Summary Of The Logic Of Stupid Poor People

942 Words2 Pages

In The Logic of Stupid Poor People by Tressie McMillan, she states, “Why do poor people make stupid, illogical decisions to buy status symbols?” (538). Poor is not only a status but a state of mind. Money may be short, but there can be happiness when making the most of what has been earned. Some people just have expensive taste and want what they want. Maybe they saved to buy that $2500 handbag, maybe it was on sale or maybe it was given to her. How can anyone know? Poor people buy status symbols to elevate their status in their own community and in turn feel better about themselves. Equality is relative. She says, “First they insist on being poor when it is so easy to not be poor.” (536). The poor are mostly poor because they are …show more content…

Stereotyping can have negative effect for some people, but for others it has a positive effect. McMillan states, “I do not know how much my mother spent on her camel colored cape or knee-high boots but I know that whatever she paid it returned in hard-to-measure dividends.” (538). The stereotype her mother obtained by dressing well and “speaking like white folk” had a positive outcome. Being well dressed and clean makes a difference in how others view worthiness. It doesn’t matter where the clothing came from since most people don’t know the difference between JC Penney and Goodwill clothing. Even fewer people know the difference between a suit from Goodwill and an Armani suit. Hell, in some places, the Armani suit may have come from Goodwill! She says, “Presentable is the bare minimum of social civility.” (538). Being presentable is an equality all its own and, with social civility, inequality can be stopped and put all social classes on the same level. Presentable does not make an equal. Unfortunately, our minds and hearts is what makes equality a reality. Equality starts within and works its way

Show More
Related

  • Stereotyping in The Way We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everyday we experience stereotyping in one way or another. Over the years stereotyping has become such a large part of our society that it is a vital part of our everyday communication. It has caused many of us to not really think about who a person really is, or what they are about, but to accept instead a certain stereotype that has already been created by our society and given to an individual. Stephanie Ericsson makes an excellent point in her essay when she says “they take a single tree, and make it into a landscape.” The statement she was trying to make by saying this is that many times, a stereotype is made by an individual because of something done by one particular person in a certain group, but is then given to the whole group as a result. Our society has given a stereotype to practically every form of human being out there. Some examples of this are the blond that is said to be dumb, the kid with glasse...

    Read More

  • The Myth Of A Latina Women I Just Met A Girl Named Maria Summary

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of Cofer’s point focuses how people misjudge others based on their ethnic appearances, which can lead them to have a lack of opportunities. Cofer explains that during her high school’s Career Day, she was unaware of how to dress professional, therefore she wore her party clothes. Coffer recalls “The way our teacher and classmates looked at us that day in school was just a taste of the culture clash that awaited us in the real world, where prospective employers and men on the street would often misinterpret our

    Read More

  • Gregory Mantsios Class In America Analysis

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    In "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios says that "when politicians and social commentators draw attention to the plight of the poor, they do so in a manner that obscures the class structure and denies any sense of exploitation." Based off our readings, class discussion and films, income inequality is known to be erased or ignore. Our society frowns upon the expression of income in our daily conversations, as it could be seen braggy or a complaint depending on your status of income. Because it's frowned upon to talk about, the topic of income inequality becomes erased or ignored. In addition, income inequality in America's class structure can affect people's ability to reach their American Dream.

    Read More

  • The Logic Of Stupid Poor People

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poverty is a complex and growing problem in the United States. As of right now there is no solution. There are proposals and acts, such as Obama Care, that were enacted in an attempt to help people in poverty, and there are so many organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and The Hunger Project, that try to aid people when they start to lack the necessities, like food and shelter. College students are graduating college with a large amount of student loans and no way of paying them off, people are being evicted from their homes, and employees are being laid off. The unemployment rate in the United States in 2015 was five percent, that’s about fifteen million people. It’s becoming difficult for people to find jobs, therefore making it hard for people to get back on their feet and start living a comfortable lifestyle. Poverty in the

    Read More

  • Poverty And Social Class In Loewen And Hooks

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hooks says, “It is better to be poor than to allow another person to assert power over you in ways that are dehumanizing and cruel” (435). Weather poor or rich everyone deserves and opportunity to be successful in life and shouldn’t be stereotyped. Everyone deserves the chance to be successful in life and have the same equal opportunities. Poverty is everywhere in this world some worse than others. Living in poverty once in life it can actually be a learning experience. To see and experience the struggle gives them not only a better understanding but appreciate what they have.

    Read More

  • The Inequalities Of Race In Housing And Education

    1349 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stereotypes are like scalp dandruff, unnecessary, ugly, and hard to get rid of, unless you have the right shampoo. That shampoo could symbolize proper education or enlightenment for getting rid of that particular stereotype. Some stereotypes are so absurd we sometimes wonder where the heck did they even originate from. For example, Asians are bad drivers, or white people cannot dance. However there is a type of stereotype that has some little truth to it, but you find it is not the people who we are stereotyping’s fault. To be more specific, there is a stereotypical view that poor minorities are sometimes considered uneducated. This lack of minorities’ education is not their fault, but the fault of unlikely outside forces. Therefore there is some truth to this particular stereotype, but the minorities are not to blame for their lack of education. Few opportunities are given to them, starting with housing then leading to schools which would then affect their individual education.

    Read More

  • Comparison of Turkeys in the Kitchen and You Just Walk on By Essays

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the essays, “Turkeys in the Kitchen” by Dave Barry, and “Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples, they argue the theme of gender, and racial stereotypes that have been present in our world from the very beginning. Barry suggests through a sarcastic and humors tone that gender stereotypes have been present since before the start of time; he uses a highly conversational style to prove this, as well as narrates to give the reader a better understanding of exactly what he’s talking about. Staples, on the other hand, uses a more authoritative tone to support his theme of racial stereotyping; he also uses the mode of rhetoric exemplification to his benefit, and is able to show the audience that this issue is just as important as the gender stereotypes that take place in our society still today. Barry believes that despite the fact that people are against stereotypes they still will always fall back on them; and Staples believes that people need to change themselves in order to not fit into those common stereotypes. They prove this through the history of gender discrimination in the 19th century factories, and through the 1970-1980’s and also up until today’s racial discrimination in the media. However, if we all hate stereotypes, then why do we always seem to be falling back on them?

    Read More

  • The Inherent Dangers of Stereotyping

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    “What is a stereotype? Stereotypes are qualities assigned to groups of people related to their race, nationality and sexual orientation, to name a few. Because they generalize groups of people in manners that lead to discrimination and ignore the diversity within groups, stereotypes should be avoided” (“What Is a Stereotype”). Both positive and negative stereotypes exist, but both are equally dangerous. All stereotypes, whether positive or negative, limit whatever group of people it is assigned to to a certain set of traits, and let’s face it, a human being’s personality is far too complex to be limited to a mere set of three or four traits. A stereotype creates a preconceived notion of how an individual belonging to a certain group should look, act, dress, and even speak. A prime example of this would be the very recent happenings in the case of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin was a seventeen year old African-American male, profiled as a criminal.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In African American Society

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stereotyping has been a huge problem in society for many decades. Everyone does it whether it is race, looks, and language or body types. If society did less stereotyping our society might be a little more complicated and more peaceful. If you look different, dress different, or act different out of the norm you are being judge or stereotype. I was always taught do not judge a book by its cover. That phrase is very powerful and if society followed that phrase we could be a more peaceful community.

    Read More

  • The Battle with Social Class

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    Social class is a system of social stratification, the hierarchy creates specific types of social inequalities. Social inequality refers to the existence of social inequalities created such as ownership, types of occupation that creates differences in wealth, income and power, while social stratification refers to the existence of social groups. Class can be arranged to economic factors such as income, education, wealth and other factors at work. Poverty remains high and could argue that true poverty cannot exist in a country as rich as the United States. It is clear that poverty has an impact on certain groups of people, while other groups have it easy, but poverty is often associated with something low education, poor health and social inequalities groups. Nearly a quarter of less than high school (23.6%) education live below the poverty line, while 3.6% of people with tertiary education live below the poverty line (U.S. Census 2007). The assumption that poverty is something that adds to increasing educational opportunities for the poor and education overall, suggests that it is very difficult to get out of poverty. You can see some similarities between health, poverty and employment status. The results of poor health, poor health contributes to poverty, and the difficulty of working full time. These are all things that come to be in a state of poverty.

    Read More

  • The Causes of Stereotypes

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    The appearance of a person in general is one of the most important causes of stereotypes. People usually tend to stereotype a person from what they see and think. In Brent Staples’s “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space,” he experienced a certain stereotype from a white woman because of his appearance. He explained, “To her, the youngish black man—a broad six feet two inches with a bread and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket—seemed menacing close” (Staples 343). That white woman labeled Staples as a dangerous person who might hurt her, so she ran away as soon as she could. In other words, people usually define “‘suspicious characters’” as “‘swarthy’ or ‘dark and foreign-looking’” (Heilbroner 372). Moreover, “[m]ixed cultural signals have perpetuated certain stereotypes” (Ortiz Cofer 378). Ortiz Cofer experienced the typical stereotype as a Hispanic woman in the United States. For instance, the Latin women are usually viewed as the “‘hot tamale’” by using the words like “‘sizzling’” or “‘smoldering’” for definitions...

    Read More

  • Stereotyping of Car Club Members

    1806 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everyone has heard the saying don’t judge a book by a cover. Sadly every minute of the day someone gets judged because of assumptions that are not correct. These assumptions overtime eventually lead to stereotypes. A stereotype is an image or idea of a particular type of person. Stereotyping a person is seen in many differents aspects such as race, groups, beliefs, appearance, etc. An individual may ask why people are stereotyped or stereotype. In reality stereotyping helps people categorize the different type of people. It narrows down the options of who one might want to associate with. Stereotyping can have its negatives, it makes people ignore how others really are. It may lead to a person not wanting to hang out with another person because of the stereotype that persons group has. Everyday the general public use cars for the means of transportation. But what about when people use their car for more than transportation, car enthusiasts often modify their cars to their likings. Enthusiasts often join car clubs to share their common interests with other car enthusiasts. Often the people in car clubs have a stereotype of being juvenile, racing a lot, low-life bums, and ghetto when actually most do not have those characteristics.

    Read More

  • Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Children

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    These assumptions are not ingrained in us when we are born, rather they are developed over our lives. When children first start preschool, they tend to pick their friends based on their physical appearance (Baydik, Berrin, Bakkaloğlu, Hatice, 2002, p. 436). It is not surprising that children from low or even middle socioeconomic environments are not able to afford the high end clothing that publicly displays their status. As much as society preaches against stereotyping, we often categorize someone the first time we meet them simply by how they are dressed. This causes children from low socioeconomic status to be friends with other children

    Read More

  • Language, Gender, and Culture in Society

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate.

    Read More

  • Poor Are Better Than Rich

    369 Words  | 1 Pages

    Poor people are filled with hope and the desire to help others that are in need of

    Read More

More about Summary Of The Logic Of Stupid Poor People

Open Document