The Stereotypes Of Poverty In The Documentary By Linda Midgett

812 Words2 Pages

One of the most prevalent social problems in America, which also carries the most social stigma, is poverty. The documentary “The Line”, which was produced by Linda Midgett, discusses this issue and reveals that many people who live in poverty work incredibly hard to escape the vicious cycle. The fact of the matter is that no one chooses to live in poverty. Some people work two or three jobs to try and support their family, but still struggle paycheck to paycheck. Approximately “46 million Americans live in poverty” (The Line). This is a staggering statistic which should force people to open their eyes, and realize that people in poverty are not all addicts. They are not all people who have made bad choices. Many of them are hardworking people, who want …show more content…

The documentary states that “some of the most prevalent and damaging stereotypes about poor people are that they are lazy, that they are stupid, they don’t have any skills, [and that they] prefer poverty” (The Line). In reality, more than 7 million Americans work two or more jobs in order to provide for their families. This social stigma is a roadblock that stands directly in the way of solving this social problem. If people realized how hard those that live below the poverty line work in order to survive, poverty itself could be eradicated. There is no way a human being could see how difficult these people’s lives are, and not want to help them. If everyone rallied around this one idea of eliminating this problem, then it could easily be done. There is no reason that we, as the nation known for spending the most money, should also have the “third highest poverty rates among developed nations”. As a nation who often feels the need to police the rest of the world, we need to put more resources into helping people in our own country, rather than interfering in the affairs of other nations. That is the purpose of the United

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