered less than middle class, from attending your party,huh?
Perhaps it was truly unintentional. But, it proves the point- whether intentional or not, segregation still happens every day.
It is whether or not we see and do anything about it that matters.
Here is your homework: Look around you and take notice of how people are segregated by our current structure of living, whether economic, political, or social.
Post it here in the comments.
Thanks.
