ozarque ([info]ozarque) wrote,
@ 2007-08-15 08:53:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Linguistics; political language; political storytelling....
The Tale Of The Wicked Welfare Queen


Generic Version

"You know what really gets to me? Makes my blood boil? I work like a dog, just trying to keep a roof over my family's head and food on our table, and I pay every last damn penny of my taxes! And what does the government do with my money? Hey... let me tell you what they do with it! They give it to a Welfare Queen that drives around in a fancy pink Cadillac, and wears a mink coat, and has $150,000.00 in her bank account.... You know what's in my bank account? Maybe enough to pay my phone bill, if I'm lucky! And you know why that is? It's because most of my money, what I make working my tail off every single day, goes to the damn Welfare Queens!"


Politician's Version

"You know what really gets to people? Makes their blood boil? You work like a dog, just trying to keep a roof over your family's head and food on your table, and you pay every last penny of your taxes! And what does this administration do with your money? Hey... let me tell you what they do with it! They give it to a Welfare Queen that drives around in a fancy pink Cadillac, and wears a mink coat, and has $150,000.00 in her bank account.... And all the time she's lying around her swimming pool eating chocolates and getting a nice tan, you know what's in your bank account? Maybe enough to pay your phone bill, if you're lucky! If this administration has had the decency to let you keep that much of your own money! And you know why that is? It's because most of your money, the money you make working your tail off every single day, goes to the damn Welfare Queens!"


Dialogue Version

X: "You know what really gets to me? Makes my blood boil? I work like a dog, just trying to keep a roof over my family's head and food on our table, and I pay every last damn penny of my taxes! And what does the government do with my money? Hey... let me tell you what they do with it! They give it to a Welfare Queen that drives around in a fancy pink Cadillac, and wears a mink coat, and has $150,000.00 in her bank account.... You know what's in my bank account? Maybe enough to pay my phone bill, if I'm lucky! And you know why that is? It's because most of my money, what I make working my tail off every single day, goes to the damn Welfare Queens!"

Y: "OH, yeah! You've got that right! I had one of those living maybe two blocks away from me when I was living in St. Louis! Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, you know? Always whining about how she didn't have any milk for her kids, and then BANG!, she'd have another baby, right? And when--"

Z: "Hey, you think that's bad! Let me tell you about the no-good family of leeches that lived next door to me in Houston! They got food stamps, they got welfare, they got Medicaid, they got--"

......

[and so on]

(Post a new comment)


[info]idiotgrrl
2007-08-15 02:35 pm UTC (link)
The worst of it is, that everyone who is or has ever been poor has seen the contrast between the people who are trying, the hopelessly disabled one way or the other, and the just plain trash. And at that level it is hard to tell some of the mental and neurological disabilities from character flaws. i.e.

"Depressed, huh? She's just plain lazy, won't get out of bed and get off her ass and clean house...."

It's not the rich so much who are down on the poor, though they can be incredibly snotty about po' folks in general, it's the ones on the bottom.

And on the contrary there's the "Who does she think SHE is, studying and dressing neat and sucking up to The Man and not getting pregnant like the rest of us....?" which when that's said male-about-female can lead to some extremely nasty Steps Being Taken against her. (Boys just get beaten up. Girl-on-girl aggression ditto. Boy-on-girl action ... how many girls are about to risk that?)

Bill Cosby is starting to make a dent in some of this, to the extent that anyone listens to a Mister Rogers-type figure.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]kmd
2007-08-15 02:49 pm UTC (link)
Bill Cosby is starting to make a dent in some of this,

He is? Could you point me to somewhere that I could read some of what he has said or written that is a counter-narrative to the Welfare Queen tale that [info]ozarque so perfectly captured?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

[info]idiotgrrl
2007-08-15 02:58 pm UTC (link)
Basically he's picked up the story, acknowledged it, and THEN said "We can fix this! We can turn it around! Here's how!"

Now, this doesn't play into the usual political narrative of our side, which all too often has its head stuck in an earlier age, but it plays into a story I've seen developing on both left and right, which amounts to "Si, se puede!" (a slogan I've seen around here some.) It's a story of grassroots action individual and collective and a huge part of the story is "our masters have failed us, but we won't fail you!"

Now, there are still people who think the story "Our masters have failed us" is a right wing position. Not these days! It's as left as left can be for the current generation.

Okay - now let's parse the general genre of this story. It starts with our enemies saying with contempt "You miserable sinners, you!"

And we answer -
1) Yes, you're right, we have sinned.
2) We can do better. Here's what we'll do.
3) By God, we'll do it!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]kmd, 2007-08-15 03:28 pm UTC (Expand)
Response to kmd... - [info]ozarque, 2007-08-15 04:09 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]kelsied, 2007-08-15 05:02 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]idiotgrrl, 2007-08-15 06:21 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]kmd, 2007-08-16 11:59 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]bemusedoutsider, 2007-08-15 10:45 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]kmd, 2007-08-16 11:47 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]bemusedoutsider, 2007-08-16 11:55 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]ethesis
2007-08-16 12:12 pm UTC (link)
The narrative it made me think of was the "rotten politician" ... here I am, I work like a dog and that guy is passing earmarks and sending welfare payments to his fat cat friends, draining the tax money like a drunken uncle on a spree with the rent money ...

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 02:16 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]ethesis, 2007-08-16 06:26 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]haikujaguar
2007-08-15 03:05 pm UTC (link)
I love hearing Bill Cosby talk on this subject.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]archangelbeth
2007-08-15 02:37 pm UTC (link)
*mutters darkly that the easiest solution would be to have enough money to throw at it that the statistical anomalies... don't matter, to anyone*

My one mental hiccup is that pink caddies are Mary Kay saleswomen, not Welfare Queens, in my mind.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]voxwoman
2007-08-15 04:33 pm UTC (link)
Or they are OLD Pink Caddies, that maybe cost 2,000 dollars to own, but much more to keep gassed up...

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

[info]almeda
2007-08-15 08:30 pm UTC (link)
One of the current loopholes being actively exploited by fraudulent welfare-collectors in my neighborhood -- invariably males with entirely illegal income-sources, btw, not women with kids -- is that you're not allowed to get (certain?) benefits AND have a car that is newer than X many years.

So all the bangers and dealers buy 1980s cars and then spend 10K tricking them out with custom paint, rims, tires, lights, spinnies, weird glass, pinstripes, big brand new sporty engines, etc ... but the TITLE says it's an old car, so they're allowed to own it and still get their food stamps and income support. Despite the fact that many of them clear well over $50K/yr in money they're not telling the IRS about.

It's interesting how many aspects of 'ghetto' culture come from exploring loopholes of one kind or another in societal expectations. The 'Hoopty' (meaning a big boxy 80s-or-older car, gangsta'ed up to the nines as a status symbol) is only one.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

(Anonymous)
2007-08-16 01:44 pm UTC (link)
My mental hiccup is the welfare queen sitting by the pool getting a tan - because all the versions I have heard have made the welfare queen African-American, just to add some racism.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(Anonymous)
2007-08-16 02:10 pm UTC (link)
(Michael Farris)

Some versions, not all. Often no specific ethnic information is given (or purposely withheld or changed to fit the circumstances). If the hearer who objects to this story says anything about the Welfare Queen is black, then they get to be called racist by the teller of the story who is _shocked_ that you could make such an inference...

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]almeda
2007-08-16 02:18 pm UTC (link)
Didn't you know that only black people whose parents were themselves raised on welfare (by grandmothers, since their OWN parents were also absentee) are welfare recipients?

Good folk, white or black, whose parents worked for a living, NEVER end up on WELfare ...

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]torapines
2007-08-15 03:40 pm UTC (link)
This is particularly timely as I was just involved in a conversation this weekend where we discussed some of the reasons you might see someone driving flashy cars, wearing flashy clothes, etc., but living in what you see as a poor neighborhood and/or a very poor home. In some cases (not all, of course - I think we can all recognize anecdotal evidence v. generalizations, yes?) there is a cultural history of not being able to get the credit needed to purchase a home, and so an individual might be able to save enough to buy a brand new car for cash, but not be allowed to use that cash to make a down payment on a house, because they couldn't get a mortgage. So, custom developed to show wealth through all-cash-purchasable items, from cars to clothes... In some cases, far enough back, some people couldn't even start a savings account (let alone get the bank to lend them money); in others, there was no one to provide education on the way the system works, and how to start a savings account, or (over time) turn that hard-earned cash into less tangible, but possibly more enduring investments. I long for the day I hear a pop song where the artist brags on their 401(k) and the college-tuition savings plan they've set up for their kids.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
Response to torapines...
[info]ozarque
2007-08-17 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for posting this. What horrifies me most is the new custom of young people showing their wealth by spending money on a coffin and plot and pre-paid funeral, the way they once would have spent it on a wedding, because they have no expectation of living beyond their early twenties.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)
funerals for 20-somethings?
[info]bemusedoutsider
2007-08-17 06:58 pm UTC (link)
What horrifies me most is the new custom of young people showing their wealth by spending money on a coffin and plot and pre-paid funeral, the way they once would have spent it on a wedding, because they have no expectation of living beyond their early twenties.

Good grief. First I've heard of that. Who do they expect to be around to bury them?

If they've got that much money to waste, let's tax THEM! :-)




(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]starcat_jewel
2007-08-15 04:08 pm UTC (link)
When I hear people talking about "welfare Cadillacs," the first thought that comes to my mind is, "how old was that Caddy?" Because a used Cadillac is likely to be somewhat more reliable than a lot of other used cars at the same age without costing significantly more, and therefore makes sense for someone without much cash to buy. Just because someone is driving a Cadillac doesn't mean they bought it brand-new off the showroom floor, y'know.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]voxwoman
2007-08-15 04:35 pm UTC (link)
Plus, old cars are less likely to be vandalized for parts, and are made of METAL and not plastic and are more massive and have better survival in accidents.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

[info]writerwench
2007-08-15 05:09 pm UTC (link)
Very true. I deliberately chose the most basic, reliable, mechanical-not-electronic car I could find as my daily vehicle. I've even left it unlocked (by accident) and returned to find it untouched.

In New Zealand, the home of really old, cherished cars, a used BMW will chug on for 20 years or more as a country/farm car because it was well made in the first place.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]indefatigable42, 2007-08-15 10:35 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]aenodia
2007-08-15 08:18 pm UTC (link)
It's aggravating that countering the myth of the Welfare Queen with facts does nothing to change peoples beliefs. The majority of our tax dollars do not go to the public welfare system. It must take 20 stories of how public assistance helped people survive and get back on their feet to counter one anecdotal story of fraud. Most of the rhetoric about poor people is thinly disguised racism and sexism.

About 80% of people in the US will be poor at some point in their lifetime and still don't believe that poverty can happen to them. One illness, one divorce, one death in the family, one job loss and you too can be without resources.

I don't want to pass on the story about "Welfare Queens." I think we should give the story a burial. We need to work on affirming stories of taking care of our neighbor.

(Reply to this)(Thread)
Response to aenodia...
[info]ozarque
2007-08-15 09:41 pm UTC (link)
I agree with you -- I don't want to perpetuate that story either; that's not why I've spent so much time and space on it. I've given it all that time because I think it's critical for those of us who intensely disagree with it to understand what is it about that story, and about the way in which it's structured and the way it's presented, that makes it so effective. I want to dissect it until I find out how to reverse engineer it for good causes.

I agree with you -- it's aggravating that providing facts that prove the Welfare Queen story false doesn't change attitudes -- but being aggravated doesn't change attitudes either.

If somebody would point me to an equally effective story that is positive and that has taking care of our neighbor as its central message I would switch to that one instantly. It's an old problem in every kind of literature; it's so much easier to make Evil glamorous than it is to make Good glamorous.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)
Re: Response to aenodia...
[info]indefatigable42
2007-08-15 10:45 pm UTC (link)
The story is effective because it hits where it hurts. Everyone in a capitalist culture, no matter how much money they have, wishes they had more and didn't have to work so hard for it and give so much of it to the government. Who's the villain in that story? Someone who doesn't do any work but still gets enough to live on and even have luxuries.

A story that incites hatred is always going to be more effective than one that incites sharing and cooperation, I think. It's aimed right at the heart of a very ancient us-vs.-them mentality, which itself doesn't serve any useful purpose except preserving one's own genes at the expense of someone else's.

The most positive story I can think of, if I had to make one up, would be of someone who has disabilities that prevent them from working but are capable of doing other good things on their own time. I know people in that kind of situation who create wonderful art, who do charity work, and who are just damn good people that the world would be worse off without. I can see what they've done for the world so far, just on their own dreams and desires, and wish they could have free rein to do more. Just because they aren't 'working' doesn't mean they're not contributing to the world.

(Reply to this)(Parent)
Re: Response to aenodia... - (Anonymous), 2007-08-16 12:36 am UTC (Expand)
Re: Response to aenodia... - [info]aenodia, 2007-08-18 07:06 am UTC (Expand)

[info]bemusedoutsider
2007-08-16 05:12 pm UTC (link)
;; The majority of our tax dollars do not go to the public welfare system. ;;

In that case, maybe we should be talking about where the tax dollars DO go. Even positive stories about the welfare system may reinforce the idea that it's a signifant expense. If that's a straw man, let's say so.

Hm, how about an urban legend story about someone who filled his own front yard with replicas of what his tax money was really being spent for (or someone actually DO it).

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]idiotgrrl
2007-08-16 02:18 pm UTC (link)
I can't speak for the welfare queen, but I remember an NPR story on homelessness, out of some Northern city like Minneapolis. They decided to see exactly what the problems were and how they could be best tackled and found that the old 80-20 rule actually held. That is:

For 80-90% of the homeless, the condition was temporary and caused by a nasty run of bad luck. For them the usual net of services - shelter, job sites, etc -worked. The rest of them had chronic ongoing problems such as disabilities, mental problems, or addictions - and a lot of overlap there as they used drugs and alcohol to self-medicate the other problems.

Then it occurred to someone to try an experiment - let's start by getting the homeless a permanent address and a roof over their head. That is, a room somewhere. Then the services could be delivered more efficiently. And so it proved. Not that the idea has trickled down very far, except that Albuquerque does have an old motel which is now a Veteran's Center.

Anyway, here's your counter-story: "A hand up, not a handout." Or "pay it forward."

Story line: oh, blast, it's been done - as a movie - the Pursuit of Happyness. The only problem with that is the guy's triumph does not translate because nobody in their right mind would have taken the wild gamble he did. But that's the theme we want to hit, the people who only needed a room and a hand up and who ended up paying it forward.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]almeda
2007-08-16 02:23 pm UTC (link)
There's a lot of good info on that side of the equation ... and still, most 'give a room to the homeless' programs throw them out the first time they show positive on a drug test, or (vamp till ready).

I forget where it is -- the same place talked about in your NPR story, perhaps? -- but somewhere tried a program along the lines of, "Ok, you're homeless. Fine. We'll give you a room to live in -- comes with cleaning staff and two meals a day in the commissary. All you have to do is live there and be willing to take services from us." Yes, some of them kept drugging -- for a while. Some for a long while. But every single one of them also started taking continuing-education classes, going on job interviews, helping out in the soup kitchen, or other 'bettering' or 'work' activities -- sometimes while still shooting heroin every day, until they could face rehab.

It is deucedly hard getting employment of ANY kind if you don't have an address at which you can receive mail. It's even worse if you also have no phone number (cellphones help with this a lot), and have no reliable place to shower or do your laundry ...

However, a lot of places will find it hard to implement this solution, because the instant any resident starts acting 'ungrateful' or 'greedy' or 'undeserving', the instinct of many social-services agencies is to throw them out .... which makes them homeless again. Ugh.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]idiotgrrl, 2007-08-16 02:31 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 02:37 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 02:39 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]bemusedoutsider, 2007-08-16 06:47 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 07:19 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]bemusedoutsider, 2007-08-16 08:27 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 08:41 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 08:44 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 08:48 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]bemusedoutsider, 2007-08-16 09:15 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 09:19 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]bemusedoutsider, 2007-08-16 09:41 pm UTC (Expand)
not moral deserving/undeserving - [info]bemusedoutsider, 2007-08-17 03:23 am UTC (Expand)

[info]almeda
2007-08-16 02:30 pm UTC (link)
Another program that WORKS but gets howls of outrage from 'well-meaning' citizens is Vancouver's heroin center.

Addicts can come there and get *free heroin*, so long as they shoot up in the safe, clean center with safe, clean needles. They don't have to steal, turn tricks, or commit assault to get money to buy drugs with; the drugs are free. Meanwhile, of course, they are let know on every trip that rehab is *available*, but they're not forced to do it.

Over half the addicts serviced were in rehab within a year. And crime in the 'bad, drug-ridden' area of town went down by *three-quarters*. However, everyone from the mayor to the provincial governor to the national government is screaming that it's horrible, wrong, illegal, and should be shut down ..

Sigh.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]almeda, 2007-08-16 02:31 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]bemusedoutsider
2007-08-16 05:19 pm UTC (link)
Hm....

I started to suggest a story about some people who HAD been helped by welfare and were now back on their feet and starting a group to help others or something. Then I realized the RR would just twist that to say, 'Look, these guys GOT off, so anyone can get off if they try, so let's boot the rest off also.'

(Reply to this)(Parent)

Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…