Our Rules vs. The Poor
Throughout the past few weeks, I have read various columns all written by William Raspberry. While reading each column I would pay attention to the small details that some might over look, I thought about the tone, the language used, and the specific details listed. Although Raspberry is a columnist he is also a professor at the University of Duke, having two professions that build off of each other allows him gain a different perspective on certain things. Raspberry might be full of knowledge and have colleagues with statistics at the press of a button but this isn’t what convinces the reader, what draws the reader in is how personal he is with the topic and the effect his tone and writing style has on each person that reads it. Out of the columns that I have read the one that stuck out to me most was titled “Our Rules vs. The Poor”.
William Raspberry was teaching his class at the time about the different rules various groups have, the only difference between these rules being the financial status of the people following them. He mentioned 2 scenarios, one scenario was about “looters” that smashed a store window during Hurricane Katrina for essentials, the other was about a teenager that robbed a convince store for some food. Raspberry wanted his students to decide which scenario was justifiable based on the events that occurred and things stolen. His goal wasn’t to restate the law or state that looting is important, “It was, rather, to observe that the rules — legislated and otherwise — that make our communities work don’t exist as moral abstractions. We uphold them because they work for us — at least until we find ourselves under water.” Raspberry uses tone to convey this message in a more meaningful way to his students. With the scenarios he gives he wants his students to see how the looters were still in the wrong but because of the money they might’ve had their punishment was half as bad as the homeless teenager, that was sent to jail just because he was seen as a nuisance to society. He makes his students see how there is more to society then just money and the latest and greatest gadget, how there are some people in the world that just want to be seen and acknowledged. “Our Rules vs. The Poor” was written to put a stop to the fine line between each “group”, to make society see each other as one and nothing less than that. Raspberry concludes the column by stating that his goal wasn’t to make society think the rules were wrong or unjust, it was rather to make society see it’s time for a change “rather than sit blithely while the growing gap between them and us produces a community destroying economic disequilibrium.”
Discussion Question: Why do you think society places the “poor” and “rich” into two different categories? In your opinion what truly separates them other than where they live or the clothes they may wear?
For forever society has always placed people into categories and given them each stereotypes. I think society separates the poor and the rich because they’re each on entirely different ends of society. I also think society separates them because people are more likely to be more attracted towards someone with money, someone rich, versus someone who “doesn;t have much too offer”. In large cities like L.A., New York, and even Boston, you see many people in designer clothing, looking their best; but you also see many homeless people which I believe to be another reason as to why society separates them. But, to me, what truly separates rich and poor is just their amount of money, it may not even be their yearly income, just what they have. For me, it doesn’t have anything to do with how they look or dress or even act because you can be the richest person and still “look poor” because you’re not dressed like the wealthiest man.
With the United States being a Capitalist country, the proposition of a gradual wealth spectrum is entirely diminished, consequently resulting in two classifications, rich and poor. That’s not to say that everybody falls under one of these categories, but the preponderance certainly does. To proclaim that the singular divergence between the classes is wealth would be mildly erroneous, as the wealth does not solely represent material assets, although it can, but it is also cognate to the societal authority that is achieved through monetary gain.
Society has poisoned peoples views on the world by making them think that money is the key to happiness. I know it sounds cliche, but society is the one who associates everything with money and judge people initially based on their wealth. Being rich means having power in a political setting, and having money means nice clothes and the newest iPhone, making you popular in a younger setting like at schools. Aside from the physical differences between the rich and the poor, like what they have and where they live, they also can’t help but have completely different mindsets about everything. Having grown up with money and the easy solutions that come with, wealthy people tend to have less of a work ethic than less wealthy people. This doesn’t mean they don’t work hard or are grateful, it just means that poor people have more of a connection with reality in regards to having to work hard for every single thing in your life.
I believe that society places the “poor” and “rich” into two different categories because of how different these groups seem to be. If you were to look at a “poor” and “rich” person next to each other, you would most likely be able to see differences in things like hygiene or overall appearance. However, this does not mean they they are any different on the inside as real people. Society looks at the “poor” as troubled and unwanted while they praise the “rich” and do anything to protect them. Honestly, I don’t think anything truly separates the “rich” from the “poor” other than their financial state, besides that we are all the same.
I believe that the society places “poor” and “rich” people into different categories because of how they may look, the things they have, hygiene, etc. Those are all things that can define you but, we are all human. Just because someone has less money, doesn’t mean they are any less human. The only main difference we can back up from the “poor” and the “rich” is their financial situation. Also, I believe that just because someone has nice things doesn’t make them “rich” people get to choose what they spend their money on.
I think that there are different groups for “poor” and “rich” because of the stereotypes society has put on these groups. I think that these groups are made based on how people look and their overall appearance. Usually these stereotypes are based on their clothing, the things they have, where they live, etc. However, I think that this should not be the case as someone who is wealthy does not always feel the need to show it. People use their money in different ways based on who they are. I think that the way we should depict “poor” and “rich” people is based on the quality of their life.
Society places the labels “poor” and “rich” onto us because they feel like money is the solution to everything. If you are placed under the category of “rich” then you are seen as privileged with an easy fix for your problem. If you are seen as “poor” then you are looked at as lackluster with a harder time. People quickly associate rich with amazing and poor as the worst case scenario however these words are simply blanketing much more complex situations. Having or not having money isn’t what changes you as a person. It is what you do with what you’ve got and what you have experienced.
Society places people into the categories of “poor” and “rich” because money is simply used as another stereotype in todays society. Even back then the poor people were considered bottom of the barrel and the rich people got to do whatever they felt like doing. While it isn’t like that entirely today, there are still examples of it still happening. What truly separates the poor between the rich is just how they look at the world, rich people can have a outlook on the world where everything is supposed to be in store for them and they cannot be satisfied with what they already have. While poor people don’t look that far ahead and are just thankful for the stuff they have at the current moment. The thing that differentiates the “poor” from the “rich” is humbleness and the ability to enjoy the little things.