Why doesn't she leave him?
The night is still. but suddenly, there is a loud crash from next door. voices are raised in anger. sounds of a struggle, followed by what sounds like a woman crying. It happens. It happens often down this street, and it has been coming from that house a lot lately.
Yeah, she hides the bruises under make up and does not advertise the fact that her husband beats her - so why doesn't she leave?
"I know I would if my husband beat me" says Jane. but Jane has been to college, she has a job , and money in the bank. if she left tommorrow to live in NYC or anywhere else, she could put up money up front, no big deal.
She could get a job, because she has got marketable skills, such as come from having a good education.
Jo, OTOH, is someone who did not go to college. she has no marketable skills, she is economically dependent on her partner. She has savings, maybe , but cant afford to travel far, and can't afford to pay much rent. And who will look after the kids?
This was the position my mother was in while I was growing up. I don't talk about poverty and domestic violence from what I learned in textbooks, I talk from lifetime's experience. before we talk about what the poor ought to be doing and how they "can help themselves", we need to understand how it is for them , not how it is for us.
We need to be questioning our own assumptions, be ready to challenge the assumptions of others and even of each other when we see the need.
I have worked as a group leader in Al anon. I have seen what poverty and alcohol abuse do to people who don't even drink. i hope that as a community we can come together, share our expereinces and knowledge and make a difference in the wider world.
people will no doubt say that this is not about class, it's about domestic violence and should not be here.
well I learned a new word last night.
Intersectionality.
the problems of the poor are not just lack of money. lack of money causes other problems too - around self esteem , around womens rights, racial oppression and even domestic violence. poverty sucks and ougth to be eliminated.
World wide, poverty affect women more than men , POC's more than whites. I will defend each claim with statistics if i have to, but this is the short version. we can unpack in comments later.
we must understand what we are up against, but we must not assume that because poverty has been with us so far, then it is inevitably going to stay. we can tackle it and eliminate it, nationally and globall if we choose.
i am off to work now, and I hope to explain further in comments tonight. i will also talk about poverty and possible solutions in future posts, God and the mods willing.
Yeah, she hides the bruises under make up and does not advertise the fact that her husband beats her - so why doesn't she leave?
"I know I would if my husband beat me" says Jane. but Jane has been to college, she has a job , and money in the bank. if she left tommorrow to live in NYC or anywhere else, she could put up money up front, no big deal.
She could get a job, because she has got marketable skills, such as come from having a good education.
Jo, OTOH, is someone who did not go to college. she has no marketable skills, she is economically dependent on her partner. She has savings, maybe , but cant afford to travel far, and can't afford to pay much rent. And who will look after the kids?
This was the position my mother was in while I was growing up. I don't talk about poverty and domestic violence from what I learned in textbooks, I talk from lifetime's experience. before we talk about what the poor ought to be doing and how they "can help themselves", we need to understand how it is for them , not how it is for us.
We need to be questioning our own assumptions, be ready to challenge the assumptions of others and even of each other when we see the need.
I have worked as a group leader in Al anon. I have seen what poverty and alcohol abuse do to people who don't even drink. i hope that as a community we can come together, share our expereinces and knowledge and make a difference in the wider world.
people will no doubt say that this is not about class, it's about domestic violence and should not be here.
well I learned a new word last night.
Intersectionality.
the problems of the poor are not just lack of money. lack of money causes other problems too - around self esteem , around womens rights, racial oppression and even domestic violence. poverty sucks and ougth to be eliminated.
World wide, poverty affect women more than men , POC's more than whites. I will defend each claim with statistics if i have to, but this is the short version. we can unpack in comments later.
we must understand what we are up against, but we must not assume that because poverty has been with us so far, then it is inevitably going to stay. we can tackle it and eliminate it, nationally and globall if we choose.
i am off to work now, and I hope to explain further in comments tonight. i will also talk about poverty and possible solutions in future posts, God and the mods willing.