While driving through a depressed section of the city my son asked me why everyone there

Question

was brown. His brother son stated they were poor and it was their own fault for being too lazy to get jobs or work. They both agreed that the residents of the area cared little for their homes, neighborhoods and family because nothing looked clean or cared for. The youngest asked why poor people didn't mind being dirty or having dirty homes and streets.

How would you have handled this and what could be explained or learned?

Answer 1

I would have said that the people living in these housing developments were forced there by economic and social barriers which they were unable to circumvent.

However, they are reluctant to accept the fate that has been forced upon them and they desperately want to escape that environment.

They have no feeling of ownership of those housing units or the neighborhood in which they find themselves.  They are only looking to escape to a better life, not to pretty up the dreariness which envelops them from all sides.

Answer 2

II would have said that the people living in these housing developments were forced there by personal choices made by their parents and themselves and later blamed on economic and social barriers which they could have changed at any time and circumvented.

However reluctant they are to accept the fate that that they choose, it is something they are comfortable with and want.

Their feelings of ownership of those housing units or the neighborhood in which they grew up or adopted are based greatly on gang related issues further proving this to be a choice and they find themselves in an environment they created. That they are not to motivated to “pretty up” the dreariness which envelops them from all sides is a testament to their desire to keep the status quo. The conditions and terms of their lives are not something others can choose for them but ones they choose themselves. Each individual has actively chosen and taken steps to ensure the perpetuation of the subculture as it exists-

I would have added-don't feel bad for the choices of others, just toss these quarters into the curb and when the guy with BO washing our windows runs to get em- roll up your window and lock your door.  

Answer 3

I second justsa.. comments.It's utter nonsense to blame society or amyone else for one's problems.Yes,elitists have alot to do with the growing poverty in our world.But it  certainly isn't a racial issue.Leftist indoctrination in the schools puts the blame on the majority.But there is ample proof that low income areas that are predominantly homogeneous of the majority variety are clean and safe.The lesson learned is self-evident.Plus,understanding the Marxist infiltration in Wesern Culture explains the rest of the story.Conjecturing that... ."have no feeling of ownership"... is nonsense.One needn't be a homeowner or wealthy to live civilly.