https://talkpoverty.org/2016/03/08/who-are-the-legitimate-poor/ Real People. Real Stories. Real Solutions. Mon, 05 Mar 2018 23:01:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://talkpoverty.org/2016/03/08/who-are-the-legitimate-poor/#comment-389 Tue, 08 Mar 2016 16:57:00 +0000 http://talkpoverty.org/?p=14544#comment-389 Excellent article. One of the big problems with determining the “legitimate poor” is that we tend to be sympathetic to those who resemble us and less sympathetic to those who do not or whose problems we have not faced ourselves. I would say, however, as a professional writer from an upper middle class background but living below the poverty line, that your social class is not a barrier to the sense of shame and guilt that comes with living below the poverty line. If your peers and family are engaging in social activities and giving gifts at holidays that are well beyond your means you feel as though you are not contributing in the same way and you’re letting people down. All of those same feelings of helplessness and shame kick in when you have to rely on social networks or can’t afford gasoline to get to a meeting, or you can’t afford decent clothing to be presentable as you’d like. I am very grateful for the safety net I have, and I do not take for granted the advantages and plusses that come from being from a family that could send me to college, being suburban and white and having grown up to speak and look like the middle class people who decide who the “deserving” and “undeserving” poor are. It’s a huge advantage. But I still feel the need to point to a paycheck to legitimize my choice to work in the arts, and too often that paycheck falls short or comes late creating a constant battle with embarrassment and shame. Living in poverty means dealing with constant little humiliations and anxieties.

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