Day 3: Reflections

My assignment:

Think about some of the perceptions you have heard about those who are poor.  Write them down.  Then think about these stereotypes.  After going through this experience, do you think those pereceptions are fair?  Where do these perceptions come from?  How can we change them?

The poor are, in my opinion, treated badly because we live in a society where value is based on consumption.  Of course, we know, in our heads, that buying something does not add value to you, but we treat people that have expensive things better nonetheless.  It hasn’t always been this way, but now we are hit by millions of advertisements every day, and their lies are repeated enough that we almost absorb them passively.

So, in my opinion, the best way to change the way that we think about poor people is to change the way we think about consumption.  And the best way to think about consumption is to start noticing the messages that are fed to us every day by the world, and seeing them as lies. (This, by the way, is a step in what Christians call, “repenting”)

Of course, losing those beliefs will lead to a person not being misled.  New beliefs need to take their place.  Instead of being trained to be consumers by advertising, what if we chose to be a part of a community that lived by different values than the world?  In the church, the poor are called blessed, and service is the model for leadership.  People are valued, not because they buy stuff, but because they reflect their creators image.

Can stereotypes change?  Sure they can.  First however, you must stop listening to the voices that perpetrate them.  Then you need to find a new community that gives priority to different voices.  It can be done, but few people choose to do so.

Question 2:  What can be done to address poverty in the community?

It has to be a joint effort.  Government plays a part (public transportation, city planning, etc), private enterprise takes a part (new small businesses and jobs), non-profits play a part (relief, awareness, advocating for better policy), as to communities of faith (calling people to live differently, proclaiming God’s concern for justice).

The alliance pointed out that 49% of Buffalos children live below the poverty line.  This should not be.   In the early church, there were no poor among the believers, because of radical sharing.  We can do something, and by the grace of God, we will.