Although “The Logic of Stupid Poor People” and “The Money”
had different views about money, they were both similar in being poor and how
money affected their lives. Tressie McMillan Cottom viewed money as the objects
a person had or how fancy someone clothes were. She saw this as an issue
because she had half a PhD but that didn’t matter if she didn’t have a
relatively expensive suit on that projected her to not be poor. This is where
the image business appearance is important. The author is African American, which
gives her a different perspective than if the writer was white and poor. She
was told “I was not a typical black or a typical woman, two identities that in
combination are almost conflated with being poor.” This is a stereotype that
people often believe that African Americans are poor. It also shows a
stereotype that women are not as smart as men, which she shows is not true
because Cottom has a very high level of education but came from a poor
community. This is similar to Junot Diaz experience. In his article, “The Money,”
he grew up in a very poor community that had many break-ins that were not
reported. The family didn’t have a steady job to support five children and
provide money to the grandparents back in Santo Domingo. Unlike Cottom, Diaz
found the value of a dollar very important, no matter the appearance of
oneself. The amount of money one person has can change a person’s life: to
provide more food, to provide better clothing, etc. When his mothers money got
stolen, he did everything he could to get it back, and when he did, he had
trouble deciding whether or not to give it back to his mom or not. Two hundred
dollars would give him more books and he would be rich, but that money was originally
planned to be given to his grandparents and he ultimately made the right
decision, even if it didn’t help his lifestyle.
I can agree with Cottom that most people are judged by their
appearance and Cottom believes “you change the condition of your not-poor status,
you change everything you know as a result of being a not-poor.” This means
that if someone wears an expensive suit to a interview, the employer may assume
you have more than just your suit, which can help you get a job. Diaz mentioned
that the person who stole his money “had a ton of stuff in their apartment, a
TV in every room” so stealing the money back from his friend would not affect the
way he lived compared to his Diaz’s family was hurt economically when the money
was stolen in the first place. Even though the two hundred dollars wasn’t
helping Diaz, it certainly made a change to his grandparents which prodivded
meals with meat and provided electricity.
I honestly feel like some poor people think better logically when it comes to spending money because they have minimal amount so they know when something is worth the money, and when something isn’t worth it. Not saying this goes for all though, you then have those who may get ahold of a little money and blow on something completely unnecessary, then wish that they hadn’t after. In which Tressie McMillan gave a very good description of. For example, she says “First, they insist on being poor when it is so easy to not be poor. They do things like buy expensive designer belts and $2,500 luxury handbags.” How can you expect to have any money for things that are important/necessary when you are blowing money on things that you can go without? I highly doubt someone will die if they don’t go get the latest pair of Jordan’s, but I’m almost positive that they will die of starvation. Now Junot Diaz gave a different perspective sort of similar to what I was speaking on in the very beginning. He says, “She chipped dollars off from the cash Papi gave her for our daily expenses, forced our already broke family ton live even broker.” Obviously, his mother was very conscious and conservative of her money. Also he says that she didn’t let them eat Mc Donald’s all the time, which shows that even with the money things that are not necessary are not required. I know that sounds a little weird when you put it like that but I’m sure you get what I’m saying. I actually felt more on the “Money” article by Junot Diaz, I feel that I can relate a lot more with him, although I do understand the viewpoint of McMillan in “The Logic Of stupid Poor People”.
ReplyDelete“Why do poor people make stupid, illogical decisions to buy status symbols? For the same reason all but only the most wealthy buy status symbols, I suppose. We want to belong.” I can relate to this statement made by Cottom. In society everyone wants to feel accepted and sometimes it takes buying the nicer suit to win over your potential employer in a job interview, which actually happened to Cottom. Although this statement can be true sometimes, it’s an alternate lifestyle to the one Junot Diaz lived growing up in his poor Jersey neighborhood. Instead of buying status symbols of any sort, his mother saved every penny she could in order to send money back to her family in the Dominican. “Hard times or not she made it happen.” Diaz explains. His mother had no other want then to make sure her parents were properly cared for even if it meant sacrificing things for her own children, “… forced our already broke family to live even broker.” I agree that there are certain times when it is acceptable to splurge on something (an important interview for example), but I agree more with Diaz’s family. I am a firm believer that one should not spend money they don’t have because in the long run saving your money will do you more good than buying that designer belt.
ReplyDeleteIn both "The Logic of Stupid Poor People" and "The Money" the dollar is very important. To each person the value of having things such as money is different. In Diaz essay he says this, "But my mother would rather have died than not send money back home to my grandparent in Santo Domingo." To his mother the act of sending money to her parents was very important to her. Even though her family could not understand why she would take money away from them to give to other people that little amount of money she took meant life or death to her parents. In Cottoms' essay she describes how African Americans and women are viewed when it comes to getting a job. "A girl wearing a cotton tank top as a shell was incompatible with BMW-driving VPs in the image business." I believe Cottom was trying to give an example why some poor people waste their money on material things. Like this looking nice on the outside or having a nice shell as Cottom would describe it can mean the difference whether you get the job you want or the promotion. I agree i have grown up being told to be presentable when going in for an interview whether it be a job at a fast food place or at a department. The way we present ourselves makes a difference so the importance of money to poor people depends on the person and their situation.
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