Comments on: Vietnam… On Crime (Part 4) http://www.skalduggery.com/2010/01/21/vietnam%e2%80%a6-on-crime-part-4/ Skalded Musings and Random Thoughts on Current and Not so Current Events Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:22:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Jeff http://www.skalduggery.com/2010/01/21/vietnam%e2%80%a6-on-crime-part-4/comment-page-1/#comment-310 Jeff Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:54:45 +0000 http://www.skalduggery.com/2010/01/21/vietnam%e2%80%a6-on-crime-part-4/#comment-310 I believe my point was a bit muddled now that I read it again. I was actually being a bit sarcastic in calling them poor. The kids to which I am referring are not below the poverty level. They just don't make enough money to live like they wish to so they do illegal things to get the money they want to have. These kids think nothing of blowing $150 on shoes, wear whatever Lil' Wayne tells them to, and steal what they need for that new set of rims. In comparison to the six-figure and more families that populate the county, there is economic disparity. That's definitely true. But I grew up wearing either hand-me-downs or shopping at K-Mart. Relatives bought our school supplies. I paid for my own college. I grew up poorer by a wide margin than these kids, and I still don't consider the family of my childhood poor. If you can pay for a place to live, food to eat, transportation, and still have enough left for fun spending you're not poor in my eyes. These 'locked-up' kids routinely have their parents bring in the latest edition of Jordan's sneakers to make sure they're fresh looking like their locked-up homies. To put it simply - poor people can't afford $150 shoes. Irresponsible people with a pack-load of excuses can, but poor people can't. Perhaps the sense of entitlement created by liberal-backed social agendas in the non-affluent (rather than poor) urban and minority communities could be looked at? While the economic disparity is apparent in a majority of the kids at the center, the sense of entitlement these kids have is almost without exception. They're owed whatever they want because they were born... I have a whole separate rant on that one. I believe my point was a bit muddled now that I read it again. I was actually being a bit sarcastic in calling them poor. The kids to which I am referring are not below the poverty level. They just don’t make enough money to live like they wish to so they do illegal things to get the money they want to have. These kids think nothing of blowing $150 on shoes, wear whatever Lil’ Wayne tells them to, and steal what they need for that new set of rims.

In comparison to the six-figure and more families that populate the county, there is economic disparity. That’s definitely true. But I grew up wearing either hand-me-downs or shopping at K-Mart. Relatives bought our school supplies. I paid for my own college. I grew up poorer by a wide margin than these kids, and I still don’t consider the family of my childhood poor.

If you can pay for a place to live, food to eat, transportation, and still have enough left for fun spending you’re not poor in my eyes. These ‘locked-up’ kids routinely have their parents bring in the latest edition of Jordan’s sneakers to make sure they’re fresh looking like their locked-up homies. To put it simply – poor people can’t afford $150 shoes. Irresponsible people with a pack-load of excuses can, but poor people can’t.

Perhaps the sense of entitlement created by liberal-backed social agendas in the non-affluent (rather than poor) urban and minority communities could be looked at? While the economic disparity is apparent in a majority of the kids at the center, the sense of entitlement these kids have is almost without exception. They’re owed whatever they want because they were born… I have a whole separate rant on that one.

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