I'm writing a paper focusing on a case about a black women who was on welfare who brought furniture, paid for all of the furniture but one item, missed one payment on that one item and the company reposssessed all of the furniture.

My questions for yall are:
1) What stereotypes do you have of people on welfare, if any?
2) Do you feel people are on welfare as a result of wrongdoing or bad decisions on their part? If so, please elaborate.
3) Do you feel black people on welfare today are on it for the same reason many were in the 1950's and 1960's or do we control our own circumstances more today?
4) Do you feel that black people on welfare are abusing the system? If yes, do you feel this was the case for black people on welfare in the 1950's and 1960's.
5) Does anyone have first hand accounts of racism or sexism (as black females) when buying products, renting an apartment or any business transactions?

Thanks for your help. By the way, I know that the average person on welfare is white. But this paper focuses on blacks and black women.

There's a book, From Mammy to Miss America and Beyond by K. Sue Jewell that deals with images of African American women and it talks about welfare stereotypes, and has a section on welfare in the gender oriented social policy section.

You can also try
http://www.findarticles.com

It's really good, and it's free.

Yabbadabbadoozilla! (c) Bootzilla
http://www.funkknots.com
http://www.cartoonista.com
http://www.pocho.com

"You might as well pay attention/ you can't afford free speech" -George Clinton

"People need to stop saying that there is one way to be--and then the issue will disappear." Ntozake Shange-interview in _Mother_ _Jones_

>
>My questions for yall are:
>1) What stereotypes do you have
>of people on welfare, if
>any?

No , I don't have a stereotype of anyone on welfare.

>2) Do you feel people are
>on welfare as a result
>of wrongdoing or bad decisions
>on their part?

If you use welfare as a temporary help , then it's cool everyone falls on hard times every now and then. If you are using to live off , I think you are uneducated and that's all you know, hopefully someone will introduce you to self-suffiency
. Are they wrong ? No they just don't know how to take care of themselves.



>4) Do you feel that black
>people on welfare are abusing
>the system? If yes,
>do you feel this was
>the case for black people
>on welfare in the 1950's
>and 1960's.

No they aren't "abusing" the system . I worked with people on welfare and they really don't know any other way of life. case workers aren't going to push for self-suffiency, because less clients , less jobs. Think about it if they made it mandatory for people on welfare to get GED or high school diplomas , they would have a good chance of finding a good entry level job. Without either they could only hope for a fast food restaurant position. I think the whole welfare sytem is now set up to keep people on it.

No they aren't "abusing" the system . I worked with people on welfare and they really don't know any other way of life. case workers aren't going to push for self-suffiency, because less clients , less jobs. Think about it if they made it mandatory for people on welfare to get GED or high school diplomas , they would have a good chance of finding a good entry level job. Without either they could only hope for a fast food restaurant position. I think the whole welfare sytem is now set up to keep people on it.

I work for the welfare system in Canada---specifically in the area of helping my clients pursue education and training.
So what you say amuses me!
Its my job to get people off...and after doing it for ten years, the only answer I come up with----THERE IS NO SIMPLE ANSWER.

No band-aid solution, no quick fix.
I have worked with a client, doing what you would think to be all the right things, only to have them turn around at the end of the process and completely fall off (drugs, alcohol, jail, mental illness---take your pick).

Its a difficult balance to provide a social safety net that affords people their dignity, while not encouraging dependence.

How exactly do you give someone self-esteem, courage, and the ability to make decision that are not destructive??? Then to turn them out into the real world where only the strong survive.

Hmmmm


I Tell You: One must
still have chaos in one
to give birth to a
dancing star!
-Nietzsche

Shimmy

Well in America case workers don't encourage their clients to become independent. You are put in the system and that was it. Now they have them going through some bullshit training programs, because of the new welfare reform laws. It's really like that here , I'm not exaggarating or anything. Yes you fill out a form that asks what you want to do, but there's no follow through. Well I live in Pennsylvania, so it's definitely different from Canada , Canada should be commended because you are at least trying. Here you are a number that must come to bi-annually meetings with the proper paperwork.

I see where you're coming from.

It's been my experience that the rank and file social workers honestly want to see their cases do well. But in America, there is so much bureaucracy and shifts in focus about what people can do, that most social workers get fed up and become part of the machine.

A quick IRS story

Our unit is supposed to help another unit sort out the mail that comes in. By sorting out the mail, we go through each case and pull them up on computer. We figure out a status and then separate. This isn't our main job, but it is one that anyone can do. Very often we come across cases that we can fix with a couple of key strokes, but because our system is so disorganized, we who can fix it, have to send it to someone else who specializes in that stuff. Part of that process is putting in a command code that will make sure nothing bad happens to the case for 9 weeks. Because once we ship it off to the next guy,it could stay on the shelf for 9 weeks before someone sees it.

And did I mention that the IRS was trying to slow down the modernization effort?

I'm sure the same kind of organization misfocus happens on much broader levels with social workers.

peace
k. orr

There are still many clients who will say the same thing up here about a system that doesn't care, believe me....
In order to truly access services you need to be proactive, or in the right place at the right time...

Out of any job I've ever done--handing out welfare cheques has to be the most---errr-- challenging. I've had clients almost kiss my feet--claim I'm the second coming etc....I've had others curse me and suggest I am to blame for everything that has ever gone wrong in their life.

The "system" will never be solely interested in your best interests. That has to be up to the individual.
I've had parents beg me to put their minor children on welfare--hoping I could set them straight????? Can you imagine?

Like I said--complex stuff...and I gotta go back to it....

I Tell You: One must
still have chaos in one
to give birth to a
dancing star!
-Nietzsche

Shimmy

>...case workers aren't
>going to push for self-suffiency,
>because less clients , less
>jobs.

That's a pretty broad statement, I hope you have evidence to back it up. Most case workers I have known do it because they want to help people, they certainly don't do it for the money.


JMello

"Those of us who spent time in the agricultural sector and in the heartland, we understand how unfair the death penalty is - the death tax is."

"Si, I'm very concerned about the amount of acreage in cultivation for the growth of cocoa leaves."

"...it's about past 7 here, so we're actually in different timelines."

"I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but my predecessors, as well. And that's why I made the decision."

"I'm about to name my brother the ambassador to Chad."

"They don't seem to be flocking in right now, but it is dove season in Texas. I'm a hunter and if I decide to shoot some dove, I'll shoot 'em and eat 'em."

--President-Select George W. Bush--

.

JMello

"Those of us who spent time in the agricultural sector and in the heartland, we understand how unfair the death penalty is - the death tax is."

"Si, I'm very concerned about the amount of acreage in cultivation for the growth of cocoa leaves."

"...it's about past 7 here, so we're actually in different timelines."

"I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but my predecessors, as well. And that's why I made the decision."

"I'm about to name my brother the ambassador to Chad."

"They don't seem to be flocking in right now, but it is dove season in Texas. I'm a hunter and if I decide to shoot some dove, I'll shoot 'em and eat 'em."

--President-Select George W. Bush--

>1) What stereotypes do you have
>of people on welfare, if
>any?

White mom's with 6 kids who live in a trailer in the country.

>2) Do you feel people are
>on welfare as a result
>of wrongdoing or bad decisions
>on their part? If
>so, please elaborate.

The children on welfare are completely innocent. The parents on welfare are their because of
- injury/medical condition
- divorce ->often related to domestic abuse
- structural changes in the economy - no manufacturing jobs available, no other skill set

- not knowing anything else - don't receive the cultural capital from their parents in order to figure away out of poverty. This includes access to inter-generational loans, education, or social networks.

>3) Do you feel black people
>on welfare today are on
>it for the same reason
>many were in the 1950's
>and 1960's or do we
>control our own circumstances more
>today?

I don't know how the #'s have changed, but I think there are more black folks in the middle and upper class now, than there were in the past. But that's structure of this country opening up. For the black folks on welfare as we speak, they often live in areas and grow up in environments that aren't conducive to getting out. But on the flip there are a # of black folks that do move on.

>4) Do you feel that black
>people on welfare are abusing
>the system?

In general no. But there are particular cases, yes.

If yes,
>do you feel this was
>the case for black people
>on welfare in the 1950's
>and 1960's.

I don't know enough about them to answer yes.

>5) Does anyone have first hand
>accounts of racism or sexism
>(as black females) when buying
>products, renting an apartment or
>any business transactions?

Who doesn't. If I had went to the store yesterday, I could tell you.

k. orr

>My questions for yall are:
>1) What stereotypes do you have
>of people on welfare, if
>any?

Well, I grew up on Section 8 and government cheese and rice, but thankfully my mother never had to collect welfare. I have no stereotype of someone on welfare except: a single women with children.

>2) Do you feel people are
>on welfare as a result
>of wrongdoing or bad decisions
>on their part? If
>so, please elaborate.

I think it is either the result of random misfortune (i.e. eviction, death, unexpected divorce, etc.) or the "cycle of poverty." There are some families where welfare is the status quo.

>3) Do you feel black people
>on welfare today are on
>it for the same reason
>many were in the 1950's
>and 1960's or do we
>control our own circumstances more
>today?

I think the balck community is a lot more accepting of welfare than white society. In some areas, welfare is seen as normal and common.

>4) Do you feel that black
>people on welfare are abusing
>the system? If yes,
>do you feel this was
>the case for black people
>on welfare in the 1950's
>and 1960's.

Some people do abuse the system. If you have the opportunity to get of government handouts and you don't, you're abusing the system (regardless of race). Most welfare programs don't give people the chance to break out on their own (i.e. child care, transporation, etc.). But recently quite a few states (Wisconsin) have made it easier for people on welfare to hold down jobs and still care for their children.

>5) Does anyone have first hand
>accounts of racism or sexism
>(as black females) when buying
>products, renting an apartment or
>any business transactions?

Wel my mother was white so racism wasn't and issue. But, quite a few landlords were apprehensive about renting to someone on Section 8, and people (school, police, neighbors) were always telling my mother that I needed a man in the house, to straighten me out.

JMello

"Those of us who spent time in the agricultural sector and in the heartland, we understand how unfair the death penalty is - the death tax is."

"Si, I'm very concerned about the amount of acreage in cultivation for the growth of cocoa leaves."

"...it's about past 7 here, so we're actually in different timelines."

"I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but my predecessors, as well. And that's why I made the decision."

"I'm about to name my brother the ambassador to Chad."

"They don't seem to be flocking in right now, but it is dove season in Texas. I'm a hunter and if I decide to shoot some dove, I'll shoot 'em and eat 'em."

--President-Select George W. Bush--

Someone who was once briefly in the welfare system...

>My questions for yall are:
>1) What stereotypes do you have
>of people on welfare, if
>any?

I don't have any anymore.

>2) Do you feel people are
>on welfare as a result
>of wrongdoing or bad decisions
>on their part? If
>so, please elaborate.

In my situation, I was a teenage parent who was attending school full-time as well as being a parent full-time. That first year, working wasn't an option. But for the most part, I think that people who STAY on welfare and depend on the system to help them out of the system are lazy as hell. BAD BAD BAD judgement and decsion making plays a huge role alongside complacency.


>3) Do you feel black people
>on welfare today are on
>it for the same reason
>many were in the 1950's
>and 1960's or do we
>control our own circumstances more
>today?

Hell yeah, we're in more control of our financial situations. It bohters me a lot. I feel like, damn, I got two jobs, you can't get one?

>4) Do you feel that black
>people on welfare are abusing
>the system? If yes,
>do you feel this was
>the case for black people
>on welfare in the 1950's
>and 1960's.


RACE has nothing to do with it.

>5) Does anyo
ne have first hand
>accounts of racism or sexism
>(as black females) when buying
>products, renting an apartment or
>any business transactions?

I've been followed around a store on numerous occasions and expected not to tip at restaurants. To spite the perpetrator I'll purchase something expensive from a store and return it when the asshole is gone, or in a reataurant I'll tip the waiter properly and give the cook (especially if he's black ) a tip considerably bigger than the waiter and go out of my way to make management and the offender notice.


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Food for thought:
"The nature of creation is that it is always progressing toward beauty. Allah is beautiful, and Allah loves beauty. The nature of the body is to beautify itself; the nature of the mind is to have beautiful thoughts,the longing of the heart is for beautiful feeling."
-The Qu'ran

NOBODY'S God likes ugly. BE BEAUTIFUL.
HeavenLei
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