I just watched this episode of "True Life" online about young people who are struggling to get out of the projects. If anything, the episode really upset me, because I got to watch these people make stupid mistakes over and over and ultimately, never get out of the projects.

For those of you who don't know, I grew up in total shit poverty. There were seven of us in a two bedroom apartment. We used foodstamps, medicaid, you name it to survive. I grew up and got out. I worked my ass off, did what I was supposed to, and I got out.

It was not impossible. I was not a victim, and I have no loyalties to where I grew up. It was a terrible place and I owe the people there nothing. They could get out too if they simply got their shit together.

So first things first, here's a little blueprint for escaping the hood:

1. Stop having children. I don't care if you have to take horse-pill sized birth control or have a vasectomy. Getting out of poverty with a kid on your arm is hell, and you should know that. No child deserves to live in poverty, and by continuing to breed, you are just setting your kids up for a life of pain and struggle due to your mistakes. I have no sympathy for breeders who live in poverty. Zero.

Either wrap it up, or find some other late night hobby. Can I suggest laser tag?

2. Stop talking to the homeboys. People in my old neighborhood thought I was stuck up. Why? Because I chose not to associate with gangbangers, hoodrats, or the crackheads on the corner. These people had nothing good to offer me and therefore I had nothing to say to them. Sure, they can hate me all they want, but I'm not the one stripping to make rent. You can choose your friends, use a little brain power and you'll see that most of the pickings in your neighborhood are trashy, messy people who are dying to bring you down. Look for company elsewhere.

3. Don't frequent Kwik Kash or Payday Loans 'R' Us. These places are predatory and they are designed to keep you coming back more and more broke. If you need fast cash, look for a grant, sell your TV, do some babysitting, but never, ever take out a payday loan.

4. Finish school. Don't be a fuckup. And when you go to college, major in something practical that will get you a job. Nursing works, so do education and public servant positions. If you're going to a technical school, research it before you give them a dime. A lot of these new tech schools are just unaccredited diploma mills that will eat your money and leave you with a worthless degree that no employer will take. You should also strive to be computer-literate. Take a class, don't get sucked into those stupid "Buy a computer for only $20 a week!" scams you see on tv.

5. Learn to speak. The ghetto jargon is nice and familiar, isn't it? But it doesn't work in the real world and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can get ahead. Read some good literature, watch the Discovery Channel, subscribe to good blogs online, read the newspaper, watch House and the news. Buy a dictionary and look up words you don't know. Speaking properly is probably the number one thing that got me out of poverty and into the sights of people who could help move me forward. Parents, speak properly to your children, correct them when they use hoodspeak, don't ever let it slide. Language is life.

6. Dress properly. Pull your goddamn pants up. Stop showing your cleavage. And learn to do your makeup without using blue eyeshadow and rouge. Perception is reality, and if you look like a poor, ignorant person, you will continue to be one.

7. Learn table manners. They don't have to be perfect, you just need to know how to act at a business lunch.

8. Save up money. IN A REAL BANK. And don't tell anyone in the hood about it.

9. Know where to skimp. You don't need a flatscreen tv in the hood. You don't need that new furniture. You do, however, need an education and a decent work wardrobe. Get crackin'.

10. Finally, when you do move, move far away, and only tell people who really need to know. Don't bring hoodrats to your new place, don't throw obnoxious parties, just try to blend into your newfound community. Be a good neighbor, and be polite, there is no need to recreate what you came from.

You are not a victim of circumstance unless you choose to be.

No more of this "Woe is me, I'm disadvantaged" shit. If you want help, it is out there, but if you want to sit on your ass, collect welfare, pop out children, and sell drugs, at least do so without complaining.

This has been Carlotta Valdez, world's biggest bleeding-heart liberal, saying shut the hell up and get to work.

Thank you :)


.. just something interesting I saw on Xanga.

very good and very true!

"And when you go to college, major in something practical that will get you a job. "

lolz.

Haha this was awesome!

I know some people living on council estates in this country that need to read this!!

Poverty is a lifestyle choice that I don't agree with, much like breast cancer and AIDS.







[If you read that and thought I was serious about those last two, GDIAF.]

haha. Zing.

This was an interesting read!

umber five reminds me of that movie, Akeelah and the Bee.

I LOVE ALL THE 'PROPERLY'S BEING USED AS A SYNONYM FOR 'IN THE WAY THAT IS SOCIALLY ACCEPTED BY THE RULING CLASS'.

that's awesome.

I don't know where to begin...
Honestly, I disagree with a great deal of this.

I like the point that Lady Puck made.

Lol, what is there to disagree with?

She's right, plain and simple.

i disagree too, but i find them to be joking in a cruel blunt way.
[shrug]

I could have taken this a little bit more seriously if she would have remained a little neutral. But i agree with some but not alll of this. Yes getting out of the poverty with a child will be hard but it can be done. I agree getting an education and a good job will help and so will scrimping. But I disagree with how she sterotyped poverty. I just referenced poverty in my dictonary and this is what poverty meant. pov⋅er⋅ty   /ˈpɒvərti/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [pov-er-tee] –noun 1. the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor; indigence. No where does it meantion that because you are poor you are in instant crackhead, hoodrat, gangbanger, F*** up. I also know plenty of people rich and middle class who dress with their pants sagging, their cleavage showing, and wear make up like it was a halloween costume. I also know plenty of rich and middle class people who are crackheads, gangbangers, and F*** ups. So this probably could have been taken more seriously had the person who wrote this remained more neutral and stopped stero-typing.

Oh and another thing....How is watching House, the discovery channel and subscribing to "good blogs" going to get you out of poverty?

you always have something bitchy to say.

rofl

I think you do have a point. Poverty is not limited to the "thug culture."

BUT THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE NEVER SAID IT WAS, YO. HER ARTICLE IS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT GHETTO CULTURE AND HOW TO ESCAPE THE HOOD. IT'S NOT ACTUALLY A GENERALISED ARTICLE ABOUT 'HOW TO GET OUT OF POVERTY'. THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD IS MISLEADING, YO!

I don't think the point of the post was to stereotype people who live in poverty.

There are some people living in poverty who don't try to better their situations -- some of them sell drugs, some of them keep having children despite not being able to support the one(s) they have, some of them have no self-worth. That being said, the original post wasn't intended for everyone in poverty; it was written about the ones who talk about getting out, but don't know how to do it in a "healthy" way. Yeah, middle class and "rich people" act that way, too, but if someone is struggling to find a decent job so he/she can get out of poverty, it definitely helps to conform to socially acceptable behaviors.

Watching educational shows (not necessarily House) and reading well-written blogs can inspire and teach people about the world; they can spark interest in jobs and careers. If someone has dropped out of school or isn't getting the best education, television and blogs can help.

Again, those points aren't going to get someone out of poverty, but following some of the advice will help.

Mami - I couldn't agree with you more!!!
Some of the points were valid, but it just seemed very closed-minded and ignorant.

She never said that was what would get you out of poverty. She said it was how you could learn to speak properly, without the whole 'ghetto' speak.

She never said that because people are poor they're a crackhead, hoodrat, gangbanger, etc. She said to not associate with those types of people.

The discovery channel is a way to educate yourself. Which you said yourself, will help get someone out of poverty.
As for good blogs, it's something to help expand your mind and expose you to a different lifestyle.

the person never said, poverty = instant crackhead/hoodrat etc. she said to choose your friends wisely. in a poverty stricken area, those sorts of people are probably going to be more concentrated. if you choose to not associate yourself with them you have a better chance of escaping that life.

the house thing i didn't get either. it was sounding smart until she threw that in there. but it's still some good advice.

HOWEVER, THERE DID SEEM TO BE AN IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION THAT ANYONE LIVING IN POVERTY IS ENTRENCHED IN THE GHETTO (PROBABLY BECAUSE THAT WAS THE AUTHOR'S OWN PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE OF POVERTY) - USES GHETTO SLANG, DRESSES IN A CERTAIN WAY, HAS NO TABLE MANNERS, POPS OUT CHILDREN REGULARLY, ETC. I CAN THINK OF ALL KINDS OF POOR PEOPLE TO WHOM NONE OF HER POINTS WOULD BE RELEVANT.

HOWEVER, NOW I LOOK MORE CLOSELY, THE AUTHOR DOESN'T ACTUALLY CLAIM THAT THIS IS A BLUEPRINT FOR 'HOW TO GET OUT OF POVERTY', AS THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD SUGGESTS. IT IS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT HOW TO ESCAPE THE HOOD. SO I SUPPOSE HER POINTS ARE FAIR ENOUGH.

BUT YEP, THE HOUSE THING COMPLETELY THREW ME. I DON'T WATCH IT - IS IT KNOWN FOR ITS CHARACTERS HAVING A VERY ADVANCED VOCABULARY AND COMMAND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE? IS IT CONSIDERED SOPHISTICATED VIEWING OR SOMETHING??

yeah it was more about how to get out of the hood, and not poverty. i wouldn't mind seeing the original entry.

lol house has some medical terms in it, so it's not exactly sophisticated, just job specific. i don't think knowing random medical terminology with get you far.