Northwest Indiana Discussion

How can an individual with a six figure bank account walk pass a homeless person on the street who is soliciting for something to eat and not feel sorry?

The same way he felt when he shoved him off the ladder on his way up.


Dwight Taylor

Maybe he jumped off the ladder when he decided to drop out of high school or join a gang or take drugs, there is a little thing called personal responsibility.

Correct, there's a thing called personal responsibility. Perhaps for a medical, psychological or social reason, that individual's equalibrium didn't premit him or her to remain balanced on the ladder. Your assessment of the situation broadly insinuates that regardless of anyone's circumstances, they are responsible for their predicament. I am not making excuses for failure but everyone isn't capable of acheiving prosperity in this country.

Your implication that anyone who can't provide for themself is because they either dropped out of school, are on drugs or a gang member epitomizes the ideology of right wing conservatism.


Dwight Taylor

And your insinuation that anyone who does not achieve prosparity in this country is soley due to a mean person who made it in life is a typical liberal nanny government.

Maybe this will help.

How to Not Fail in Life

One of the big arguing points among liberals is "don't blame poor people for being poor," and I agree. But those four simple rules are not that difficult to follow. In fact, it pretty much takes acts of will to violate all four of them.

1) Graduate from high school. School attendance is mandatory until the age of 16, and free. Further, the law encourages kids to stay in school -- our labor laws are designed to encourage kids to stay in school and out of the work force until they are 18.

2) Don't have a baby out of wedlock. Again, this is one you gotta work at to violate. It's been about 2000 years since anyone just "woke up pregnant" -- itt's pretty well established what sorts of things lead to pregnancy, and the vast majority of pregnant women did those things willingly. Yes, there are exceptions, but those are very rare exceptions.

3) Don't get married as a teenager. This is an expansion of the above one. But it also reminds people that marriage is supposed to be forever, and that's a hell of a commitment to make before one is 20 years old. Even miliatary enlistments are only for a couple of years, and nobody in their right mind is gonna give a 20-year mortgage to a 19-year-old. Take a couple of years as an adult to establish yourself, find out just who and what you are, before making a lifetime commitment.

4) Don't get hooked on alcohol or drugs. Again, those are active choices. Nobody wakes up an alcoholic or a junkie; it takes a bit of work and effort to develop an addiction. In fact, teenagers have to violate the law to even get their hands on it, let alone regularly enough to develop a dependency.

Now, this is not a formula guaranteed for success. Even Will says that "poverty is minimal," acknowledging that it is there.

I should know. I'm a living example.

I followed all those rules without realizing it at the time. And I was born with some remarkable gifts and advantages. I've had numerous opportunities throughout my life, and I've let most of them pass me by. So I find myself now with some hefty debts, living paycheck to paycheck.

But I don't blame anyone but myself. I can look at precise moments in my life when I had a chance to do better, and for various and sundry reasons (the biggest being sheer laziness) they slipped through my fingers.


by Jay Tea

Your attempt to categorize all indigent people with violating your four rules of how not to fail in life is similar to saying all wealthy people are philanthropists. Because an individual has a large chunk of money, should he or she be considered a philantropist if they chooses not to contribute to humanity? Absolutely not! They may be in the category of the wealthy, but they are not philanthropists.

Because of conditions beyond the control of man, people are challenged with various uncontrollable circumstances. As I stated earlier, some may be mental, psychological or even physical. But for you to assume all indigent people are that way because of bad choices they made such as; dropping out or school, having a baby out of wedlock, getting married as a teenager or being a drug user is totally unfair to mentally challenged individuals, or individuals who are genetically connected to alcoholism or illegal drugs because of irresponsible parents.

The same applies to the equation of an individual who has nothing, and because of his or her indigence, they are presummed to had violated your four rules of how not to fail in life. They should not be categorized in such a way.

I guess the aggressive social climber who shoved the lad off the ladder acquired his wealth in accordance to your four rules of how not to fail in life.


Dwight Taylor

I guess you are still blaming those who do play by the rules, and get ahead in life, for the problems of those who violate the rules, and find themselves indigent.

Personal responsibility.

Because an individual isn't prosperous, in your book, that individual broke the rules. Your interpretation of reality is sadly warp.

God Bless you.


Dwight Taylor

Okay Mr dismissive, if someone fails, it because someone pushed them off of the ladder of success?

Gimmie a break!

The "Great Society" social programs of the Dem's in the 1960's were the worst thing to happen to the poor, it took away the incentive to work and climb the ladder.

Sometimes the hand that helps you up is really the hand that is holding you down.

Dire data on minorities expected, officials say

GARY: Group says education key to reversing trends

BY CARMEN McCOLLUM
carmenm@nwitimes.com
219.933.3318

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Friday, October 14, 2005 12:48 AM CDT


GARY | Minorities in Lake County have the highest incidence of teen pregnancies.

The top health problems that blacks face are high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity.

The major barrier to better health care is lack of money or insurance.

Worse, 79 percent of residents age 16 or older who live in Gary read at a fourth-grade level, not just a barrier to better health care but also to living a more productive life.

There are similar concerns in the Hispanic community.

Blacks and Hispanics suffer with low birth weight deliveries, preteen births, pregnancy complications and deliveries by Caesarean section. Blacks tend to seek medical care later and need to be better educated on how to cook healthier, more nutritious foods. And exercise is critical.

Those were some of the highlights of a Health Needs Assessment Study of the Minority Population in Lake County presented Thursday night at Gary City Hall.

The study was sponsored by the Indianapolis-based Indiana Minority Health Coalition, which began researching health issues for four groups -- American Indians/Alaskan native, Asian/Pacific Islanders, blacks/African Americans and Hispanics -- more than a year ago. The group will travel to 29 Indiana counties where there is a high population of minorities during the next several months and present findings specific to those counties.

While the statistics were shocking, state Sen. Earline Rogers and Ida Parker, director of health and human services for Gary, said they were not startled.

They said it was expected.

Parker said young women are not learning from their grandmothers and great-grandmothers.

"Young women are teenage mothers and single mothers," Parker said. "It takes a village of grandmothers and great-grandmothers to raise a child. Grandmothers have a story to tell."

Rogers said it's critical to take the data and find solutions.

As a retired teacher, she also said the number of people who are unable to read beyond the fourth-grade level is saddening.

Your continous attempt to equate my observation of conditions in America with your so called statistics concerning African Americans represents my initial theory. Not one time did I mention African Americans.

Your racist views protrude through every sentence you submit. Regardless how hard you try to conceal your true colors, they prevail in every statement you make.

Because you compiled some data from an individual, that is suppose to corroborate your insidious theory? How sad.

I wish you and your republican counterparts much luck come election time. The few of you left will most likely vote democratic. Your Commander-in-Chief failed you miserably.


Dwight Taylor

Don't need any luck as long as the Dem Party is void of ideas.

Nice try with playing the race card, the article is about education levels.

Typical.

Your summation of the Democratic Party being void of ideas is reciprocated with the failure of the Republican Party. The more you try to elude reality, the more confident I am concerning the future of America, with the exclusion of your ideology of course.


Dwight Taylor

Let your girls dance to that!


Dwight Taylor

Dancing on the grave of the democratic party

Without a democracy, what do you recommend for our decision making process for government?