fullpraxisnow:

After a particularly exhausting (read annoying) conversation with an old friend, I can’t help but have a few reflections on the idea of laziness as it has been used to describe poor people. Besides the fact that the way it has been crafted and wielded is historically ableist and racist, when it does comes up the rationale of its proponents never holds water anyway. 

Defined on its own terms it falls flat on its face.

“Laziness: unwilling to work or use energy.”

Which requires less work and energy: Able-bodied people of some financial means writing a check for charity, or the most vulnerable people in society building alternative systems of support and mutual aid with/for each other with virtually no safety net?

Which requires less work and energy: Accepting the spoonfed, carefully curated narrative of mainstream media with little to no resistance, or opting to dig deeper than soundbites and holding the complexity of how oppression impacts groups and individuals?

Which requires less work and energy: Resigning oneself to the idea that swaths of people choose not to work and prefer a meager food stipend, or breaking down the myths about poverty and poor people created by a system which benefits from exploitation?

Which requires less work and energy: Writing people off because they aren’t as “successful” as you are, or contextualizing individuals’ life stories, their challenges, caring about them, and mobilizing resources to help them reach their fullest potential?

Which requires less work and energy: Following the pre-scripted path of every temporarily embarrassed millionaire (get rich or die trying), or forgoing fortune, risking financial and emotional instability, risking health and life for the possibility of an equitable world?

Seems like a no brainer to me. Fuck anybody who says poor people are lazy and aren’t out here trying. If you’re so insulated that you can’t see people struggling to escape poverty, you’re the problem. Get off your ass and help or do the rest of us a favor and shut the fuck up.