What an interesting lecture

Today in Sociology we were discussing poverty and social stratification. The professor, who hates pink as a "stereotypically feminine" color yet seems to wear it on a not infrequent basis, asked us what could be done to solve the poverty problem. Oh boy, I thought to myself, because I already knew what the answers would include.

"All these poor people! Icky, icky, swarms of them! They make us so uncomfortable, because they make us ashamed of our greed and materialism and remind us that we have a duty to care about people besides ourselves! There are so many of them, and they need all those resources we want for ourselves. Like money, which we just have to have tons of ... To buy things with. Why, just this year, the government had to help a woman in the inner city put food in her children's mouths, when Uncle Sam could have been doing something worthwhile like buying my husband's Viagra! What is government for, if not to guarantee a satisfying sex life? But there these crowds of poor people are, demanding things like food and shelter. So, so unnerving. What to do about this rabble? I know! Sterilize them! Pour birth control down their throats! If they do conceive, abort their brats before they're born! A Planned Parenthood in every slum!"

That was pretty much the gist, although obviously no one was so crass as to put it in those words. The reason I could predict the response so well was because the mantra is always the same: Just enough of us rich, white, sleek and successful people. Too many of you poor, minority, sickly, suffering people.

We don't want to spend what's ours to help you ... So let's figure out how to make you go away.