Image Of Poverty In America

Poverty affects multiple people all across the world. No one person, age group, race, or country is an exception to poverty. Not even the United States of America, the country in which people seek the American Dream is an exception to poverty. According to the United States Census Bureau approximately 46.7 million people were affected by poverty in 2014 (DeNavas-Walt and Procter). The image of poverty in America is discussed in an extract of David Simon’s speech “There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show,” and Gloria Watkins, known as Bell Hooks, selection from Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations. The image of poverty can be seen in different lights, from a political and economical viewpoint as well as in a stereotypical …show more content…
The speech David Simon gave in 2013 discussed how America has been divided essentially into two separate places. He discusses the image of poverty through a political and economical perspective. America is not solely based on capitalism or Marxism. It is a game of tug-a-war with capitalism dominating America over Marxism, within the end of the 20th century (Simon). But the politics do not end with only capitalism or only Marxism; labor, unions, socialism and libertarianism became involved in the American society. How exactly does this create an image of poverty? How is it an image of poverty? Simon focuses on the “great society,” that nobody wins the argument at hand; its give and take, win and lose. It is not give or take, win or lose (Simon). This free-market, capitalism, at the end of the 20th century brought about the “great society,” or “the American century” (Simon). Society was able to not only supply money for the necessary but also supply money for the wants. This created greed, but neither America, nor any country is the “great …show more content…
They had a higher unemployment, and addiction rate and were provided with a poor education (Simon). Poverty was stereotyped. It was seen as those of color were the only ones affected. Bell Hooks further argues the stereotypes of poverty. Those in poverty were seen as “shiftless, mindless, lazy, dishonest, and unworthy” (Hooks 433). It was, and still is, seen in a negative perspective. Hooks personally discusses the feeling of being seen as poor, in poverty; compared to others who were rich or those who had extra money after taking care of the necessaries (432). Society was divided among classes, rather than being split into two it was split into four. People were judging others based upon income, and income only. Those who were of little to no money were seen as worthless, as Simon stated in his speech humans were becoming worth less beings; worth was based primarily on the material (Hooks 434; Simon). These stereotypes of those in poverty forever marked them. People did not want to admit to being poor, “fear of shame-based humiliation” (Hooks