Someone experiencing poverty did, indeed, write a blog about what it is like. This post was originally written in October and has since gone viral, especially around Thanksgiving when everyone was focused on hunger and the people who couldn't get enough to eat. Read the post. It's pretty amazing.
Since the original post, there has been a generous outpouring of generosity from friends and complete strangers. The author raised as much money as she typically makes in a year and has been encouraged to write. Read her blog!
Hers is a crucial voice for our day. We need to hear her story and learn from her experiences.
The thing is, and she says this herself, she is not unique. There are hundreds and thousands of people in this country today who experience the kinds of things that she experiences. They have not received an outpouring of generosity to bring them out of poverty. Instead, they had their food stamp benefits cut and their unemployment benefits taken away.
It's easy to think of faceless masses of poor people and imagine the causes of their continuing poverty. When we hear one voice like this one we think she is the exception - after all, she is poor by no fault of her own!
When we read her experience, we are filled with compassion and want to help her. That's a great thing!
When we hear of the growing number of food stamp recipients, it's a different conversation. Why should we help them? They are racking up the deficit in this country. It's their fault our country is in such a financial mess.
Let's follow this blog! Let's listen to her voice. She has already written significantly on privilege and the ways that her race has impacted the response she has received. She has much more to say, and I want to be a part of the movement she is creating.
As we listen to her, let's also see her experience as the rule rather than the exception. Let's pour out the same generosity and compassion to all people who are poor right now. Odds are, they are just like her in many ways.