Words: 2013
As well as those who are forced to watch helplessly as their loved ones fall in too deep depressions and even many times have to deal with the loss of their loved ones due to the unfortunate event of suicide because they cannot support their family and they just can ‘t deal with it and handle the pressure. The criminal activity in this society, along with those it affects, is going up by the numbers right along with the rest of it These are some of the unfortunate things in life that I have grown up dealing with and that think no human being should be made to undeserving endure or have o suffer through.
Well this is due to the state of poverty that so many people are stricken with in today’s society. One of the many, and in my opinion, the worst debilitating effect that poverty has on us is the depression it can cause, and in many case even be so bad as to lead to suicide. It is one thing for some to lose someone that they love and care about, but many of us have lost someone due to them taking their own life. Can personally say that is one thing I have had to deal with for years now and is something that I would not wish on anyone else. It’s more than just the pain of having them gone.
It is also the extra baggage that we carry on our shoulders every single day of our lives afterwards. Has been many years now but I can and always will remember it as if it was just yesterday. The day when my father came home and walked back into his bedroom and shot himself as I walked down the hallway to go say hello and see how he was. There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t sit and think about what happened and feel guilty over it, asking myself the same questions over and over. Was it because of something that I did or didn’t do? Something I could have said or didn’t say?
Is there anything I could eave done that would have made things better or different? While will always have these thoughts and feelings, do now know that it wasn’t all my fault, and I also know that poverty was a very big factor in the decision he made. We had fallen on hard times and money was scarce and we were struggling. We were on the brink of losing our land that was pretty much all we had and he would always say “I’ll go myself before I let anyone take what I’ve worked so hard to build” and I believe that was just enough to push him over the edge.
It is a very sad thing that the state of poverty in which we live today has this effect on so many of us today. Hunger is a terrible effect of poverty. This unfortunately is yet another horrible reality that comes along with the scourge of poverty. I remember as a younger kid many of times where we had nothing to eat but Ramee noodles and bologna sandwiches, over and over, night after night, and at that time thought “well this is just awful, don’t even want to eat”. Well as I grew older and spent some time on my own I can remember many nights when I would have killed to have just had a pack of noodles or a piece of bologna.
When was on my own I realized just how ungrateful I was, and how it was so much better than having nothing at all. I have been many nights with not a single bit of food because I simply had none and no money to buy any. Have even been so hungry in many instances that I have had to resort to stealing just to get a meal. I even remember this one time, have done my fair share of “dine and dash” when I’ve been starved, but the most embarrassing thing I can remember was actually being caught and arrested for running out of a Shyness restaurant while a sheriff was pulling into the restaurant.
It was so embarrassing to be arrested that way. I even remember my cousin telling me I was “Cutting my teeth”, but in the end I guess it really wasn’t so bad seeing as I got somewhere to lay my head that night and a couple of free meals out of the deal as sad as that sounds. While I might make light of it now when looking back; The truth of it is that this is a sad reality for millions of people out there. Many times when we are younger we take a lot of things for granted, and one of those things I’m willing to bet something nearly everyone has taken for granted at some point is the food we had put on our table as a child… Even if it was omitting we had to eat all too often or didn’t like. Many people have taken it for granted. Another very sad and unfortunate effect of poverty is the fact that it leaves so many people homeless. Its something very unfortunate, but sadly many people out there have to worry on a daily basis where they will have to lay their or their children’s head at night. Cannot speak for anyone else, but I can say it is something that is neither fun nor easy to have to live with.
I spent about 2 years of my life either hopping from couch to couch, in a motel, and sometimes in a tent or squatting simply because could not afford morpheme to lay my head and call home. I have spent many of nights camped out in the freezing cold in a tent because I had nowhere else to go. I can even recall several times having to squat in old abandoned houses when left with no other choice, often times waking only to be chased off by the police. This was due solely to the lack of having the money to afford rent or a hotel room for the night. just as all else I’ve talked about, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on no one, it’s a hard thing to have to deal with and It’s really just no way to live at all. While I do realize that some people have been forced into this unfortunate situation at some point in time or another, and probably more than I even realize, I know the vast majority of society has never had to worry about where, if at anywhere, they had to lay their head for the night. But there are the select few, who have come from nothing, and never had nothing their whole lives who have been forced to deal with the predicament they were dealt.
Another sad aspect that comes along with living in poverty is the criminal activity that comes along with it when people feel they have been shed up against the wall. I think it’s a terrible choice and I have no intent to glorify or take up for it or endorse it in any way, but that’s not what I’m here to discuss, my intent is to focus on the hardships that comes along with it that we have to deal and live with. As I have mentioned earlier people all have to do what they have to do at certain times in their lives to survive, even if that means turning to crime just to feed their family, and in many cases that’s exactly what it comes to.
I am not a saint nor have I or will I ever claim to be. But that’s not only me. I know I’m not the only one to sing this song. Have known many to walk in those same shoes and there will always be more because when it comes down to it; its all about survival and that is something I believe is bred into us, so when it comes to it, we will do what we have to. When it comes down to feeding our own or letting them go hungry, people do what they must to make sure their family can make it. Where I grew up, most of us were dirt poor and had to do whatever we had to do to eat or put clothes on our back.
If that meant coming down to robbing, or stealing, then sees, if it was our last resort to put food on our family table, then yes we did what was necessary. I personally have spent more than a night or two in lockup due to being caught for a B & E, grand larceny, petty larceny, possession with intent, whatever it took to make sure my family didn’t go hungry. Yes I’ll admit, it may not be the best choice, but in the end, when it comes down to it, we all have to do what we have to do to eat. While yes, I’ve done my share of dirt, I know I’m not the only one, nor will be the last. I’m not trying to talk about me though.
I want to talk about the torment and suffering this brings on people. My best friend and my brother lost his life over this garbage. Because he had no other alternative at the time, no job, no education, he turned to dealing and robbing to feed his family. Due to that he lost his life… Shot over a robbery that really was not worth it. Can only speak for myself here, but I do not think a think a human life is worth only four thousand dollars. That was my best friend, my right hand, my brother and now he’s gone over the struggles and strife that come along with living in poverty.
All because he was trying to put food on his family’s table and it just isn’t right that we often times are pushed to this point. Take it from someone who has come from there, It’s nothing but trash and unjustified! This rise in criminal activity is not solely due to, but in a major way, is affected due to the poverty that lies in our communities, while some of it is due to pure ignorance and lack of discipline, some of us have been left with no choice but to do what we have to make sure there is food on the table at night.
It not only affects our society but as in some cases I’ve spoken on early, us and our families on a very personal level. To sum this up, poverty is one of the major banes of this society in which we live today. Along with it comes the torment and heartbreak of the struggles that come along with it. The pain of losing loved ones from suicide that comes with the depression of being poor. The starving people out there from the hunger, even small helpless children. The millions of people with nowhere to call home or even lay their head at night because they’re homeless.
The countless numbers of the masses who are some way affected by the rise in crime due to people just trying to get by but left with no other option. These are some of the most significant effects that come along with living in poverty. It is nothing pleasant at all, and would not wish it on another single soul in this world. I hope that hearing what have been through and dealt with would encourage people to do the same as have done. While most of it has been depressing and discouraging, it has given me one gift.