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I have been reluctant to 'unfriend' people on Facebook because of political content they post. Even when I strongly disagree with the positions they support, I worry that unfriending people will leave me in an echo chamber where I only see posts that reinforce my own biases. However, last week I finally unfriended a couple of people because I found the memes they shared to be irresponsible and offensive (and because the individuals in question were people I was only distantly acquainted with...I have several closer connections that have posted similar items that I have not (yet) unfriended).
The meme that finally pushed me over the edge was this one:
There are several reasons this particular meme bothers me. First is that implication that the individuals shown in the image are on welfare. I see nothing in that image to indicate that these women are on any form of public assistance. I can only surmise why the creator of this meme assumed this to be the case, and the only conclusions I can come to involve racism and/or sexism.
And then there's the proposal espoused by the language of the meme itself. The first amendment protects the right of people to disrespect the flag as a form of protected free speech. This was clearly established when the Supreme Court ruled that burning the flag is a form of free speech that is protected by the first amendment. I know that there are many people who don't like this ruling, but the protection of free speech is only meaningful if it protects the rights of those who express ideas that you don't like or agree with. What I find especially troublesome in this meme is that it is essentially arguing that those on welfare should have their first amendment rights restricted. In other words, the benefits of the Bill of Rights do not apply to the poor. This is yet another example of the disturbing current trend to marginalize and disenfranchize the poor in this country.
It seems that the war on poverty has somehow morphed into a war against the poor. Rather than finding ways to help the poor escape poverty, we, as a society, increasingly seem to be trying to find ways to punish the poor for being poor. The efforts in Kansas to limit the ability of welfare recipients to collect their benefits are just an example of how far we seem to be willing to go to make life more difficult for those who are most in need of our help.
Buried deep in our national psyche is the idea that hard work leads to success. A consequence of this belief is the idea that the lack of success must be the result of laziness or an unwillingness to work. These ideas are rooted in a Calviinist/Puritan Protestant work ethic which provides a noble motivation for people to put forth their best efforts in all that they do, but which fails to consider all of the other factors that can trap people in poverty. The myth of the lazy welfare recipient who is milking the system is strongly held by many people, but in reality, poverty is a systemic trap that can be virtually impossible to escape from. Instead of assuming the worst of the poor and punishing them for being trapped, we should recognize how limited their options are and find ways to help them escape from the systems that prevent them from getting ahead.
The meme that finally pushed me over the edge was this one:
There are several reasons this particular meme bothers me. First is that implication that the individuals shown in the image are on welfare. I see nothing in that image to indicate that these women are on any form of public assistance. I can only surmise why the creator of this meme assumed this to be the case, and the only conclusions I can come to involve racism and/or sexism.
And then there's the proposal espoused by the language of the meme itself. The first amendment protects the right of people to disrespect the flag as a form of protected free speech. This was clearly established when the Supreme Court ruled that burning the flag is a form of free speech that is protected by the first amendment. I know that there are many people who don't like this ruling, but the protection of free speech is only meaningful if it protects the rights of those who express ideas that you don't like or agree with. What I find especially troublesome in this meme is that it is essentially arguing that those on welfare should have their first amendment rights restricted. In other words, the benefits of the Bill of Rights do not apply to the poor. This is yet another example of the disturbing current trend to marginalize and disenfranchize the poor in this country.
It seems that the war on poverty has somehow morphed into a war against the poor. Rather than finding ways to help the poor escape poverty, we, as a society, increasingly seem to be trying to find ways to punish the poor for being poor. The efforts in Kansas to limit the ability of welfare recipients to collect their benefits are just an example of how far we seem to be willing to go to make life more difficult for those who are most in need of our help.
Buried deep in our national psyche is the idea that hard work leads to success. A consequence of this belief is the idea that the lack of success must be the result of laziness or an unwillingness to work. These ideas are rooted in a Calviinist/Puritan Protestant work ethic which provides a noble motivation for people to put forth their best efforts in all that they do, but which fails to consider all of the other factors that can trap people in poverty. The myth of the lazy welfare recipient who is milking the system is strongly held by many people, but in reality, poverty is a systemic trap that can be virtually impossible to escape from. Instead of assuming the worst of the poor and punishing them for being trapped, we should recognize how limited their options are and find ways to help them escape from the systems that prevent them from getting ahead.
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