post 5 : the anything blog

 hello !! for this week, i found an interesting article called "why the 'victim mentality' argument upholds inequality" (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pulling-through/202304/why-the-victim-mentality-argument-upholds-inequality). this article describes and debunks the argument that poor people are poor because of their own choices and systemic barriers are just excuses for being lazy. this idea has always been present, but it really took off under the reagan administration; reagan replaced the "war on poverty" with the "war on drugs" and popularized the idea of "spillover economics" (when the rich get richer the poor also benefit) and the "welfare queen"; a black single mother who, according to reagan, would spend welfare money on frivolous things instead of providing for their children. this idea is rooted in racism and was just a way for reagan to further strip welfare from marginalized groups, but unfortunately, it is still prevalent as an argument against welfare. 

the "victim mentality" is similar to this idea; it states that when people believe that their poverty is due to systemic factors like racism, they don't work as hard because they have an external locus of control. the argument is that poor people will suffer from learned helplessness. however, this article explains that this argument is simply false. the idea of learned helplessness results from when someone actually TRIES to succeed and can't, proving that if poor people suffer from it there clearly is some sort of barrier to economic mobility. the article also points out that while the negative potential of welfare is still in question, its positive effects are undeniable; the article includes the quote: 

"I was a free lunch kid...I do not know whether free lunch made me work harder. I do not know whether free lunch improved my grades. I do not know whether free lunch improved my classroom behavior. What I know is that I was a hungry child and I was fed. —Veronica Peritte"

another answer to complaints of systemic inequality is "but what about the rags to riches stories!!" but these examples are the exception, not the rule. for every one person lifted out of poverty, dozens remain. rather than tell poor people they should try for a statistical unprobability, we should give support to make sure every person in poverty is able to succeed, not just a chosen few. the psychology of the victim mentality and locus of control is simply untrue, and psychology supports that people are happier when their needs are met.