In the political game of shaping public opinion on poverty and the American welfare system, one of the most powerful tools that a warring faction can employ is the stereotype. A stereotype's power lies in two areas- it's fundamentally unfocused nature it cannot be proven, but more importantly, it cannot be absolutely refuted. The stereotype lingers like a rumor, and is trusted like a fact, despite it's lack of authentication. The only way one can separate the truth about the poor from the agenda-driven hearsay is to look at the real numbers surrounding the issue, and to contrast what those statistics say with current popular opinions. .
One of the most widespread, and thusly, effective, stereotypes of those on welfare is the public perception of the AFDC family. Since the rise of "family values" as a popular political issue, the families of the poor have been the target of the political right - both their single-mother based structure, and their primary motives for having children in the first place, are under scrutiny. Recent sentiment, especially from the right, has been that young, unmarried, and unprepared girls have children out of wedlock only to collect the welfare benefits. In War on the Poor, Rep. Roukema of New Jersey is quoted, "No other civilized nation in the world pays young girls to have babies. But that's what our system does." Statements like this insinuate several points- first, that welfare recipients are more likely to have more children than other families, and secondly, that this is part of a pre-meditated effort to make money. According to the conservative viewpoint, children are being robbed of the traditional American family experience, and their own families are essentially irresponsible, unhealthy, and most of all, illegitimate. .
Both War on the Poor and The Working Class Majority do a fine job of taking on this stereotype and it's many facets, citing precise statistics that speak louder than any unfocused generalization.
A Gathering of Old Men A Gathering of Old Men, by Ernest J. ... He has been killed in the yard of an old, black worker, named "Mathu". ... Mapes, is a white sheriff who traditionally deals with the black people by the use of intimidation and force, finds himself in a frustrating situation of having to deal with a group of old black men, each carrying a shotgun and each claiming that he shot Beau Boutan. ...
Gaines sets his book, A Gathering of Old Men, in the 70's on the sugarcane plantations of Louisiana. ... This story revolves around a young white woman, Candy, several older black men and the death of a Cajun, Beau, to whom they all confess to killing. ... The gathering of the men showed strength and determination to stand up finally after a lifetime of submission and suppression. ... They were able to bridge the gap between the ways of the old South to the ways of the new South. They do this by not backing down to Luke Will and his men and fighting for a voice and their freedom. ...
A Gathering of Old Men 1. ... The old men lingered at the graveyard so everyone could meet there. ... The cemetery represents a safe haven for all the old men. ... The only thing that Mapes is guilty of is hitting the old men. ... It's a fight between Luke Will, his boys, and all the old men. ...
A Gathering of Old Men 1. ... The old men lingered at the graveyard so everyone could meet there. ... The cemetery represents a safe haven for all the old men. ... The only thing that Mapes is guilty of is hitting the old men. ... It's a fight between Luke Will, his boys, and all the old men. ...
In the novel A Gathering of Old Men, Ernest J. ... The story illustrates two worlds, the inner world is the life in Marshall Quarters, the old black men and their family; the outer world being everything outside the Quarters, Fix, the Cajuns, and even the white people. ... Each of the old men tells a story of pain due to oppression by the white man. ... Candy refers to the old black men as her people, "I will protect my people" (19). ... When the black men narrate they speak with bad English, for example, Chimley says "Now, I ain't even stepped in the house 'fore that old woman st...
A Gathering of Old Men "Answers" 1. ... They have some say, but the men disregard them and treat them as slaves. ... The women seem to just be there for the men's needs. 3. ... The scene of the old men lingering in the graveyard has several important meanings. ... But, I also think that he realized he was an old man, and going to fight without his boys was like going to war without guns. ...
Gathering Blue Essay- by Lois Lowry The book I read was called Gathering Blue. ... What she says goes basically cause everyone fears her, even men. ... As they got older, people would add a syllable to their names. ... Annabella was a white haired old woman and she was very smart. Then there was Jo, she was a small, young tyke as they explained it, and she was to be the next singer of their village when she got older. ...
When he was seventeen years old he broke his apprenticeship agreement with his brother and ran away (Eberle 19-25). ... Ben addressed the sayings to young men who were poor, much like he had been. ... He had previously organized a club of young men called the Junto. They met once a week to discuss papers that the men had prepared on something that they had a genuine interest in (Fleming 28-29). ... In London, during the years just before the American Revolution, Franklin was busy gathering support for the colonies through the British press (Donovan 101). ...
12 Angry Men Paper The jury member I chose to do my paper on was Mr. ... Davis used was gathering information. ... Davis was a leader was when the group was discussing evidence, like the knife and the old man's testimony. ... Davis used task messages such as initiating and gathering information, making him effective as a communicator. ...
In the book A Gathering of Old Men, a perfect example of somebody snapping is a fifty-year-old man named Charlie. ... All my natural-born black life I took the busing and never hit back,"(A Gathering of Old Men 189) meaning that 50 years of being maltreated provoked him to shoot Beau. ... (A Gathering of Old Men 190) Charlie always mentioning that he's a man, tells Mapes that "you don't talk to a man like that sheriff, not when he reach half hundred." ... Chimley said (Gathering of Old Men 31). ... Advice on how to be a man and men don't run. ...
