Article re: Culture of Poverty

The word 'culture' is a complex one. When I hear it, or read it, I interpret it as meaning 'how' ; so the term, 'culture of poverty' means 'how poor people live', or 'how poverty perpetuates itself', or something like that.

So, what does this mean in REAL terms? Let's get down and dirty, and relate it to something we all have to do. Wipe our ass. I am inclined to think that the wealthier you are, the better quality of toilet tissue you use. The poorer you are, the lesser that quality of paper that you wipe with, and, if unfortunately you can't afford to wipe your ass, with toilet tissue, then maybe you're using something else to wipe it with.

Suppose you are so poor you don't have a toilet?

I was told a story about someone I know who is an immigrant from somewhere else. He lived in a village that was so poor that there was no effective sewage system. When people needed to use the toilet, it was accepted that the sewage system was inoperable. So they took to defecating in plastic bags, when the toilet stopped working, or even if they were, they certainly were not putting toilet paper in the toilets as that alone would clog it. As a result, this person now living here in the U.S. has the habit of throwing toilet tissue in the garbage container instead of flushing it. In essence, he's been acculturated to act this way because his earlier material circumstances dictate it.

Imagine a child brought up under these circumstances where what is the norm for him is to see his siblings and parents defecating in plastic bags, and throwing away toilet tissue in the garbage.Now imagine a child brought up in an environment where his parents and siblings have always lived below market level.

The 'culture of poverty' is no mystery to me. Sociologists who study it only need to extrapolate on what they use to wipe their asses with, and imagining how any ' necessary existential process' would change for them if they lacked access to ANY given resource over time.

The photo in that NY Times article showed children playing in the rubble of a flattened building. It makes the point that children WILL play. Even if there are no playgrounds. The answer to the 'culture of poverty' is not to be amazed by it, but to see the connection between resources, marketability , and toilet tissue...

The term, "culture" is also used to describe the "shared knowledge" of various small groups of monkeys, who have found ways to create useful food-finding tools from sticks or rocks (different tools among different groups), and who pass that knowledge on to other members of their group.

It's amazing to me how academics and polititians can see what they want to see instead of what's in front of them. ...having different cultures doesn't HAVE to include value judgements (good vs bad), but it does explain a lot about why people do what they do. If the prevailing culture in a given area is "school isn't important (or can't be completed), and paychecks are made to be spent because there's never enough money to save" - even hardworking people are gonna have a hard time reaching economic stability and escaping regular or intermitent poverty, let alone clawing their way into the middle class.

The shock over assumed and actual perceptions of marriage, and the varying experiences of parents with kids in daycare, are also interesting case studies.

I like the very end of the article, and will quote it here:

Fuzzy definitions or not, culture is back. This prompted mock surprise from Rep. Woolsey at last spring’s Congressional briefing: “What a concept. Values, norms, beliefs play very important roles in the way people meet the challenges of poverty.”